Zearn FAQs

TheZearn Math classroom model supports daily differentiation, engagement, and deep learning for all students. To account for the different needs of older students (first through fifth grade) compared to younger students (kindergarten), the Zearn curriculum and classroom model differentiates between them.

Classroom Model G1-G5

Zearn Math is built on a rotational model. In the Zearn Math Classroom Model, teachers begin with Whole Group Fluency and Word Problems for 10-15 minutes. Then, students break into two groups to learn content in two ways: Independent Digital Lessons and Small Group Instruction. Students spend ~30 minutes in each rotation. This model gives students opportunity to deeply learn grade-level content through a mix of modalities, with personalized feedback and support.

When building this model into a week, we recommend that teachers structure their week as four Core Days and one Flex Day. On Core Days, teachers use the rotational model outlined above.The Flex Day allows teachers to focus on teaching new on-grade level content during the Core Days, and then use Flex Days to vary their stations and deeply personalize learning for each student.

Our Zearn Recommended Schedule (Grades 1-5) outlines how to incorporate this model into a weekly schedule.

Zearn Recommended Schedule (Kindergarten)

Classroom Model for Kindergarten

We recommend that teachers structure kindergarten math time as of a mix of a daily lesson comprised of Fluency, Application Problems, Concept Development, and Digital Activities. Teachers may choose to deliver the daily lesson in stations or as a whole group. After the daily lesson, students break into stations. One group begins on Digital Activities. Another group works with their teacher on Printed Problem Sets, often as a group. After ten minutes, the two groups switch.

Our outlineshow to incorporate this model into a weekly schedule.

To help your students log into their student accounts, see the video below. For Clever users, be sure to check out our article on helping students log in using Clever.

Sprints in each Independent Digital Lesson are designed to build and strengthen core math foundations for 1st-5th grade students. Sprint Alerts help teachers identify Grade 1-5 students struggling with Sprints. Alerts appear if a student gets less than 10 questions correct in both rounds of the Sprint. Sprint Alerts can be sorted by date, student, and content.

Sometimes your class information may change over the school year. If it does, Zearn Math lets you edit your class name in four quick steps!

Click Roster at the top of your Zearn homepage

Choose the class you'd like to edit from the dropdown menu

Click on the gear next to the class name

On the next page, edit your class name and click Save Class

Classroom visuals can help orient students to the flow of an Independent Digital Lesson and remind them to complete their Student Notes and Exit Tickets for each lesson.

Below are a few of the many amazing classroom anchor chartswe've seen;follow @zearned on Twitter for more examplesfrom educators across the country and share your own in the Zearn Community on Facebook !

Zearn Math Printed Materials for Teachers include:

Materials for Teacher-Led Instruction

In Grades 1-5, Zearn Math offers three printable materials for teacher-led instruction: Whole Group Fluency, Whole Group Word Problems, and Small Group Lessons. All of these materials can be printed directly from Teacher Accounts to support weekly planning and instruction.

Zearn also offers paper materials for students, including Student Notes, Exit Tickets, and Assessments.

Kindergarten teacher materials include six Missions, each with Fluency, Application Problems, Concept Development, and Paper Problems. Teachers use these materials to prepare for daily instruction.

Teacher Answer Keys

Teacher Answer Keys provide solutions to Zearn Math Student Notes and Exit Tickets. Answer Keys include corrected Student Notes and Exit Ticket answers in red ink. Answer Keys are available for purchase through the Zearn Online Store.

Below are common questions related to setting your students Independent Digital Lesson assignment:

Q: How do I set a student to a Grade, Mission, or Topic?

A: Follow the steps below:

Click Roster at the top of your Zearn homepage

Choose the class that contains the students whose assignment you'll be updating

Select the student(s) whose assignment youd like to change by clicking the check box next to their name(s)

Click Change Lesson

In the pop-up, select a Grade, Mission, and Topic for your student(s) and click Set

Q: Where can I start students?

A: You can assign students to start at the beginning of any Grade, Mission, or Topic. You can also re-assign students to the beginning of any Grade, Mission, or Topic at any point.

Q: Can I assign a specific Independent Digital Lesson?

A: Lesson-level assignment is a feature available with Zearn for Intervention; a top-rated program that includes the instructional materials that teachers already know and love, plus features that give teachers more flexibility when using Zearn Math to support all students. Zearn for Intervention is part of our Zearn Math School Accounts. You can learn more about these accounts here.

Q: What happens when students complete an assigned Independent Digital Lesson?

A: When a student completes an Independent Digital Lesson, they earn a Badge and advance to the next lesson in the sequence automatically.

Q: Can I prevent a student from going on to future Independent Digital Lessons?

A: After a student completes an Independent Digital Lesson, they automatically progress to the next Independent Digital Lesson. While wedon'toffer a feature that stops students from progressing, we often find that teachers set a weekly lesson completion goal of 4 Independent Digital Lessons, and then encourage students to complete Bonuses after they have hit their goal, rather than progressing to the next lesson. Instructions for accessing our Bonus questions are available here.

Q: How do I align the Independent Digital Lesson to my live instruction?

A: With Zearn, students learn new content in two ways: Independent Digital Lessons and Small Group Instruction, with you. This two-part approach helps students build deep understanding of grade-level content. You can see our recommended schedule here.

