Braintrust Tutor Guide Braintrust Math · K–8
A pedagogy briefing for Braintrust math tutors

Why our math program looks the way it does

Why the lessons are built the way they are. The other pages tell you how to run each part. This one tells you why, so the parts that feel fixed make sense when you teach them.

Audience Tutors delivering the Braintrust Tutor’s Math Program
What this is The reasoning behind the lesson design and the research it rests on
What it is not A script — the lesson plan is your script

Start here

What every lesson is for

We find the one skill that’s blocking a student, unblock it, and keep moving them forward until they reach grade level.

This is an intervention curriculum, not a Tier I program. We don’t need a lesson for every standard, but we do need every skill students are expected to learn and build on. That’s the idea most of this page comes back to.

Groups of up to 4 Small-group, high-dosage online instruction — taught from pre-made slides with scripted tutor language.
~30–45 minutes Session length varies with the lesson plan and how complex the topic is.
Five fixed steps Identical in all eight domains, so students always know what comes next.

Why small groups. Tutoring is one of the most reliable interventions there is, and it works best when sessions are frequent, groups are small, and a trained tutor teaches from a structured curriculum. The frequency and the fixed model are what do the work — not improvising. That’s why so much of the lesson is set for you.

Where the five steps come from

Almost line for line out of the research guidance

The five steps aren’t arbitrary. Each one matches a recommendation from the research on helping students who struggle with math:

Our stepThe recommendation it implementsWhy it works 1 Warm-UpScreening and ongoing progress monitoring feeding instructional decisionsDistributed, interleaved review retains better than blocked practice — and it doubles as a prerequisite check for today’s lesson 2 FluencyDevote time in each session to fluent retrieval of basic factsEffortful computation consumes the working memory the new concept needs 3 New materialExplicit, systematic instruction · visual representations of mathematical ideasModelling, then guided practice at a high success rate, then independent work 4 Word problemsTeach word problems by their common underlying structuresStudents fail to recognise the situation, not the arithmetic 5 GameInclude motivational strategiesAlso cumulative review — the same spacing principle as Step 1

This is why the steps matter. They aren’t a house style. Each one does a job the research says has to be done, so dropping a step doesn’t save time — it removes the job.

Two steps worth understanding properly

Step 1 is a prerequisite check

It isn’t random review. It “activates the collection of recently-learned skills students need for that day’s new material, per scope & sequence.” So how Step 1 goes tells you whether Step 3 will land — before you’ve taught it. More on Student activities.

Step 2 buys capacity, not speed

A student working out 7 × 8 can’t think about what 7 × 8 is for at the same time. Fluency means fast and accurate. Correct but slow is a signal to keep the skill in fluency work, not a pass.

Why objects come first

Concrete → representational → abstract
Concrete Objects you can move Counters sorted into groups.
Representational A picture of the same idea An array or tape diagram on the slide.
Abstract The numbers alone 4 × 3 = 12.

The order is what does the work. Students who struggle learn more from this sequence than from jumping straight to the numbers, and it also beats staying with the objects the whole time. Starting concrete and moving to abstract is the part that matters.

Objects are a means, not the point. They help when they’re tied closely to the math and set aside on purpose, and they get in the way when handling them becomes the activity. So the abstract stage isn’t the one to run out of time for.

Why domains, not one sequence

And why the diagnostic starts below grade level

Reading is one ladder — a student sits at one place on it. Math is eight domains, each its own grade-spanning progression, worked one at a time to grade-level proficiency. A student’s position in one says nothing about their position in another: a 5th grader can be solid in number systems and three years back in fractions.

That structure is what lets placement be precise. “Grade 5” isn’t somewhere you teach to. A numbered lesson inside a named domain is. Full map and grade bands: The domains.

Why the diagnostic starts two to three grades back

Starting a few grades back gives you something you can teach from. The assessment climbs until it reaches the skill a student hasn’t got yet, and that skill is where you begin — a specific lesson, on a specific day, rather than a score. More on Assessments.

