Demo Lessons

Secret Weapons to Math Fluency and

Understanding in Common Core

Designed by Dr. Randy Palisoc

These demo lessons are from the Core Advantage math fluency system by Ironbox Education:

• Making Sense of Fractions – Lesson 7, Lesson 10, and Lesson 13

• Making Sense of Conversions (Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages) – Lesson 1
• 10 Powerful Steps to Multiplication Fluency – The Magic Sequence
• Easy Breezy Addition & Subtraction – Lesson 14

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© ironboxeducation.com | randypalisoc@gmail.com
KEY LESSON • This was the fractions lesson that was Name
featured in Dr. Palisoc’s TED talk.
This is the
Lesson 7: Apples Plus Apples – The “Same Name” Lesson most important lesson
in the book.

Directions: Follow along with you instructor to complete this lesson.

A. B. C. D.

E. F. G. H.

I. J. K. L.

M. N. O. P.

Q. R. S. T.

Making Sense of Fractions | © ironboxeducation.com | Log in for demo videos. 17

KEY LESSON • Prerequisites – Multiplication Fluency Name
& Fractions Lessons 1-9.

Lesson 10 Demo: Adding and Subtraction Fractions

Directions: Follow along with your instructor to complete this lesson.

Adding Fractions

1 1
+
2 3

A. Circle the denominator and denominator.

B. Find the Lowest Common Multiple of 2 and 3 (use the Magic Question or the shortcut).

2:

3:

C. Rewrite the problem by changing the names of the fractions being used.

D. Add (refer to Lesson 7: Apples Plus Apples – The “Same Name” Lesson).

Making Sense of Fractions | © ironboxeducation.com | Log in for demo videos. 21

KEY LESSON • Prerequisites – Multiplication Fluency Name
& Fractions Lessons 1-12.

Lesson 13: Differentiating Between GCF and LCM (see page 8)

Directions:

1. With your instructor, verbally and instantly say whether each problem is a “Notre Dame” problem or a
“Double Dutch” problem.
2. With your teacher, verbally and instantly say whether to use GCF or LCM to solve the problem.
3. Simplify each expression.

A. B. C. D.
8 1 1 1 1 6
4/5 + 5/6 + 7/12 3/4
10 2 3 3 4 8

E. F. G. H.

1 1 4 8 3 2
+ 5/12 2/5 2/3 + 7/10
4 6 10 12 10 5

I. J. K. L.

2 3 2 14 2 1
1/5 + 43/72 2/5 – 3/20
10 8 9 35 5 4

M. N. O. P.

5 3 25 4 1 3
– 1/24 5/7 4/5 + 5/8
12 8 35 5 4 8

Making Sense of Fractions | © ironboxeducation.com | Log in for demo videos. 25

KEY LESSON • Prerequisites – Multiplication Fluency, Making Name
Sense of Fractions, Making Sense of Proportions

Lesson 1: Comparing Fractions

Part I: List the factors of 100 (in pairs and in the correct order).

100
___ ⋅ ___
___ ⋅ ___
___ ⋅ ___
___ ⋅ ___
___ ⋅ ___

Part 2: Follow along with your instructor to complete this lesson.

Ana, Betty, Christy, Daisy, Emily, and Francine take six different tests, and they earned the scores shown below.

Ana Betty Christy Daisy Emily Francine

3 1 7 14 20 39
Score
4 2 10 20 25 50

A.
Number
Correct

B.
Number
Wrong

C. With your partner, decide which student above has the highest grade. Defend your answer.

D. Find the
scores if they
had taken the
same 100-
question test.

Who had the highest score? _______________

Who had the lowest score? _______________
E.
Who had the same score? _______________ and _______________
Why is it now easier to answer these questions? ____________________________________________

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Write only the Write only the Write only the Write only the
F. Convert percentage. percentage. percentage. percentage.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
(with your
teacher) ___ ______ ___ ______
_____ _____

A _______________________ is simply a ____________________ out of ________ ( _________ ).