Once a student completes all questions in the Tower of Power correctly, he or she moves to the Paper Exit Ticket. Exit Tickets are un-scaffolded so teachers can see how well students transfer their learning to paper. Paper Exit Tickets for each Mission are included in Zearn Workbooks or can be downloaded and printed individually from teacher accounts.

While digital tools have the potential to improve learning outcomes, research shows that paper and pencil work is still essential to knowledge transfer and retention. That is why we made paper and pencil work a critical part of the Grade 1-5 Zearn Math learning experience. You can find more information on the Kindergarten Zearn Math learning experience here. Zearn Printed Materials for G1-G5 students include:

Student NotesMost Independent Digital Lessons include guided Student Notes. Student Notes are printed problems that students are prompted to complete on paper during the Guided Practice experience. There are typically 34 problems in a Guided Practice experience, and one usually includes Student Notes. This helps students transfer their digital learning and helps students strengthen retention. Students receive digital support as they complete their Student Notes, providing them with learning opportunities as they check their work. Teachers check Student Notes weekly to monitor engagement, celebrate self-checking, and note the variety of strategies being used by students. Student Notes for each Mission are included in Zearn Workbooks or can be downloaded and printed individually from teacher accounts.

Exit TicketsOnce a student completes all questions in the Tower of Power correctly, he/she moves to the paper Exit Ticket. Exit Tickets are un-scaffolded so teachers can see how well kids transfer their learning to paper. PaperExit Tickets are included in Zearn Workbooks or can be downloaded and printed individually from teacher accounts.

Goal TrackersAfter students complete the Tower of Power and Exit Ticket, they use the PrintedGoal Tracker to keep track of their progress towards their Independent Digital Lesson completion goals. Printed Lesson Trackers for each Mission are included in Zearn Workbooks or can be downloaded and printed individually from teacher accounts.

Mid-Mission and End of Mission AssessmentsMid-Mission Assessments and End of Mission Assessments help teachers assess if students retain their understanding. Teachers should use these as a more formal way to check in on learning. For this reason, these should be completed independently and without assistance from the teachers. All Assessments can be downloaded and printed individually from teacher accounts.

Optional Problem SetsAn optional Printed Problem Set aligned to each Lesson is available within Teacher Accounts. These Optional Printed Problem Sets are used to create the digital questions in the Tower of Power, which is the independent practice experience in the Independent Digital Lessons. Part of the Printed Problem Sets could be used as additional optional practice.

Optional HomeworkPrintable homework aligned to each Mission is available within Teacher Accounts.

Onceyou'vecreated a class, add students quickly and easily:

Navigate to Roster at the top of your Zearn homepage

Choose the class to which youd like to add students from the Switch Class dropdown menu

Click Add students

Type or paste your student's name into the box under New Students and click Next

Edit student passwords and usernames as needed and click Next

Choose a Grade, Mission, and Topic for your students and click Finish

Follow the steps on the Congratulations page to start your studentsZearning

Do your students already have Zearn accounts from last year? If so, they can enter your Class Code to join your class. Learn more here.

Paper and pencil work is a critical part of Zearn Math. Students will be prompted to complete Student Notes while completing their Independent Digital Lessons. You'll need a plan for how you will access these; you can eitherpurchase bound Zearn Workbooks or download and print Student Notes and Exit Tickets by Mission. Our Curriculum FAQs provide step-by-step instructions downloading these materials.

Zearn combines Independent Digital Lessons with Small Group Instruction. For students to access our Independent Digital Lessons, you will need devices, updated browsers, headphones, and a speedy internet connection. See a workstation in action here.

DevicesZearn is web-based and works with Computers (desktop or laptop, Windows or Mac), Chromebooks, and iPads and iPad minis. There is no app to use Zearn. Zearn does not support Android devices.

Browsers

For students to access our Independent Digital Lessons, they will need to use an updated browser. Zearn supports the most recent two versions across Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

If you are accessing Zearn Math via Internet Explorer, we recommend using one of the browsers above for an optimal experience. We support IE11.

Headphones

Because all Zearn's Independent Digital Lessons include live instruction, students need headphones while working on Zearn.

InternetBecause Zearn's Independent Digital Lessons contain videos, graphics and animation, they require ~1Mbps of internet bandwidth per student to use without interruption. You'll also want to ensure that you have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Zearn Student Workbooks and Teacher Answer Keys provide critical daily paper materials in one easy-to-use place.

Student Workbooks

Workbooks are spiral-bound, perforated, and 3-hole punched. Included materials cover each Zearn Mission and consist of:

Student Notes: Students are prompted to complete guided Student Notes throughout each Independent Digital Lesson to transfer digital learning and strengthen retention.

Exit Tickets:Students complete a paper Exit Ticket after each Independent Digital Lesson to demonstrate understanding. Exit Tickets are unscaffolded so teachers can see how well students transfer their learning to paper.

Goal Trackers:Students keep track of their progress towards their Independent Digital Lesson completion goals with Paper Goal Trackers.

Teacher Answer Keys

Teachers can quickly check student work with printed Teacher Answer Keys. Zearn Teacher Answer Keys include correct answers to Student Notes and Exit Tickets.