So students are usually working below grade level — by design

A 5th grader on grade-2 place value means the diagnostic found the real floor. Don’t rush toward grade level — the domain’s post-assessment comes when the skill is actually there, and skipping ahead rebuilds the gap you’re trying to close. And teach a below-grade lesson the same way you’d teach any other. It’s the right lesson for that student today, written for the skill rather than the age.

Math vs. reading

If you teach both, some things transfer and some do not
ReadingMath StructureOne sequence, Levels 0–9Eight domains, worked one at a time PlacementOne position in one ladderDiagnostic entry point per domain, 2–3 domains assessed Moving onNext lessonGrade-level proficiency, then the domain post-assessment Lesson steps75 Graded activitiesSteps 2–7 (Step 1 is oral, ungraded)Steps 1–4 (Step 5 game is ungraded) Gradual releaseI Do / We Do / You Do in Step 3I Do / We Do / You Do in Steps 3 and 4 Core sequenceSounds → letters → words → textObjects → picture → rule The gameOptional, if time allowsOptional, if time allows Mastery thresholdTwo students MasteredTwo students Mastered — same rule
Transfers The release model, the two-student mastery rule, and the discipline of not coaching a student through a graded activity.
Does not transfer The step numbers and what they mean. “Step 4” is a word chain in reading and word-problem application in math.

If you remember one thing

Math intervention isn’t re-teaching a grade. It’s finding the one skill blocking a student and unblocking it. The domains exist so you can be that precise. The five steps keep the student’s attention on the new idea instead of on working out what happens next. And Step 3 starts with objects because that’s the order understanding actually forms in.

Sources

Where every claim in this guide comes from

Braintrust internal

  • Math Program, SY 25/26 scope & sequence — all eight domain tabs: lesson numbers, grades, standards
  • Production lesson plans — step names, timings, support sections
  • Platform question export — confirms graded Activity Steps 1–4

Research base

  • Gersten, R. et al. (2009) — Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: RtI, IES Practice Guide
  • Bruner, J. (1966) — enactive, iconic, symbolic modes
  • Witzel, Mercer & Miller (2003) — CRA sequencing in algebra
  • Fyfe, McNeil et al. — concreteness fading
  • Carbonneau, Marley & Selig (2013) — manipulatives meta-analysis
  • Jitendra et al. — schema-based word-problem instruction
  • Jordan et al. (2009) — early number competence predicts later achievement
  • Geary, D. — fact retrieval and working memory
  • Rohrer & Taylor (2007) — distributed and interleaved practice
  • Pearson & Gallagher (1983) — gradual release of responsibility
  • Rosenshine, B. (2012) — Principles of Instruction
  • Black & Wiliam (1998) — formative assessment
  • Sweller, J. — cognitive load theory
  • Nickow, Oreopoulos & Quan (2020) — tutoring meta-analysis
  • NCTM (2014) — Principles to Actions
NextThe domains

© 2026 Braintrust Tutors. Proprietary and confidential — for use by licensed Braintrust partner schools and tutors. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.

Braintrust Math · K–8
Teaching the Braintrust Tutor’s Math Program

The eight domains

Each domain is its own ladder, running across grades. A student works one domain at a time until they reach grade level in it, takes that domain’s post-assessment, and then moves on to the next — usually starting with Number Systems & Place Value.

Domains8
Lessons482
Sequence spansK–10
Steps per lesson5

How a student moves

One domain at a time, entered where the gap is
1Diagnostic places them2–3 domains assessed, starting 2–3 grades back, climbing to the point of frustration.
2Work forward in one domainLesson by lesson from the entry point. Two students Mastered to advance.
3Reach grade levelThe target is grade-level skill in that domain — not the end of the lesson list.
4Post-assessment, then nextEvery domain has a pre and post assessment, and all students take them.

Where a student sits in one domain tells you nothing about another. A 5th grader can be solid in number systems and three years back in fractions. That’s why placement is done per domain, and why “Grade 5” isn’t somewhere you teach to. A numbered lesson inside a named domain is.

