Making Math Moments That Matter

Monday is make a ten. Tuesday is doubles. Wednesday is doubles plus one. Add a completely different context each day, and we may be making it harder for students to see how the mathematics connects. 

K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another initiative. https://makemathmoments.com/coherence-compass/
Not sure what matters most when designing math improvement plans? Take this assessment and get a free customized report: https://makemathmoments.com/grow/ 
K-12 Math Leaders: Ready to design your math improvement plan with guidance, support and using structure? Partner with us to follow our 4 stage process. https://growyourmathprogram.com 
Looking to supplement your curriculum with problem-based lessons and units? Make Math Moments Problem Based Lessons & Units 

In this episode, Jon Orr and Graham Fletcher explore the idea of finding a through line in mathematics. They unpack how greater coherence in both context and content can help students make connections, build conceptual understanding, and access the mathematics more deeply. 

In this episode, you'll explore:
What a “through line” looks like in mathematics
Why constantly changing contexts can create unnecessary barriers for students
How a familiar context can give students more space to focus on the mathematics
Why variety in problem types doesn't require a new context every time
How mathematical properties can connect strategies that often appear unrelated
Why unitizing provides a through line from whole numbers to fractions and rates
How understanding mathematical progressions helps teachers respond to the range of thinking in their classrooms
What it means to become a wiser consumer of curriculum resources

Look back at the last couple of weeks of your math instruction. How often did the strategy, context, and mathematical idea change? Consider where a stronger through line could help students see connections that may currently be hidden. 

Show Notes Page
Love the show? Text us your big takeaway!
We’ve partnered with them to help bring more collaborative learning into classrooms. Whether you’re supporting one class or math instruction across multiple schools, find the right way to get started at wipebook.com/mathmoments.
Are you wondering how to create K-12 math lesson plans that leave students so engaged they don’t want to stop exploring your math curriculum when the bell rings? In their podcast, Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr—founders of MakeMathMoments.com—share over 19 years of experience inspiring K-12 math students, teachers, and district leaders with effective math activities, engaging resources, and innovative math leadership strategies. Through a 6-step framework, they guide K-12 classroom teachers and district math coordinators on building a strong, balanced math program that grows student and teacher impact. Each week, gain fresh ideas, feedback, and practical strategies to feel more confident and motivate students to see the beauty in math. Start making math moments today by listening to Episode #139: "Making Math Moments From Day 1 to 180.

Jon Orr and Yvette Lehman unpack a three-day school visit and share how a K–12 team used a Math Coherence Compass, classroom observations, focused instructional moves, and short-term key results to build a sustainable math improvement plan.

K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another initiative. https://makemathmoments.com/coherence-compass/
Not sure what matters most when designing math improvement plans? Take this assessment and get a free customized report: https://makemathmoments.com/grow/ 
K-12 Math Leaders: Ready to design your math improvement plan with guidance, support and using structure? Partner with us to follow our 4 stage process. https://growyourmathprogram.com 
Looking to supplement your curriculum with problem-based lessons and units? Make Math Moments Problem Based Lessons & Units 

In this episode, Jon Orr and Yvette Lehman unpack a recent three-day visit with a K–12 school working to strengthen its math improvement plan. They share how the team moved from a broad vision to classroom evidence, one focused instructional move, and short-term key results designed to build momentum. 

In this episode, you'll explore:
Why a shared vision needs to describe what students and teachers will actually be doing
How a Math Coherence Compass can create alignment across multiple campuses
The difference between student participation and independent mathematical thinking
How classroom observations can reveal strengths and opportunities without becoming evaluative
Why the team focused on student confidence, risk taking, perseverance, and curiosity
How one existing part of the curriculum became a high-leverage instructional move
Why short-term key results can help turn a long-term goal into immediate action
How accountability and follow-up help new practices become part of the system

Look at your current math improvement goal and ask: What is one observable change we could realistically make this quarter? Get specific about the action, how you'll support it, what evidence you'll collect, and when you'll come back together to see what you're learning.