Student Workbooks and Teacher Answer Keys are available for Grades 1-5, where Student Notes and Exit Tickets are an integral component of Zearn Math. Since Kindergarten consists of short practice activities designed to build number sense, there is no paper and pencil component in Kindergarten.

2019-2020 Zearn Student Workbooks cost $28 per student for a full year of content. Each Workbook set is split into two volumes.

2019-2020 Zearn Teacher Answer Keys cost $75 per teacher for a full year of content.

To view a digital sample or purchase materials for your class, school, or district, visit the Zearn Online Store.

Whole-Group Fluency materials include oral fluencies and whiteboard fluencies. Each day, teachers choose one fluency to complete as a class as a fun warm-up. This whole-group warm-up engages the community of learners and builds number sense. Each student should have an individual whiteboard so each student has an opportunity to show their pictorial and abstract representations. Fluency activities are opening activities with two instructional purposes one is fun practice of previously learned ideas to develop procedural fluency and retain content and the other is a warm-up for upcoming content.

Zearn Math recommends students with significant areas of unfinished learning spend flexible math time or other specific intervention time working on earlier content that is directly tied to core grade-level learning. For each Mission of the curriculum, Zearn Math highlights Foundational Missions that point teachers to the specific earlier content areas where grade-level concepts are introduced and developed. Zearn Math does not offer a diagnostic test to identify specific intervention areas for students; rather, students should work on the Foundational Mission tied to their current grade-level work. For students with areas of unfinished learning from prior grades, Foundational Missions can provide essential bridges to the content students are learning during core instructional time.

Teachers can access information on Foundational Missions from each Mission page within their Zearn account, and direct students to navigate back to the appropriate Foundational Mission through students My Stuff page. As students work on Foundational Missions during flex time or intervention time, teachers or intervention specialists should continue to implement the Zearn Math model fully. This includes:

Establishing Systems for Accessing Earlier Content

Students working on Foundational Missions during flex time or intervention time will need additional guidance in order to navigate to and complete the appropriate Mission. When students login, they will be automatically directed to the grade-level lesson they are working on during core time; if teachers would like students to complete an additional Foundational Mission, they should direct students to:

Click My Stuff on the student homepage

Use the arrows to navigate to previous grades, Missions, and Lessons

Click the badge of the first Lesson for the designated Foundational Mission

Since earlier content review is focused on building and deepening understanding of foundational concepts, students are only able to access guided practice activities, the Tower of Power, and Bonuses through their My Stuff page. All off grade-level content completed by students is reflected in the Progress Report, Pace Report, and Tower Alerts Report to provide teachers and intervention specialists visibility into what students are working on. For example, if students complete a lesson from a Foundational Mission, that completed work will appear in the Pace Report. If an asterisk appears next to a students name in the report, it signifies that student worked on an earlier lesson or bonus by navigating through their My Stuff page.

Supporting Learning in Multiple Ways

Zearn Math provides students with a mix of modalities, feedback, and support that is crucial to helping students build deep understanding. As students work on Foundational Missions, they should have opportunities to work independently on software-based lessons, model their math with concrete manipulatives, participate in math discussions, and receive direct feedback from their teacher. To demonstrate understanding and strengthen knowledge retention, students should also complete paper-and-pencil Student Notes and Exit Tickets for each lesson in a Foundational Mission. To access and print these paper-and-pencil materials, teachers should follow the steps below:

Log in to Zearn teacher or administrator account

Navigate to the Mission page for the Foundational Mission

Click Student Notes under Independent Digital Lessons or Exit Tickets under Small Group Lessons

Ensuring Content Alignment between Core Instruction and Intervention Instruction

Teachers can support students in accessing current and upcoming grade-level content by focusing student work on the relevant Foundational Mission. Teachers can access Foundational Missions after logging in to their teacher account and following the step-by-step instructions below. A full list is also found at the end of this article.

Select Grades 1-5 at the top of your screen.

Select a Grade and Mission.

Once on the Mission page, you can click on any Foundational Missions to be brought directly to the correspondingMission page.

Foundational Missions for each Mission of 1st-5th grades:

Grade 1

G1M1 Add and Subtract Small Numbers

KM1 Numbers to 10

KM4 Number Pairs, Addition and Subtraction to 10

G1M2 Meet Place Value

KM4Number Pairs, Addition and Subtraction to 10

G1M3 Measure Length

KM3Comparison of Length, Weight, Capacity, and Numbers to 10

G1M4 Add and Subtract Bigger Numbers

KM5Numbers 10-20; Count to 100 by Ones and Tens

G1M5 Work with Shapes

KM2Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Shapes

KM6Analyzing, Comparing, and Composing Shapes

G1M6 Add and Subtract to 100

KM5Numbers 10-20; Count to 100 by Ones and Tens

Grade 2

G2M1 Add and Subtract Friendly Numbers

G1M1 Add and Subtract Small Numbers

G1M2 Meet Place Value

G2M2 Explore Length

G1M3 Measure Length

G2M3 Counting and Place Value

G1M4 Add and Subtract Bigger Numbers

G1M6 Add and Subtract to 100

G2M4 Add, Subtract, and Solve

G1M4 Add and Subtract Bigger Numbers

G1M6 Add and Subtract to 100

G2M5 Add and Subtract Big Numbers

G1M4 Add and Subtract Bigger Numbers

G1M6 Add and Subtract to 100

G2M6 Equal Groups

G1M1 Add and Subtract Small Numbers

G1M5 Work with Shapes

G2M7 Length, Money, and Data

G1M5 Work with Shapes

G2M2 Explore Length

G2M8 Shapes, Time, and Fractions

G1M5 Work with Shapes

Grade 3

G3M1 Multiply and Divide Friendly Numbers

G2M6 Equal Groups

G3M2 Measure It

G2M3 Counting and Place Value

G2M4 Add, Subtract, and Solve

G2M5 Add and Subtract Big Numbers

G3M3 Multiply and Divide Tricky Numbers

G2M6 Equal Groups

G3M1 Multiply and Divide Friendly Numbers

G3M4 Find the Area

G2M6 Equal Groups

G3M1 Multiply and Divide Friendly Numbers

G3M3 Multiply and Divide Tricky Numbers

G3M5 Fractions as Numbers

G2M8 Shapes, Time, and Fractions

G3M6 Display Data

G2M7 Length, Money, and Data

G3M7 Shapes and Measurement

G2M2 Explore Length

G2M7 Length, Money, and Data

G2M8 Shapes, Time, and Fractions

Grade 4

G4M1 Add, Subtract, and Round

G2M3 Counting and Place Value

G2M4 Add, Subtract, and Solve

G2M5 Add and Subtract Big Numbers

G3M2 Measure It

G4M2 Measure and Solve

G2M2 Explore Length

G2M3 Counting and Place Value

G3M2 Measure It

G4M3 Multiply and Divide Big Numbers

G2M6 Equal Groups

G3M1 Multiply and Divide Friendly Numbers

G3M3 Multiply and Divide Tricky Numbers

G4M4 Construct Lines, Angles, and Shapes

G2M8 Shapes, Time, and Fractions

G3M7 Shapes and Measurement

G4M5 Equivalent Fractions

G2M8 Shapes, Time, and Fractions

G3M5 Fractions as Numbers

G4M6 Decimal Fractions

G2M8 Shapes, Time, and Fractions

G3M5 Fractions as Numbers

G4M5 Equivalent Fractions

G4M7 Multiply and Measure

G2M2 Explore Length

G2M7 Length, Money, and Data

G3M2 Measure It

G4M2 Measure and Solve

Grade 5

G5M1 Place Value with Decimal Fractions

G4M1 Add, Subtract, and Round

G4M6 Decimal Fractions

G5M2 Base Ten Operations

G3M1 Multiply and Divide Friendly Numbers

G3M3 Multiply and Divide Tricky Numbers

G4M3 Multiply and Divide Big Numbers

G4M7 Multiply and Measure

G5M3 Add and Subtract Fractions

G3M5 Fractions as Numbers

G4M5 Equivalent Fractions

G5M4 Multiply and Divide Fractions and Decimals

G4M5 Equivalent Fractions

G5M5 Volume, Area, and Shapes

G3M4 Find the Area

G3M7 Shapes and Measurement

G5M6 The Coordinate Plane

G4M7 Multiply and Measure

After completing Fluency and Guided Practice, students demonstrate understanding in the Tower of Power. Students need to answer all of the questions correctly to complete the Tower of Power and unlock the next Independent Digital Lesson. Problems in the Tower of Power are digitally translated from the paper Problem Set.

As students work through the Tower of Power, embedded remediation provides just the right amount of support to help them stay engaged and continue learning independently. For students struggling with a concept, these remediation supports can include more scaffolded manipulatives or additional interactive videos that break down the question in a different way.

In the Tower of Power, this embedded remediation is called a Boost. If students make a mistake in a Tower of Power problem, a Boost breaks down the question into smaller steps with more supportive manipulatives to allow students to understand and correct their mistakes. Students then have a chance to demonstrate their learning with a new problem. If students continue to struggle in the Tower of Power after multiple remediation paths, their teacher receives an alert in the Tower Alerts Report, enabling them to provide differentiated support for that student. Boosts, like all embedded support in Independent Digital Lessons, precisely address misconceptions in real time and give all students opportunities to visualize problems in multiple ways and try again.

Check out a Tower of Power for yourself here.

Digital technology has the potential to be so much more than a mathematics practice tool. Weve designed the first and only math program that complements a teachers hands-on instruction with creative software that provides multiple pathways into math content to unlock deep learning and make math accessible for all kids.

To support students in completing digital content, here are two key resources:

Independent Digital Lessons: Getting Started Checklist: This a checklist of key actions to take when getting started with Independent Digital Lessons.

Overview of Independent Digital Lessons: The below video shows how Zearn Math seamlessly unites digital learning and hands-on instruction.

Downlo

Zearn offers on-demand PD delivered through Zearns digital platform.Zearn PD provides all the materials districts and schools need to lead year-long PD that builds expertise on implementing and teaching the Zearn Math curriculum. Each PD session is designed for group learning facilitated by an onsite administrator, coach, or educator. Zearn PD includes:

Classroom Implementation PD:This PD trains participants on the Zearn Math rotational classroom model, including systems and routines for successful Zearn Math implementation. This PD should be completed at the start of the school year and includes 3 hours of interactive sessions.