The domain map

What each one covers, and how far it runs
CodeDomainLessonsGradesStarts withEnds with NSPVNumber Systems & Place Value69K–8Counting to 5Rational vs. irrational numbers ADSUAddition & Subtraction52K–8Addition with objects within 5Estimating with irrational numbers MUDIMultiplication & Division58K–8Equal groups and sharingDecimal quotients and beyond MEASMeasurement33K–8Comparing lengths and heightsIndirect measurement with proportions ALGEPre-Algebra & Algebra743–9Identifying arithmetic patternsComparing data distributions FRPRFractions & Proportional Reasoning55K–8Equal parts and halvesLinear vs. non-linear relationships GEOMGeometry90K–10Identifying 2D shapesProbability, sample spaces, Venn diagrams STATStatistics & Probability513–8Early data and graphsCorrelation vs. causation

Math runs past grade 8: ALGE reaches grade 9 and GEOM reaches grade 10, where its later lessons are organised into named units.

Grade bands

Which lesson numbers are which grade

Every domain is ordered by grade, so a lesson’s number tells you the grade of the skill. Find the domain row and read across.

DomainK12345678910 NSPV1–1011–1920–2526–3334–3940–4849–5556–6263–69—— ADSU2–78–1819–2425–3132–3536–4041–4344–5051–53—— MUDI12–34–78–2021–2930–3738–4344–4849–52—— MEAS1–45–1112–1920–2324–2728–2930–313233—— ALGE———1–34–67–1112–2324–3435–5253–74— FRPR12–34–67–1314–2324–3435–4344–5253–55—— GEOM1–34–56–78–1516–2223–2829–3637–4546–5556–7374–90 STAT———1–56–89–1112–2526–4041–51——
Students are usually working below grade level — that is the program working

A 5th grader working NSPV 20–25 — grade-2 place value — doesn’t mean something has gone wrong. It means the diagnostic found the real floor. So don’t rush toward grade level. The post-assessment comes when the skill is actually there. And don’t teach a below-grade lesson as though it’s remedial: it’s the right lesson for that student today, written for the skill rather than the age.

Where a domain stops for your group

And when to tell Tutor Support
Don’t teach past your students’ grade The last teaching lesson in a domain is the last one at your students’ grade. If the last 2nd-grade lesson is 2.25 and your group is 2nd graders, no lessons past that should be taught.
Moving to the next domain You don’t have to ask for it. Once the group finishes the domain, the platform assigns the next domain’s pre-assessment and then its lessons on the following sessions.

Standards & coverage

Why not every standard has a lesson

Every lesson in the sequence carries its standards. Coverage is checked against six partner states plus Common Core:

FloridaNew YorkCaliforniaTexasIllinoisMichiganCommon Core

Because this is intervention rather than a core curriculum, coverage targets the major work of the grade plus the prerequisites that unlock it — the skills everything later depends on. We don’t need a lesson for every standard, but we do need every skill students are expected to learn and build on.

What is built today

So you know what to expect when you open a domain
DomainIn the sequenceLesson plans built NSPV6969 ADSU5253 MEAS3333 ALGE7474 FRPR5555 GEOM9090 MUDI5835 STAT510

If a lesson your student needs doesn’t exist yet, it’s a known gap, not something missing from your materials. Contact Tutor Support and they’ll route you.

PreviousWhy this program NextLesson plans

© 2026 Braintrust Tutors. Proprietary and confidential — for use by licensed Braintrust partner schools and tutors. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.

Braintrust Math · K–8
Teaching the Braintrust Tutor’s Math Program

Lesson plans

The plan is your script. It gives you the objective, the timing, the big ideas, the exact I Do wording, the practice items with their answers, the mistakes to watch for, and how to reteach if it doesn’t land. The lesson materials are linked in the platform. You don’t choose the lesson — the platform puts it on the session for you, based on where the group is.

Four views of the same plan

Switch with the tabs at the top

Every plan opens on Overview, a one-screen summary you can scan before the session. Detailed is the plan you teach from. Misconceptions and Reteach are the two you’ll want open when a lesson doesn’t land.

