Structured literacy (or structured reading) is a highly successful, evidence-based teaching method focusing explicitly and systematically on phonology. This includes the explicit, systematic teaching and learning of sound-symbol associations, syllables, morphology, and syntactic structures. As educators become more aware of how the brain’s learning systems interconnect, they have started using structured, multisensory approaches to mathematics. Students with language-based disabilities often struggle in this area. Making Math Real, a multisensory math approach, aligns with structured literacy. This article explores ways that Making Math Real helps to enhance math education through visual-spatial learning, plastic-block model, and color-coding of place values.
Multisensory Instruction To Bridge Language And Numbers
Multisensory math is similar to structured literacy, engaging multiple brain pathways for lasting understanding. This is critical for students suffering from dyslexia, ADHD, or dyscalculia who may need to learn abstract concepts in a nontraditional way. Making Math Real helps meet these needs by focusing on sensory-based, concrete strategies that ground mathematics concepts in experience before moving into symbolic representation.
At the heart of the Making Math Real methodology is the conviction that all students can become proficient in mathematics, given the right instructional strategies and tools. Using structured, multisensory techniques, such as tapping, tracing, or segmenting in structured literacy, allows students to build deep conceptual knowledge, rather than relying solely on rote memorization.
Visual-Spatial Anchoring: Organizing Mental Workspace
Making Math Real is known for its spatially oriented anchoring techniques. This technique helps organize numerical information in consistent visual formats and helps with accurate problem solving. Instead of using mental math, students are taught grids and lined paper to anchor their numbers in space. For instance, when adding multi-digit numbers, the digits align according to place value. This spatial organization greatly reduces math errors, supports working memory, and helps students “see” their math.
This visual consistency is similar to using visual patterns in structured literacy to decode words. In the same way that readers are taught to recognize print patterns, math learners also benefit from a predictable visual format that helps them identify numerical relationships.
Plastic-Block Modelling: Concrete Foundations For Abstract Thought
Plastic-block modelling is another essential element of Making Math Real, closely aligned with the “concrete-representational-abstract” (CRA) instructional sequence that is foundational in special education and structured teaching approaches. Plastic blocks—such as unifix squares, base-10 blocks, or interlocking manipulatives—allow students to manipulate quantities physically and visualize mathematical operations.
Students use blocks to build, combine, and remove sets in the early stages of addition and subtraction. Plastic cubes used as arrays in multiplication and division help learners see the groupings of quantities. This hands-on approach ensures that learners do not jump ahead to the symbolic procedures and skip the concept development phase.
This tactile method of learning is similar to structured literacy, which teaches phonemic knowledge by physically tapping sounds out or using letter tiles to construct words. Both approaches are based on the brain’s capacity to learn through movement.
Anchoring Numerical Relationships With Place-Value-Coding
Making Math Real uses a variety of innovative techniques, including color-coding, to help students understand place value. This strategy assigns the same color to every digit place (e.g., Red for one, Blue for tens, Green for hundreds). It helps students visually separate and distinguish values. When used consistently, color-coding helps students understand place value and mental organization.
As an example, a student writing the number 462 might write “4” (green) in green, “6” (blue) in blue, and “2” (red). This immediately reinforces each digit’s meaning and discourages errors like misaligning columns or reversing digits in multi-digit mathematics.
Place-value colour-coding works similarly to color-coded morphemes (or syllables) used in structured language, such as highlighting the prefixes or word groups to draw your attention. Both techniques enable students to isolate and comprehend parts of the whole, such as sounds or digits within a word.
Complementing Structured Reading For Whole-Brain Development
Making Math Real provides multisensory strategies that complement educators’ existing practices using structured reading. The brain does NOT compartmentalize its learning into rigid academic categorizations. Both language and mathematics share cognitive functions related to sequence, memory, and symbolic representation. By using multisensory and structured math strategies, teachers can promote whole-brain learning.
Additionally, consistent strategies are used across subjects to reduce cognitive load. In math, a child who is best at reading through visuals, auditory input, and kinesthetic input will probably benefit from a similar approach. This shared emphasis on scaffolding and consistency, in addition to explicit instruction, can help struggling learners succeed in both disciplines.
Conclusion
Making Math Real brings mathematics to life with sensory-rich and brain-based teaching, transforming abstract concepts into meaningful and understandable experiences. This approach creates a unified framework by using tools like visual and spatial anchoring, plastic-block modeling, and place-value coloring. By using these strategies, educators can empower their students to decode letters and numbers. They will build confidence, competence, and lifelong learning.