Curriculum Study PD:This PD is a year-long, ongoing PD series that builds deep content knowledge on teaching the Zearn Math curriculum. There is a total of eight hours of PD sessions per grade, covering every Mission of the curriculum. You can Preview Curriculum Study PD for Grade 3 Mission 1.

To support districts and schools with facilitating full-year professional development, Zearn offers a Recommended Professional Development Calendar. This calendar includes recommended timing for the upfront Classroom Implementation PD and ongoing Curriculum Study throughout the year. Missions vary in length, so Curriculum Study will happen at different times throughout the year in each grade.

If you are interested in purchasing Zearn PD, contact the Zearn Partnerships team.

Zearn offers two ways for students to authenticate their accounts; a username and password combination, and Google Single Sign-On (SSO). If your students have Google email addresses, you can set them up to use Google SSO by adding your students to your classroom, and editing their usernames to their Google email addresses. If you have already added your students to your classroom, you can update their student login information by following the step-by-step instructions here. Once their usernames have been updated, your students will be able to log in by clicking the "Sign in with Google" link on the Zearn homepage, and selecting their account.

Zearn Class Codes offer an easy way for your students to join your class (and keep their Zearn Badges and progress from previous school years).

For students new to Zearn: Students enter their username, password, and your Class Code when first logging into Zearn. Entering your Class Code will place them in your class.

For students with Zearn accounts: Students can log in with their current username and password, click on the name of their class (see below), and enter your Class Code to switch classes. By keeping their Zearn account and switching classes, students will save their Badges and you will get access to their previous Zearn Progress Reports.

You can find your Class Code on your class page or by printing out your Student Login Cards. To quickly find you Class Code:

Click Roster at the top of your Zearn homepage

Choose the class for which youd like to see information

View the Class Code at the top of the page

To create your Teacher account, follow these simple steps:

Follow this link to create your Teacher account

View our Getting Started checklist for information on how to use Zearn with your class

Create your classroom

Create your student accounts

Set your students to a Topic

You and your students are now ready to Zearn! If you need help while you're creating your account, Zearn Support is here to answer any of your questions.

As of the 2018-19 school year, we are committed to creating the best K-5 math curriculum available, and to that end, we are focused on improving our dynamic curriculum and creating new K-5 learning activities. After we crack that, we plan on developing 6-8 math and beyond!

Many Grade 6-8 teachers use Zearn Math to strengthen their students' foundational skills. For more information, please see this article on Zearn Math for Intervention.

(Note: This article only pertains to Zearn Math School Account holders who have rostered via Clever)

Zearn Math School Account teachers and administrators who are rostered via Clever, have the ability to create a Zearn.org backup login, allowing them to log into their accounts directly from the Zearn.org homepage. You can create your Zearn.org backup login by following the steps below:

Log into your Zearn account

Click on your name at the top right corner of the screen

Select My Account

Click on Set up Zearn.org sign-in

Confirm the email address youd like to use with your backup login

Follow the instructions sent via email to set your Zearn.org password

Once you have created your Zearn.org backup login credentials, you can follow these steps to access your students Zearn.org usernames and passwords:

Log into your account using your Zearn.org sign-in

Click Roster at the top of the page

Select your class

Click Zearn.org usernames and passwords

Once a student completes all questions in the Tower of Power correctly during an Independent Digital Lesson, he or she moves on to the Paper Exit Ticket. We've seen teachers come up with lots of great systems, from strategically placed collection trays to self-reflection folders, to remind students to complete their Exit Tickets for each lesson and keep them organized!

Follow @zearned on Twitter for more examplesfrom educators across the country and share your own system in the Zearn Community on Facebook !

Sometimes students benefit from a refresher of earlier content. Zearn makes it simple for your students to access lessons theyve already completed this year or lessons from previous Missions and grades through their My Stuff page! Because students must demonstrate understanding before unlocking the next lesson, they cannot access future lessons on Zearn until they are ready.

Our Pace Report shows you if students are working on an earlier lesson or lessons outside your assignment. If an asterisk (*) appears on your Pace Report, it means that your student worked on an earlier lesson or bonus by navigating through My Stuff.

To review earlier lessons, ask your students to:

Click My Stuff on the student home page

Use the arrows to navigate to previous Lessons, Missions and Grades.

Click the badge of the lesson youd like the student to review.

In the lesson pop-up, choose the activity* youd like your student to complete

*Note: Earlier content review is focused on building and deepening understanding of concepts, so students are only able to access Guided Practice activities (i.e. Math Chat, Learning Lab, Z-Squad activities), the Tower of Power, and Bonuses from their My Stuff page.

We recommend studentsstart at the beginning of a grade in our Independent Digital Lesson sequence. They will then move through the Independent Digital Lesson sequence at their own pace with personalized remediation at the exact moment they need it. If you are implementing Zearn Math mid-year, we recommend students start at the beginning of the Mission that aligns to your current instruction. Students will then progress through Independent Digital Lessons at their own pace.

Below are common questions related to setting your students Independent Digital Lesson assignment:

Q: Where can I start students?