The shape of every plan

Five steps, then four support sections

Every plan opens with the objective and a total duration, then runs the five steps with a suggested time on each. Sessions run about 30–45 minutes, depending on the lesson and how complex the topic is. The ✏ pencil marks where a student activity gets launched.

StepNameTimeWhat the plan gives you 1Warm-Up~3 minThe prerequisite items for today’s new material, as a launchable activity. Put this slide up as students join and invite them in as they arrive. 2Fluency~3 minIsolated fact and skill practice, as a launchable activity 3New Material — Arithmetic / Skill Applications~10–15 minBig Ideas · Useful Strategies · I Do script · We Do items · You Do questions 4New Material — Word Problem Applications~7–10 minBig Idea · Strategies · a problem-solving framework · worked examples · We Do · You Do 5Game (optional)~5–10 minA link to the Game Picker — never a named game
Misconceptions & ChallengesThe mistakes students actually make in this lesson — usually four or five — each with a move to clear it up.
Reteach · Steps 3–4How to reteach the new material differently, with tools to explore. Reteaching starts where the new material starts, so you don’t repeat warm-up and fluency.
DifferentiationThree cases: if students need more support, if students are secure, and online group.
ELL supportKey vocabulary for the lesson plus sentence frames, so students can answer in a full sentence.

Inside Steps 3 and 4

Where the teaching actually happens

Both new-material steps run the same three phases. They’re three different jobs, not three paragraphs.

I Do You teach. They watch. A script you can use word for word. Say it out loud rather than paraphrasing. You ask nothing here — nobody can be wrong yet.
We Do You do it together. Guided items, each with the cue to say alongside it. Every student answers every item, and you give a little less help each time. This is where the handover happens.
You Do ✏ They work. You watch. The graded questions, with their answers and the number of them, right in the plan. This is the assessment: hands off, notes on.
Step 3 also names Big Ideas and Useful Strategies The Big Ideas are the two or three things a student has to actually understand. The Useful Strategies are the concrete moves — for counting objects, say: line, array, circle, scattered, each with its own approach. Say them out loud. They are the teaching, not background.
Step 4 gives you a problem-solving framework Use the CUBES model on the slide to demonstrate, plus the worked examples you model first. Some plans also suggest specific strategies and key words to look for. What you’re teaching is a strategy for a type of problem — students who struggle with word problems usually can’t recognise the situation, not the arithmetic.

Teach it as written

And what is still yours to change

Teach the numbers, examples, problems and activities exactly as written. Don’t swap in new content, invent examples, or make your own materials. This isn’t about trust: the items are sequenced against what students already know and matched to the graded questions, so changing one breaks both.

Does not flex
  • The order of the steps.
  • Which steps happen — none get dropped.
  • The words, numbers and problems on the slides.
  • Teaching from the slides. That part is required.
  • Students doing the ✏ activities themselves.
Flexes, and should
  • How you explain the idea.
  • How fast you go.
  • How many times you re-run a concept demo.
  • How much you model before releasing.
  • Which built-in scaffolds you reach for.

Short version: the what and the when are fixed. The how is yours. With four or fewer students, differentiating means the built-in manipulatives, slower pacing and tiered questioning — not breakout rooms, and not new content.

Reteaching

When fewer than two students master the lesson

At least two students in the group need to reach Mastered before you move on, and the platform will tell you when that doesn’t happen. Fewer than two is your signal to reteach rather than push ahead — domains build on themselves, so moving over a gap makes it bigger. Start at Step 3, where the new material begins. You don’t need to repeat the review portions.

I Do, againA new explanation, new examples, or a slower pace. Not the same words louder.
We Do, more of itAsk more. Have students walk through their thinking one step at a time, out loud.
Before You DoHave them explain the idea back to you in their own words before they start.

Reteaching isn’t repeating. Going through the same lesson the same way won’t help, because the first way is what didn’t land. Use the plan’s Reteach section — it tells you why the skill is hard, how to slow it down, which tools to explore, and gives you a checkpoint question. Reteach all parts of Step 3, then re-launch the Student Activity questions for Steps 3 and 4. Student Performance will show the updated scores.

