Thinking Blocks was developed by Colleen King in 2003 to help students who were struggling with math word problems. Before creating Thinking Blocks, Colleen was using problem sets from Singapore Math texts in a course for accelerated students at a math enrichment center. The model drawing approach in these texts gave upper elementary students a path to more advanced concepts and algebraic reasoning. Colleen sought a more flexible solution for struggling learners and designed a model drawing application called Blocks. The first group of students to test the program often made comments about how smart they were when using Blocks and how Blocks made "their brains work better". Colleen observed students who were reasoning, understanding, and problem solving. Her students were using thinking Blocks.

Today Colleen uses Thinking Blocks and, more generally, the Singapore model drawing approach with students who have very diverse mathematical backgrounds. While the concept of modeling word problems is most closely associated with Singapore Math, Colleen has found it to be compatible with all elementary math programs. Model drawing is a powerful reasoning and organizational tool that every student should experience. Thinking Blocks makes it possible for teachers and homeschooling parents to easily integrate model drawing with the math program of their choice. Please contact Colleen for more information on Thinking Blocks.

If you discover a programming error, please let me know. The current version is very new and may have a few bugs. To make it easier to track the error you are reporting, it would be very helpful to have a picture of the screen as well as a description of the problem. I will do my best to correct any errors as quickly as possible. Please report errors here. Thanks for your help.

In the practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Response to Intervention, a panel of researchers and educators identified eight recommendations for supporting students in mathematics. Recommendation 4 addresses the topic of word problems and is strongly substantiated by research.

Recommendation 4
Interventions should include instruction on solving word problems that is based on common underlying structures.*

• Teach students about the structure of various problem types, how to categorize problems based on structure, and how to
  determine appropriate solutions for each problem type.
• Teach students to recognize the common underlying structure between familiar and unfamiliar problems and to transfer
  known solution methods from familiar to unfamiliar problems.

Students who use Thinking Blocks not only learn about the underlying structures of word problems; they actually build these structures in both guided and independent practice sections. Even in the guided sections, students have some flexibility in the placement of labels and the arrangement of blocks. For example, a ratio given as 2:5 can be built in either direction (2:5 or 5:2) provided the labels are placed correctly. This flexibility can help students internalize the models more effectively.

* Gersten, R., Beckmann, S., Clarke, B., Foegen, A., Marsh, L., Star, J. R., & Witzel,B. (2009). Assisting students struggling with mathematics: Response to Intervention (RtI) for elementary and middle schools (NCEE 2009-4060). Washington, DC:National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/practiceguides/.

• sections cover addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, fractions, and ratios
• videos show worked examples from each section
• progress tracking (limited to the current session; a data saving option will be available by September 2011)
• deselecting tracking activates practice mode which allows students to try various problems
• students may work on a specific skill or attempt randomized problems in each category

• sections cover addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, fractions, ratios, decimals, percent, and algebra
• choose from hundreds of built in word problems or enter your own problems
• dynamically generated models enable students to check their work
• full screen option for use with interactive whiteboards

**The original version of Thinking Blocks can still be accessed online.

• Addition and Subtraction
• Multiplication and Division
• Ratios

• activities must be accessed from www.thinkingblocks.com or www.mathplayground.com and may not be downloaded
• activities may not be shown via other domains through the use of iFrames or other technologies