A: You can assign students to start at the beginning of any Grade, Mission, or Topic. You can also re-assign students to the beginning of any Grade, Mission, or Topic at any point. We recommend students start at the beginning of a grade in our Independent Digital Lesson sequence. They will then move through the Independent Digital Lesson sequence at their own pace with personalized remediation at the exact moment they need it.

Q:If students have previously used Zearn Math, should I update their assignment?

A:If students used Zearn Math in other grades, their lesson assignment will reflect where the student last left off. Teachers can adjust the lesson assignment to the start of the new grade.

Q: Can I assign a specific Independent Digital Lesson?

A:Lesson-level assignment is a feature available with Zearn for Intervention; a top-rated program that includes the instructional materials that teachers already know and love, plus features that give teachers more flexibility when using Zearn Math to support all students. Zearn for Intervention is part of our Zearn Math School Accounts. You can learn more about these accounts here.

Q: What happens when students complete an assigned Independent Digital Lesson?

A: When a student completes an Independent Digital Lesson, they earn a Badge and advance to the next lesson in the sequence automatically.

Q: Can I prevent a student from going on to future Independent Digital Lessons?

A: After a student completes an Independent Digital Lesson, they automatically progress to the next Independent Digital Lesson. We recommendteachers set a weekly lesson completion goal and then encourage students to complete Bonuses after they have hit their goal. Instructions for accessing our Bonus questions are available here.

Q: How do I align the Independent Digital Lesson to my live instruction?

A: With Zearn, students learn new content in two formats: Independent Digital Lessons and Small Group Instruction, with you. This two-part approach helps students build deep understanding of grade-level content. You can find sample schedules with guidance on implementing this two-part approach here.

Q: How do I set a student to a Grade, Mission, or Topic?

A: Follow the steps below:

Click Roster at the top of your Zearn homepage

Choose the class with the students whose mission you'd like to change from the Switch Class dropdown menu

Select the student (or students) whose lesson youd like to change by clicking the check box next to their names

Click Change Lesson (Lessons are grouped by Topic, so you can change the group of lessons by selecting a new Topic)

In the pop-up, select a Grade, Mission, and Topic for your student(s) and click Set

In Grades 1-5, if a student is struggling in the Tower of Power, they receive scaffolded remediation at the precise moment of misconception. This is called a Boost. If a student struggles multiple times in the Tower of Power, the teacher receives a Tower Alert. The Tower Alert reports the Independent Digital Lesson the student struggled with, when they struggled, and whether they have completed that Tower and moved on to the next Independent Digital Lesson. These alerts can be sorted by date, student, and lesson. Teachers can use this report along with other lesson-level assessments to plan Flex Day mini-lessons for students struggling with similar ideas. Learn more about planning weekly Flex Days with our Zearn Recommended Schedule.

The below video provides a video tutorial on using the Tower Alerts Report.

Zearn makes moving students from one class to another very easy!

Click Roster at the top of your Zearn homepage

Choose the class that contains the student(s) youd like to move from the dropdown menu

Click the box next to the name(s) of the student(s)

Click Move Students

In the pop-up, choose your students' new classroom and click Move Students

With Zearn, you can easily edit your students usernames and passwords. We've included step-by-step instructions below, or you can watch our tutorial video!

Click Roster at the top of your Zearn homepage

Choose the class with the students whose usernames and/or passwords youd like to edit

Click on the students name

Choose Edit in the Student Info sectionand then change the students information in the pop-up

Click Save

My Stuff is a place where students can:

View (and celebrate!) Lesson Badges they have earned after completing the Tower of Power for first time

See the Digital Lessons they still need to unlock to complete a Mission

Access previous Independent Digital Lessons or Foundational Missions for extra practice or remediation

Access Digital Bonuses for enrichment

Students can navigate to My Stuff from their Student Feed.

Did your student forget their password? If so, see this article on student passwords.

If you don't remember the password to your teacher or administrator account, you can easily reset it by following these steps:

Navigate to Zearn.org and click "I forgot my password"

Enter the email address associated with your teacher account and click "Send reset email"

Check your email for a link to reset your Zearn password. If you don't see the email in your inbox, be sure to check your junk or spam folder, as sometimes district filters catch the password reset email.

Mid-Mission and End-of-Mission assessments are formative assessments administered roughly half way through the Mission and at the conclusion of the Mission respectively. For 1st5th grades, these paper assessments consist of open response items that require students to show their work or explain their thinking in a variety of ways, including drawing models and writing explanations. In Kindergarten, each paper-based assessment is designed to be administered interview style where teachers record their observations of the students work and thinking. The assessment items vary in their focus, ranging from items that highlight a students understanding of a big mathematical idea to items that are more focused on students procedural fluency. This 7-minute video provides an Overview of Zearn Math Assessments.

Mission-level assessments, available through a paid Zearn Math School Account, reflect three key design principles intended to help teachers evaluate and support student understanding:

Focus: All questions evaluate student understanding of content from the specific Mission. Problem-solving contexts are also all related to the math ideas of the specific Mission. This ensures teachers are able to determine each students level of mastery within the focus content of the mission.

Timing: Each assessment is designed to take about 30 minutes and is intended to be delivered on a Flex Day. The consistent timing allows for rich feedback on student learning for teachers while also reducing time spent assessing and time spent analyzing the assessment.

