Bridging K–5 Math Foundations to Grades 6–8: From Models to Meaning
The transition from elementary to middle school math is a critical turning point. Too often, it’s where student proficiency begins to decline. Why does this happen, and what can educators do about it?
What You'll Explore in this Session:
In this edWebinar, K–8 educators explore the often-overlooked representational gap that emerges as students move from concrete and visual models to more abstract mathematical thinking. Drawing on classroom practice and research-based approaches, we examine how this shift can disrupt understanding and how to intentionally bridge it.
Viewers gain insight into how students experience this transition and learn practical strategies to maintain conceptual coherence across grade levels. Grounded in the Concrete–Representational–Abstract (CRA) progression, this session focuses on preserving the visual and conceptual anchors that help students make sense of mathematics as it becomes more symbolic and complex. This edWebinar addresses:
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Why student proficiency often drops between grades five and six
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What changes in mathematical representation as students move into middle school
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How to use CRA strategies to connect elementary foundations to middle school content
Professional Development and Certification
Watch the edWebinar recording on edWeb.net to earn a CE certificate, which may count toward professional development hours and teacher license renewal in most states.
Great Minds also offers a variety of professional development and coaching sessions, implementation blog posts, webinars, and more to support teachers, coaches, and instructional leaders. Visit our Professional Learning page to learn more about our Professional Learning offerings.
Additional Resources
- Read Building Math Identity and a Growth Mindset in Middle School blog post.
- Read From Read-Draw-Write (RDW) to Modeling–How Students Experience Problem Solving in Eureka Math² blog post.
- Read Improving Middle School Math May Mean Learning From Elementary Schools article published in Kappan.
- Interested in learning more about Eureka Math2? Request a sample today.