With any time left, use the lesson game to keep reinforcing the skill. If a group keeps missing mastery across several lessons, contact Tutor Support — that’s a signal about placement, not about you.

PreviousThe domains NextTeaching slides

© 2026 Braintrust Tutors. Proprietary and confidential — for use by licensed Braintrust partner schools and tutors. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.

Braintrust Math · K–8
Close ✕Detailed — the full plan, step by step, with every question and its answer.
Detailed — the full plan, step by step, with every question and its answer.
Close ✕Misconceptions & Challenges — the error you’ll see beside the move that clears it up.
Misconceptions & Challenges — the error you’ll see beside the move that clears it up.
Close ✕Reteach — why the skill is hard, how to teach it differently, tools to explore, and a checkpoint.
Reteach — why the skill is hard, how to teach it differently, tools to explore, and a checkpoint.
Teaching the Braintrust Tutor’s Math Program

Teaching slides

Each lesson includes teaching slides that align with the lesson steps and activities — all the steps, explanations, and student activities in the lesson plan. Teaching our lessons using the teaching slides is required.

Where to find them, and the activity slides

Before you present
Where to find them Teaching slides are linked in the platform alongside the lesson, and available in the Curriculum library on the tutor dashboard.
A slide sends students to their activity A slide references students to complete their activity everywhere the lesson plan uses the ✏. You will also have the content covered on that exercise within the teaching slides, to discuss any tricky questions and / or responses as a group once students have submitted their answers.

How a lesson deck runs

The same shape every time

Every deck follows the same order, and each part of the lesson opens with its own splash slide so students can see where they are. The slides match the lesson plan step for step, and the step tag in the top-right corner always tells you where you are — the step number, and whether you’re in I Do, We Do or You Do.

Open
Cover, then the objectiveThe lesson number, the title, and what students will be able to do by the end.
Step 1 ✏
Warm-upA row of prerequisite questions for today’s new material.
Step 2 ✏
FluencyA second question row, timed.
Step 3 · I Do
Key vocabulary, then the concept slidesTerm cards first, then the teaching slides — usually six, numbered Idea 01 of 06. Each one is the idea in words on the left and a live demo on the right that you drive.
Step 3 · We Do
Guided practicePractice cards you work through together, revealing a step at a time.
Step 3 · You Do ✏
Independent practiceA ten-question grid. Students answer in their drawer on the platform.
Step 4
Word problemsThe same three phases again: you model two problems with the tape diagram and draw tools, then you work two together, then students do their own set ✏.
Step 5
GameA launch slide that opens the Game Center. Optional, and the reward for the work.
Close
Great jobThe closing celebration slide.
The ✏ slides are the platform slides Warm-up, fluency, You Do and the word-problem You Do all carry the pencil, and each one reads Work in the Braintrust platform — answers on these slides aren’t saved along the bottom. Answers typed on a slide are not captured. Launch the activity, watch the live results, and walk a question through on the slides when the results show a struggle.

The controls

Two buttons on the left, two on the slide
Resources The menu button. Go to step jumps you to any step in the lesson. Language switches the slide language — English, ELL, Spanish, Arabic, French, Mandarin. Open presenter view puts your speaker notes in a separate window; if your browser blocks pop-ups, the notes dock beside the slide instead.
Tools The manipulatives for this lesson: ten frames, rekenrek, number line, hundreds chart. Which ones appear depends on the lesson. They open over the slide and close with the X.
Say it like this Bottom-right of a question slide. A sentence frame students can borrow when they explain their answer out loud.
Key words Beside it. The two or three terms this slide depends on, with short definitions.
Blow up one question Every question card carries a magnifier in its top-right corner. Click it and that question fills the screen over the dimmed row, with the draw tools ready. Close it with the X, by clicking outside, or with Esc. Useful for walking the group through the one question the results flagged.

Differentiating with what’s already there

The content stays fixed; how you deliver it is yours

With four or fewer students you can meet everyone where they are without changing the lesson. Everything below is built into the deck — no new content, no separate materials, no breakout rooms.