Problem Structure: Assessments are built around open response items that require students to show their work or explain their thinking in a variety of ways, including drawing models and writing explanations. Each part of any multi-step problem has a clear objective, is aligned to standards, and allows teachers to identify whether students are struggling with the foundational math concept or the multi-step aspect of the problem.

Previews of Mission-Level Samples and Answer Keys that contain the exemplar student response for each item and specific standards alignment information can be found here:

Preview Zearn Math Mission-Level Assessment (Grade Three, Mission 1)

Preview Zearn Math Mission-Level Assessment Answer Key (Grade Three, Mission 1)

As you set, track, and celebrate your classroom goals, download and print our Brainy Weekly Lesson Tracker for your classroom! This fun, bright, and brainy tracker can help students reach their goals!

Please note that these images were created by Zearn and by downloading them, you agree to use them according to Zearn's Terms of Use, for educational use only.

We have standard alignment documents for all 50 states that illustrate exactly how Zearn Math is aligned to your specific standards.For more information, and to receive your states alignment document, please send us an email at [email protected].

Before you can add your students, you first need to create a class. Follow these three quick steps:

Click Roster at the top of your Zearn homepage

Click Add Class on the left-hand side of the page

Follow the on-screen instructions

When meeting with parents to discuss student progress and growth throughout the Zearn Math curriculum, many teachers choose to share examples of student work and progress, including:

Exit Tickets

The Exit Ticket is a daily paper assessment that is focused on the content of a single lesson, but is less scaffolded than the Tower of Power. The Exit Ticket is administered at the completion of each Independent Digital Lesson, providing teachers with a second data point, in addition to the Tower of Power that they can use to monitor daily learning. As the companion to the Tower of Power, the Exit Ticket uses a single problem (or multiple problems where appropriate) to determine if the student transferred the work from the Digital Lesson to a less scaffolded, open-response item that requires students to show their thinking and work.

Student Notes

During the Guided Practice portion of Independent Digital Lessons, students are prompted to complete problems in their paper Student Notes to transfer their learning and strengthen knowledge retention. After solving an un-scaffolded problem in their notes, students are also prompted to check and correct their work. These Student Notes serve as a reference that teachers can use to demonstrate student learning.

Class-Level Reports

Zearn Math provides teachers with four reports at the classroom level that they can use to differentiate instruction and ensure all students receive the support and enrichment they need. These reports provide real-time data and insights into student pace, progress, and areas of struggle during Digital Lessons.

For more inspiration on engaging parents with Zearn Math, we invite you to join our Facebook community, where you can connect with thousands of teachers using our curriculum, to ask questions and share ideas.

Zearn Math for Kindergarten is a full curriculum designed to build strong math foundations and be developmentally appropriate for young students. If you have completed instruction for all six Missions of the curriculum, here are a few things to keep in mind before transitioning students to Zearn Math for 1st grade.

Consider repeating Digital Activities

Digital Activities are just one component of the Zearn Math for K curriculum and are designed to be short, engaging activities that build number sense. We find that many teachers, as they work through the teacher materials for all six Missions of the Zearn Math for K curriculum, allow students to repeat Digital Activities. The extra practice continues to strengthen students fluency and math foundations for later learning. Our Help Center has step-by-step instructions for changing student assignments in the digital sequence.

Transition students to 1st grade as a group

In 1st grade, students learn new content in two waysIndependent Digital Lessons and Small Group Lessonsand the curriculum is designed to be implemented in a rotational model, with 30 minutes in each rotation daily. If you and your students have finished the Zearn Math for K curriculum, a group of students should make the shift to 1st grade at the same time to support this model. You can download the G1-5 Recommended Schedule to learn more about the Zearn Math classroom model for 1st grade.

Learn about 1st grade reading and writing prompts

G1 lessons have reading prompts designed for 1st grade comprehension and include written Student Notes. These may be challenging for K students. Learn about the audio supports available in Independent Digital Lessons.

If you'd like your students to move to 1st grade lessons after they complete all Zearn Math for K Digital Activities, you can enable auto-advance with these four steps:

Click Roster at the top of your Zearn homepage when logged in

Select desired student or students

Click Change Lesson

Under Advanced Settings, select Auto-Advance to G1

As a nonprofit on a mission to ensure every child loves learning math, we strive to make Zearn accessible to all.

Currently, Zearn Independent Digital Lessons are only available in English. Our curriculum is built to support English Language Learners; please review Supporting ELL Students with Zearn Math to learn about our supports.

Zearn Math provides teachers multiple opportunities to assess students learning in a range of formats and provides students with ample opportunities to reflect and receive feedback on their learning. Daily assessments are embedded throughout the curriculum and classroom model and are designed to be an ongoing, formative assessment so teachers can review progress within a topic or reflect on learning without stopping the learning process.

Zearn Class Reports are a way for teachers tomonitor student productivity and student struggles during independent work. Teachers can access reports in real time. We recommend that teacherscheck reports at least twice per week.In Grades 1-5Zearn offers four Reports that provide insights into student learning - Progress, Pace, Tower Alerts, and Sprint Alerts. In Kindergarten, the Progress Report shows student progression on number sense activities.