Making Sense of Conversions | © ironboxeducation.com | Log in for demo videos. 11

 • The Multiplication fluency unit was
The Magic Sequence featured in Dr. Palisoc’s TED talk.
These are the 10 Powerful Steps to Multiplication Fluency.
Step One Step Two Step Three Step Four

2 x 1 = 2 3 x 1 = 3 4 x 1 = 4 5 x 1 = 5
2 x 2 = 4 3 x 2 = 6 4 x 2 = 8 5 x 2 = 10
2 x 3 = 6 3 x 3 = 9 4 x 3 = 12 5 x 3 = 15
2 x 4 = 8 3 x 4 = 12 4 x 4 = 16 5 x 4 = 20
2 x 5 = 10 3 x 5 = 15 4 x 5 = 20 5 x 5 = 25
2 x 6 = 12 3 x 6 = 18 4 x 6 = 24 5 x 6 = 30
2 x 7 = 14 3 x 7 = 21 4 x 7 = 28 5 x 7 = 35
2 x 8 = 16 3 x 8 = 24 4 x 8 = 32 5 x 8 = 40
2 x 9 = 18 3 x 9 = 27 4 x 9 = 36 5 x 9 = 45

Step Five

Magic Box
9 x 1 = 9
9 x 2 = 18
9 x 3 = 27
9 x 4 = 36
9 x 5 = 45
9 x 6 = 54
9 x 7 = 63
9 x 8 = 72
9 x 9 = 81
Step Six Step Seven

1 x 1 = 1 6x6= 36 7 x 7 = 49 8 x 8 = 64 9 x 9 = 81
2 x 2 = 4 6x7= 42 7 x 8 = 56 8 x 9 = 72
3 x 3 = 9 6x8= 48 7 x 9 = 63 Magic Triangle
4 x 4 = 16 6x9= 54
5 x 5 = 25
6 x 6 = 36
7 x 7 = 49
8 x 8 = 64
9 x 9 = 81

Step Eight Step Nine Step Ten

6 x 1 = 6 7 x 1 = 7 8 x 1 = 8
6 x 2 = 12 7 x 2 = 14 8 x 2 = 16
6 x 3 = 18 7 x 3 = 21 8 x 3 = 24
6 x 4 = 24 7 x 4 = 28 8 x 4 = 32
6 x 5 = 30 7 x 5 = 35 8 x 5 = 40
6 x 6 = 36 7 x 6 = 42 8 x 6 = 48
6 x 7 = 42 7 x 7 = 49 8 x 7 = 56
6 x 8 = 48 7 x 8 = 56 8 x 8 = 64
6 x 9 = 54 7 x 9 = 63 8 x 9 = 72
10 Powerful Steps to Multiplication Fluency | © ironboxeducation.com | Log in for demo videos. 5
 • Prerequisites – Easy Breezy Addition & Name
Subtraction Lessons 1-13.

Lesson 14: Adding with 9, 8, or 7

Adding with 9
Part 1: When adding with 9, you only need one Part 2: Follow along with your instructor to complete
more to make a ten. Cross out the last counter in this section.
the bottom frame, and move it to the top frame.
Now you can see the answer without counting.

A. B.
9 + 8 = _____ 4 + 9 = _____

9 + 4 = _____ 2 + 9 = _____

9 + 5 = _____ 7 + 9 = _____

9 + 6 = _____ 5 + 9 = _____

9 + 7 = _____ 6 + 9 = _____
9 + 8 = _____ 9 + 4 = _____

Adding with 8
Part 3: When adding with 8, you only need two more Part 4: Follow along with your instructor to complete
to make a ten. Cross out the last two counters from this section.
the bottom frame, and move them to the top frame.
C. D.

8 + 7 = _____ 7 + 8 = _____

8 + 4 = _____ 5 + 8 = _____

8 + 5 = _____ 4 + 8 = _____

8 + 6 = _____ 3 + 8 = _____
8 + 7 = _____ 8 + 4 = _____ 8 + 3 = _____ 6 + 8 = _____

Adding with 7
Part 5: When you add with 7, you only need three Part 6: Follow along with your instructor to complete
more to make a ten. Cross out the last three counters this section.
from the bottom frame, and move them to the top
frame.
E. F.
7 + 6 = _____ 4 + 7 = _____

7 + 4 = _____ 5 + 7 = _____

7 + 5 = _____ 6 + 7 = _____

7 + 6 = _____ 5 + 7 = _____

7 + 5 = _____ 4 + 7 = _____
7 + 6 = _____ 7 + 4 = _____

24 Easy Breezy Addition & Subtraction | © ironboxeducation.com | Log in for demo videos.