Reach for a manipulative Open Tools and put the idea in front of them. Ten frames and the rekenrek for building and counting quantities, the number line for moving along a sequence, the hundreds chart for patterns across tens. Which tools appear depends on the lesson.
Slow the pace, tier the questions Stay on a phase longer. Ask an easier version of the question first, then the real one. On the I Do concept slides, New Example gives you another example on the same idea, so “more practice before we move on” is always available.
Expand one question The magnifier makes a single question fill the screen with the draw tools on. Good for a student who is losing the thread in a row of ten, and good for working one problem together as a group.
Annotate on the slide Circle a digit, underline the step, track a count as you go. This is the one form of drawing that’s sanctioned — it marks up the material rather than replacing it.
Give them the words Say it like this hands a student a sentence frame to borrow when they explain their answer. Key words is the two or three terms the slide depends on. Both are per-slide, so what they show follows the lesson.
What not to do Don’t swap in your own numbers, examples or materials. The items are sequenced against what students already know and matched to the graded questions, so changing one breaks both.

Language

Six options, one switch

Open Resources → Language and pick. The choice applies to every slide in the deck, and you can change it mid-session.

English The deck as written.
ELL Simplified English rather than a second language. Same slide, same content, plainer wording.
Spanish, French, Mandarin, Arabic The slide text in that language. Arabic reads right to left, and the layout flips with it.
Word help A separate setting. The slide itself stays in English and only the Key words explanations change language — for a student who follows the lesson in English but needs a term unpacked in their own.

Answer choices always stay in English, in every language and every mode. Only the question and the teaching text translate.

Reteaching ≠ repeating

When fewer than two students reach mastery

Simply going through the same lesson the same way won’t help. Reteach differently.

When at least two students in your group reach “Mastered” on an activity, you’re on track. If fewer than two reach mastery, that’s your signal to reteach rather than push ahead — the platform will notify you. Start at Step 3, where new material begins; you don’t need to repeat the review portions.

I DoTry a new explanation, example, or pacing.
We DoAsk more questions — have students walk through their thinking step by step.
Before You DoAsk students to explain the concept in their own words before starting activities.

The goal isn’t checking a “retaught” box — it’s genuine understanding. Take the time to find where confusion lives and adjust until students truly get it. If the group continues to struggle with mastery across multiple lessons, contact Tutor Support.

Working on top of a slide

Sometimes required, sometimes off-limits

In some instances, there will be places during the “I do” or “We do” sections with a direction “Show a picture of …” that require the tutor to draw a picture to model a visual thinking math strategy. In this case, you will annotate directly on the slide to provide an appropriate visual matching the prompt in the directions provided. For example: “show a picture of 10 apples.”

Beyond those prompts, you can still annotate — circle a digit, underline a step, track a count as you go. That marks up the material rather than replacing it, so it’s a good differentiation move. Where a slide doesn’t ask for a picture and the lesson still seems to need a visual that isn’t in the deck, flag it rather than filling the gap live.

PreviousLesson plans NextStudent activities

© 2026 Braintrust Tutors. Proprietary and confidential — for use by licensed Braintrust partner schools and tutors. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.

Braintrust Math · K–8
Close ✕An I Do concept slide: the idea on the left, a demo on the right. ×10 and ÷10 move the digit; New Example gives you a fresh one.
An I Do concept slide: the idea on the left, a demo on the right. ×10 and ÷10 move the digit; New Example gives you a fresh one.
Close ✕The You Do grid. Students answer these in the platform — the ✏ in the step tag and the footer note both say so.
The You Do grid. Students answer these in the platform — the ✏ in the step tag and the footer note both say so.
Close ✕A word problem expanded to fill the screen, with the tape diagram behind a reveal and the draw tools along the bottom.
A word problem expanded to fill the screen, with the tape diagram behind a reveal and the draw tools along the bottom.
Close ✕A warm-up row. Every question card has a magnifier for blowing one question up.
A warm-up row. Every question card has a magnifier for blowing one question up.
Teaching the Braintrust Tutor’s Math Program

Student activities

Wherever the lesson plan shows a ✏, students work on their own and the platform scores it. Steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 are graded. Step 5, the game, is not. These four activities are how you find out whether the lesson landed.