If a student has left your classroom, you can easily remove the students account from your class page:

Click Roster at the top of your Zearn homepage

Choose the class of the student you'd like to remove from thedropdown menu

Check the box next to the name(s) of the student(s)

Click Remove Student

Follow the prompts to confirm and remove the student(s)

Here is a quick checklist to help get started with Zearn Math in your classroom:

Digital Bonuses are challenging problems that students can complete after they complete an Independent Digital Lesson. They are designed to challenge students and extend their learning. Digital Bonusesdon'tautomatically appear in the Student Feed; teachers can orient students to Digital Bonuses for enrichment. Students can navigate to them from their My Stuff page:

Click My Stuff on the student home page

Click on a Lesson Badge. Use the arrows to navigate to previous Lessons, Missions, and Grades

In the Lesson pop-up, click the Beat It button

Start Bonusing!

Zearn offers multipleways to engage with the hundreds of thousands of educators in the Zearn learning community:

Zearn Community on Facebook : Become a member of our Zearn Community and join the conversation! This community is a space to inspire, support, and learn with other educators teaching with Zearn Math from all across the country. Ask questions, share ideas or tips, and tell stories from your classroom! Our community is led by Zearn Teacher Leaders, educators with hands-on experience implementing and teaching with Zearn Math.

@Zearned on Twitter : Each day, Zearn shares field stories from educators across the country, including examples of anchor charts, classroom routines, and strategies for goal setting, tracking, and celebrating. By following @Zearned, youcan connect with other educators teaching with Zearn Math and share classroom best practices and success stories.

Zearn Math is designed for classroom learning, with two parts: Independent Digital Lessons and Small Group Instruction. If you would like your student to access Zearn Math at home, we recommendchecking in with your child's teacher to coordinate your child's home learning and school learning. Your child's teacher may recommend to focus on a particular Mission or Topic to support learning!

If your child isn't learning with Zearn at school, they can complete Independent Digital Lessons at home. To get started, you will need to set up a Teacher Account and add your student to your 'class'. Zearn does not offer Parent Accounts. You can find step-by-step instructions to get started here.

To learn with Zearn Math, students need to spend 30 minutes learning in Independent Digital Lessons each day and 30 minutes learning in Small Group Instruction. We also recommend a 10-15 minute opening warm up with Fluency and Word Problems to get students sharing with a range of learners. Our Implementation Resources include the Zearn Recommended Schedule.

With Teacher Accounts, all teachers can access the Printed Problem Set. This is optional practice as the printed Problem Set is translated into the Tower of Power, which is the independent practice experience in the Independent Digital Lessons. Parts of the Problem Sets could be used as optional practice if students need it.

Wild Card videos are designed to be rewarding moments of joy for students to discover as they work through their Independent Digital Lessons. These videos are included throughout the Zearn Math curriculum to encourage and reward students who are completing Digital Lessons, and include short videos such as Math Laughs and songs by our Zearn teachers. We periodically release new Wild Cards throughout the year, and these will appear in your student's feed.

Every Independent Digital Lesson and K Digital Activity includes Number Gym, an individually adaptive fluency experience that helps students build foundational number sense. For older students, Number Gym activities are designed to bridge K2 math foundations, reinforce previously learned skills, and address areas of unfinished learning.

Number Gym activities include Make and Break, Next Stop Top, Number Bond Dash, Take From 10, Take from 10: Take Two, Addition Magician, Addition Magician Returns, Form to Form, the Counting Train, Hop Skip Splash!, Sum Snacks, Bundle the Sea, Count the Cosmos, and Polar Place Values.

Try out each Number Gym activity here:

Make and Break

Next Stop Top

Number Bond Dash

Take From 10

Take From 10: Take Two

Addition Magician

Addition Magician Returns

Form to Form

The Counting Train

Hop Skip Splash!

Sum Snacks

Bundle the Sea

Count the Cosmos

Polar Place Values

This report tells teachers where each student is in the digital sequence. Each students progress is represented as a bar in this report, and each bar is colored to show the percent of Independent Digital Lessons completed in a given Mission. Some teachers may also choose to use this report to group students for Small Group Instruction - grouping students working on similar content, or mixing groups with students working with different content.

Progress Report for Grades 1 - 5

Progress Report for Kindergarten

Zearn is a nonprofit curriculum publisher and software developer on a mission to ensure all children love learning math. We work with teachers nationwide to build inclusive classroom communities where all students have equal opportunities to belong and deeply learn the math content of their grade. At the core of our mission is a belief that an understanding and love of mathematics is critical to helping all children realize their potential and to creating a generation of engaged learners who can change the world.

In pursuit of that mission, Zearn publishes Zearn Math, a top-rated K5 paper- and software-based curriculum that transforms the daily math block to create engagement and differentiation for all students. In addition to curricular materials, Zearn Math offers comprehensive professional development and School Accounts to support district- and school-wide learning. Zearn Math has received a top rating from EdReports.org, an independent nonprofit that delivers evidence-based reviews of instructional materials. Zearn Math is also rated Tier 1 by the Louisiana Department of Education and has a 5-star rating from Common Sense Education.

Watch our overview video for a guided walk-through of our curriculum.We also offer a downloadable 30-page Teaching & Learning Approach for detailed information about Zearn Math.