Show Notes Page
Love the show? Text us your big takeaway!
We’ve partnered with them to help bring more collaborative learning into classrooms. Whether you’re supporting one class or math instruction across multiple schools, find the right way to get started at wipebook.com/mathmoments.
Are you wondering how to create K-12 math lesson plans that leave students so engaged they don’t want to stop exploring your math curriculum when the bell rings? In their podcast, Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr—founders of MakeMathMoments.com—share over 19 years of experience inspiring K-12 math students, teachers, and district leaders with effective math activities, engaging resources, and innovative math leadership strategies. Through a 6-step framework, they guide K-12 classroom teachers and district math coordinators on building a strong, balanced math program that grows student and teacher impact. Each week, gain fresh ideas, feedback, and practical strategies to feel more confident and motivate students to see the beauty in math. Start making math moments today by listening to Episode #139: "Making Math Moments From Day 1 to 180.

Jon Orr interviews Zak Champagne, author of Curious Kids in the Math Classroom, about practical ways to foster student curiosity through classroom community, authentic questioning, task design, and small shifts to existing math lessons.
Register for free for the 2026 Make Math Moments Virtual Summit. 
K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another initiative. https://makemathmoments.com/coherence-compass/
Not sure what matters most when designing math improvement plans? Take this assessment and get a free customized report: https://makemathmoments.com/grow/ 
K-12 Math Leaders: Ready to design your math improvement plan with guidance, support and using structure? Partner with us to follow our 4 stage process. https://growyourmathprogram.com 
Looking to supplement your curriculum with problem-based lessons and units? Make Math Moments Problem Based Lessons & Units 

In this episode, Jon Orr and Zak Champagne, author of Curious Kids in the Math Classroom, explore how small shifts in classroom practice can foster authentic curiosity. They discuss creating safe spaces, modeling genuine curiosity, using cliffhangers, and adapting the curriculum you already have. 

In this episode, you'll explore:
Why curiosity is something we can foster rather than force
How repeated moments of curiosity can shape students' relationship with mathematics
Why authentic teacher curiosity matters more than manufactured “wonder”
How classroom community creates the safety students need to share unfinished ideas
How cliffhangers and uncertainty can invite students into mathematical thinking
Simple ways to adapt existing math tasks without replacing your curriculum
Why fostering curiosity is a long game, not a checklist of strategies
How small, sustainable changes can transform classroom experiences over time

Don't try to overhaul every lesson. Choose one small move that creates a little more room for students to wonder, ask questions, or explore an unfinished idea—and keep building from there.

Show Notes Page
Love the show? Text us your big takeaway!
We’ve partnered with them to help bring more collaborative learning into classrooms. Whether you’re supporting one class or math instruction across multiple schools, find the right way to get started at wipebook.com/mathmoments.
Are you wondering how to create K-12 math lesson plans that leave students so engaged they don’t want to stop exploring your math curriculum when the bell rings? In their podcast, Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr—founders of MakeMathMoments.com—share over 19 years of experience inspiring K-12 math students, teachers, and district leaders with effective math activities, engaging resources, and innovative math leadership strategies. Through a 6-step framework, they guide K-12 classroom teachers and district math coordinators on building a strong, balanced math program that grows student and teacher impact. Each week, gain fresh ideas, feedback, and practical strategies to feel more confident and motivate students to see the beauty in math. Start making math moments today by listening to Episode #139: "Making Math Moments From Day 1 to 180.

The math wars often focus on conceptual understanding versus traditional algorithms. Jon Orr and Yvette Lehman explore a deeper challenge: understanding the prerequisite mathematical ideas students need to access new learning.

K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another initiative. https://makemathmoments.com/coherence-compass/
Not sure what matters most when designing math improvement plans? Take this assessment and get a free customized report: https://makemathmoments.com/grow/ 
K-12 Math Leaders: Ready to design your math improvement plan with guidance, support and using structure? Partner with us to follow our 4 stage process. https://growyourmathprogram.com 
Looking to supplement your curriculum with problem-based lessons and units? Make Math Moments Problem Based Lessons & Units 

In this episode, Jon Orr and Yvette Lehman explore what changes when we stop debating how math should be taught and start examining the knowledge students need to access today’s learning. Mathematics is cumulative, and those prerequisite ideas may be far more complex than the curriculum progression suggests. 