The five things this page covers

  1. Your lesson plan and teaching slides tell you when to launch each activity.
  2. Steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 are graded. Step 5, the game, is not.
  3. Activities live in the Activities tab of the session drawer. The step dropdown opens on a Suggested next step — change it if you need to, then launch.
  4. Launch every step the lesson calls for, in order. Skipping leaves gaps in the data.
  5. Scoring happens automatically. Check Student Performance → Activities between sessions.

The four graded steps

What each one tells you
StepActivityWhat a wrong answer here means 1Warm-UpSomething they needed for today is missing. Treat it as an early warning — Step 3 is unlikely to land. 2FluencyThe facts aren’t automatic yet. Keep them in fluency work. This is not a reteach signal. 3New material — skillToday’s teaching didn’t land. This is the one that drives your reteach decision. 4New material — word problemsThey may have the arithmetic but not the problem structure. Reteach the strategy, not the computation.
Launch every step the lesson calls for, in order

Scoring happens on its own. Launching doesn’t. If a step never runs, there’s no data for it — and the student’s record is missing a piece. That makes it harder for anyone reading it later, families included, to see what the student actually knows. The platform won’t stop you or flag the gap.

Running them on the platform

Before, during and after the session
1

Opening your session

Before students arrive

The session drawer opens on the Agenda tab, which is always present. It lists everything assigned for the session, grouped by type, with the students assigned shown on each card.

Knowing where to start

When a lesson carries over from a previous session, the agenda tells you which step to begin on — for example Begin today’s lesson at Step 3. You don’t need to work this out yourself, and re-taught lessons get the same treatment. A lesson counts as incomplete if the last activity wasn’t finished, and that is what drives the guidance you see.

2

Running the activity

During the session
One Activities tab, one suggested step A single Activities tab holds every step of the lesson, and the dropdown inside it opens on the Suggested next step: the first activity on a lesson’s first session, the next one in order when a session ended partway through, and Step 3 on a reteach. It’s a suggestion — change it when you need to, then launch. With several students, “where you left off” means the furthest-along student.
Students get 2 attempts Each question allows two attempts to answer correctly. That is deliberate — a student is meant to reconsider on their own, which is exactly the space a nudge from you would take away.

Reading live results

Once students are working, results appear on their own. Activities score themselves — you never mark anything correct or incorrect. Your job is to watch and respond to what you see.

Green

Correct

Orange

Correct on a retry

Red

Incorrect

Orange means a student got there on a retry, with 2 attempts labelled underneath. A student who caught their own error is a different signal from one who got it first time — worth noticing.

3

Reading your data

Between sessions
Student Performance → Activities On the Group Details page. Every active student is listed, including anyone who hasn’t completed an activity yet. A filter controls whether you’re seeing all historic data or only data inside the program’s date range; check it first if the numbers look off. Each student’s name carries an icon link that opens their individual Growth Report in a new tab.
Session History Its own tab, one level down from Group Details. Shows what each student actually worked on per session, not just the group’s main assignment. For lessons you’ll see a count of activities completed — hover the count to see which ones. The assigned lesson appears even when no activities were completed, so the record stays complete.

While students work

Helping without doing it for them

This is the hardest part of the job. Watching a student struggle and not stepping in goes against instinct. But if you help a student through an activity, the score says the lesson worked when it didn’t — and the platform will tell you the group is ready to move on.

You can
  • Read the instruction out loud again.
  • Say the task a different way, without solving any of it.
  • Wait. Count to five before you fill a silence.
  • Say “try the next one and come back to that.”
  • Praise sticking with something hard.
You cannot
  • Work any part of the problem aloud.
  • Point at the answer, or quietly rule out wrong options.
  • Say “are you sure?” — see below.
  • Confirm answers one at a time as they go.
  • Re-teach mid-activity. Note it and teach it properly afterwards.
“Are you sure?” is not a question — and with two attempts it costs more than you think

It’s a correction with a question mark on the end. Nobody asks it when a student is right, and students work that out fast. It tells them they’re wrong without teaching them anything, and it turns their independent work into yours.

