InsightMath uses carefully selected classroom materials that support brain-compatible learning and promote productive struggle. This article explains our neuroscience-based approach to classroom materials and how they help students develop deep conceptual understanding.
Summary of Material Types
Click the Materials type to learn more about the neuroscience-based approach and how they help students develop deep conceptual understanding.
| Material Type | Where to find it | Consumable or Reusable? |
| Classroom Posters |
Physical: Included in Classroom Kit Digital & Printable PDF:
|
Reusable |
| Digital Devices | Classroom Provided | Reusable |
| Math Notebooks (grades 4 and up only) | Classroom Provided | Consumable, replaced each year. |
| Manipulatives | Manipulative Kit (purchased separately) or Classroom provided | Reusable |
| Playbooks |
Physical: Student Workbook Digital & Printable PDF:
|
Consumable, replaced each year. |
| Practice Book |
Physical: Student Workbook Digital & Printable PDF:
|
Consumable, replaced each year. |
| Tools, Tasks, and Templates (TTT) |
Physical: Teacher Blackline Master Digital & Printable PDF:
|
Although these could be reused if prepared in plastic sleeves or laminated, most teachers prefer to replace each year. |
| Whiteboards or Whiteboard Alternatives | Classroom Provided | Reusable |
Classroom Posters
Student Strength Posters and Character Posters work together to highlight student use of skills and habits of mind related to the ways in which we do mathematics. These strengths, such as “I keep trying, even when a problem is hard,” incorporate student-friendly language that helps students use metacognition around their progress towards meeting the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs). For more on how to use these posters in classroom instruction, see this article: Student Strength Posters.
Digital Devices
Students will need access to a one-to-one digital device during mathematics instruction. Lessons regularly consist of interactive digital content, which makes one-to-device access essential. That said, students are not on their devices for every moment of every lesson. Our lesson designers were purposeful in choosing the instructional modality that would work best for each individual activity. As such, students will experience some lessons completely on-platform, some lessons completely off-platform, and some lessons in a hybrid format. By offering multiple ways for students to engage with content over the course of a unit, InsightMath ensures that all students have equitable access to rigorous mathematics instruction, including students with diverse learning needs.
Manipulatives
Manipulatives are an essential component of InsightMath. Students use manipulatives to create concrete, visual models and help build robust mathematical schemas as they progress from concrete, to representational, to abstract understandings. Manipulatives are one essential way to experience mathematics concretely. InsightMath consists of physical manipulatives as well as digital manipulatives, called magnets, that appear in lessons.
Students will often begin to understand a topic through the use of manipulatives. Over time, students will naturally begin to move to more representational and abstract formats, finding them more efficient. If a student is reluctant to move off of manipulatives, it is often a sign that they are not yet confident in their understanding. In those instances, encourage the student to use manipulatives alongside other representations such as drawings or ST Math puzzles. This will help students connect those concrete models to the more abstract representational models. Sometimes, students may need a nudge to move from a format with which they are comfortable (e.g., manipulatives) to a more efficient but less known format (e.g., a drawing or abstract representation). That is why you will find, built into lessons, moments that highlight efficiency, both within the structure of the activities themselves and within discussions.
Manipulatives are tools used to help us understand mathematics. Encourage students to choose manipulatives on their own when they find them helpful, not just when a lesson specifically calls for them. In many classrooms, teachers store physical manipulatives on open shelving so that students have free access to them during work time without needing explicit permission. The exception would be when working on building fluency; in those cases, students should be able to calculate fluently without the use of manipulatives.
Math Notebooks (grades 4 and up only)
Math notebooks are an important part of instruction in grades 4 and up. When students work in their math notebooks, they are free to use invented strategies or outline their thinking in any way they choose without being limited by the space given. Students’ math notebooks are places where they can explore freely and expand their thinking without constraints. The most important thing about a math notebook is that each student has one, and that there is another available if they fill one up. The type of paper is not important; some students will prefer blank paper, some will prefer lined paper, and some will prefer graph or grid paper. All are acceptable.
Lessons are designed such that when students are working in their math notebooks, students can share out their work via the paper scan feature. The paper scan feature is particularly valuable for promoting mathematical discourse. When students scan and share their work, it creates opportunities for them to explain their thinking, compare strategies, and engage in productive mathematical conversations with peers. Additionally, paper scan allows for student work to be captured and stored within the platform for teacher review.
Playbooks
InsightMath includes a printed student Playbook—a hands-on space where students explore and extend their math thinking. It’s a creative “math playground” that deepens understanding and encourages ownership. Students build on the concepts and puzzles from lessons by exploring further. Each page empowers students to play with mathematical ideas and engage in problem solving: explaining their reasoning or strategy, generalizing patterns, and solving word problems.
Practice Books
Each lesson includes a student Practice Page with a balanced mix of:
- Spiral review to strengthen prior learning
- Targeted practice aligned to the day’s focus
- Real-world word problems for application in varied contexts
This structure ensures students consistently practice, reflect, and transfer learning—building confidence and fluency over time.
Tools, Tasks, and Templates (TTT)
InsightMath comes with blackline masters that we call Tools, Tasks, and Templates (TTTs).
- Tools: Reproducibles that students should have regular access to and will be used again and again, but are not intended to be written on. Examples of tools include a paper ruler, the Collaborative Language Tool (which supports mathematical discourse for all students, including language learners), and Math Strengths Posters.
- Tasks: Reproducibles designed for one-time use during a single lesson, or perhaps two lessons back-to-back.
- Templates: Similar to tools, these reproducibles are intended to be used and reused, but are intended to be written on. Templates are often best used in plastic sleeves so that they can be written on time and again, wiped clean, and reused. Examples of templates include place value charts, number line templates, and coordinate planes.
Whiteboards or Whiteboard Alternatives
Many activities within InsightMath call for students to be able to show their work in ways that encourage non-permanency. Whiteboards are one way to accomplish this, but blank white paper in plastic sleeves can also serve the same purpose and can be written on with dry erase markers just as effectively as a whiteboard. Any time we use the term whiteboard in InsightMath, we really mean a whiteboard or similar alternative.