In this episode, you'll explore:
Why the conceptual-versus-procedural debate may be missing the bigger issue
What it means for mathematics to be “ruthlessly cumulative”
Why grade-level curriculum progressions don't always reveal true prerequisite knowledge
How specialized content knowledge helps teachers respond to student misconceptions
What multiplying fractions reveals about factoring, scaling, ratios, and proportional reasoning
Why high-leverage visual models can help uncover the mathematics beneath an algorithm
How teachers can build their mathematical knowledge one concept at a time
Why strengthening teacher capacity needs to be a long-term system priority

Choose one concept you're teaching and look beneath the expectation: What does a student actually need to understand to access this idea? Try representing it with an area model, ratio table, or double number line and see what prerequisite ideas become visible.

Show Notes Page
Love the show? Text us your big takeaway!
We’ve partnered with them to help bring more collaborative learning into classrooms. Whether you’re supporting one class or math instruction across multiple schools, find the right way to get started at wipebook.com/mathmoments.
Are you wondering how to create K-12 math lesson plans that leave students so engaged they don’t want to stop exploring your math curriculum when the bell rings? In their podcast, Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr—founders of MakeMathMoments.com—share over 19 years of experience inspiring K-12 math students, teachers, and district leaders with effective math activities, engaging resources, and innovative math leadership strategies. Through a 6-step framework, they guide K-12 classroom teachers and district math coordinators on building a strong, balanced math program that grows student and teacher impact. Each week, gain fresh ideas, feedback, and practical strategies to feel more confident and motivate students to see the beauty in math. Start making math moments today by listening to Episode #139: "Making Math Moments From Day 1 to 180.

We want students to be curious, persistent, and resilient problem solvers. But what if those aren't qualities students simply bring into our classrooms? What if we can actually create the conditions for them to emerge? 

K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another initiative. https://makemathmoments.com/coherence-compass/
Not sure what matters most when designing math improvement plans? Take this assessment and get a free customized report: https://makemathmoments.com/grow/ 
K-12 Math Leaders: Ready to design your math improvement plan with guidance, support and using structure? Partner with us to follow our 4 stage process. https://growyourmathprogram.com 
Looking to supplement your curriculum with problem-based lessons and units? Make Math Moments Problem Based Lessons & Units 

In this episode, Jon Orr and Peter Liljedahl – author of Building Thinking Classrooms explore the difference between states and traits and what that distinction means for teaching mathematics. Peter shares how thoughtfully designed experiences can create moments of confidence, productive struggle, and resilience—and how repeated experiences can eventually shape who students become as mathematical thinkers. 

In this episode, you'll explore:
The difference between a state and a trait
Why resilience isn't something students either “have” or “don't have”
How repeated states can eventually develop into traits
Why productive struggle is more likely when challenge follows success
How task sequencing can build confidence before students encounter greater challenge
Why showing students how to solve problems isn't the same as helping them become problem solvers
How Building Thinking Classrooms practices can create conditions for resilience
Why teachers have an important role in designing environments that invite different student behaviours
Instead of asking, “Why aren't my students more resilient?” consider asking, “What conditions could I create that give them an opportunity to step into resilience?” We can't expect different student behaviours without creating environments that invite those behaviours.

Show Notes Page
Love the show? Text us your big takeaway!
We’ve partnered with them to help bring more collaborative learning into classrooms. Whether you’re supporting one class or math instruction across multiple schools, find the right way to get started at wipebook.com/mathmoments.
Are you wondering how to create K-12 math lesson plans that leave students so engaged they don’t want to stop exploring your math curriculum when the bell rings? In their podcast, Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr—founders of MakeMathMoments.com—share over 19 years of experience inspiring K-12 math students, teachers, and district leaders with effective math activities, engaging resources, and innovative math leadership strategies. Through a 6-step framework, they guide K-12 classroom teachers and district math coordinators on building a strong, balanced math program that grows student and teacher impact. Each week, gain fresh ideas, feedback, and practical strategies to feel more confident and motivate students to see the beauty in math. Start making math moments today by listening to Episode #139: "Making Math Moments From Day 1 to 180.