Two attempts make this matter more. The second attempt is there so a student can catch their own mistake, and catching it is real evidence they understand. Nudge them into it and you’ve spent that attempt for them — the record shows your save, not theirs.

And you are not idle — watch for which kind of error

What you seeWhat it meansWhat you do Wrong on today’s new skillToday’s teaching did not landReteach from Step 3 — differently Wrong on a prerequisiteA gap further back in the domainNote it; it may change the placement conversation Right, but slow and effortfulKnown, not yet automaticKeep it in fluency work. Not a reteach. Right on the second attemptThey caught their own error — a good signNothing. That is the design working. Right computation, wrong setupWord-problem structure, not arithmeticReteach Step 4’s strategy Same error across the groupUsually the explanation, not the studentsChange how you explain it, not how loudly

What the data decides

Advance, or reteach
Two or more Mastered At least two students in the group reach Mastered — move to the next lesson.
Fewer than two Reteach all parts of Step 3, differently, then re-launch the Student Activity questions for Steps 3 and 4. Student Performance will reflect the updated scores. Details on Lesson plans.

With any time remaining, use the lesson game to continue to reinforce skills. If the group continues to struggle with mastery across multiple lessons, contact Tutor Support.

Domains build on themselves, so moving past a gap doesn’t leave it small. It grows, and the domain’s post-assessment is where it shows up. See Assessments.

What to expect

Known platform behaviour, and where to get help
Session History search matches names only Typing a lesson or activity title into the search field returns nothing, even when that lesson is visible in the table. Search by student name instead.
Slide work is not recorded Anything students click, drag or annotate on the teaching slides isn’t captured. The slides are for teaching. Graded work is the ✏ activities, which you launch separately.
Getting help A support button sits in the bottom-right corner of most pages — everywhere except inside an active session. It answers questions from the Onboarding resources and can connect you to a live representative.
PreviousTeaching slides NextAssessments

© 2026 Braintrust Tutors. Proprietary and confidential — for use by licensed Braintrust partner schools and tutors. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.

Braintrust Math · K–8
Teaching the Braintrust Tutor’s Math Program

Assessments

Every domain has a pre and post assessment, and all students take both. The pre-assessment decides where a student starts in the domain; the post-assessment confirms the domain is closed before they move to the next one.

The loop

Diagnose → place → teach → measure → decide
Once, at intakePre-assessmentFinds the floor in each assessed domain and sets the entry lesson.
Every lessonStep 1 warm-upA prerequisite check for today’s new material, and the earliest signal you get.
Every lessonSteps 1–4 activitiesThey score themselves as students work. This is what decides advance or reteach.
End of a domainPost-assessmentTaken once the student reaches grade level in that domain.

When they land on your session

The platform puts them there

You don’t schedule assessments. The platform places them on a session based on where the group is, and you walk in with the agenda already set. Your first session is reserved for an icebreaker — nothing is assigned.

Assigned per student Pre-assessments go to each student individually, so students in the same session may be working different ones. A student who already submitted an assessment during this program doesn’t retake it, even if they moved into your group partway through.
When a student has finished theirs If they’ve completed every pre-assessment and the group hasn’t moved on yet, nothing is assigned to them for that session. Use the time as you see fit — a game or an independent activity.
The group moves on together Once most of the group has finished (60% by default, and at least one student), the group advances to building blocks and lessons. A student who joins after lessons start doesn’t count toward that, so a late arrival won’t hold the group back.
Someone who still owes one It shows up on their next session, even after the group has moved on to lessons. If everyone present owes an assessment, it replaces the lesson for that session.
Post-assessments They land on the last sessions of the program — either when enough students are ready, or when only enough sessions remain to fit them in. End-of-program reporting depends on that data, so they always fire.
Changing what’s assigned You can override anything through Assign Lesson. Once a session has been set manually, the platform leaves it alone.

The pre-assessment

One test, with a branching algorithm
2–3 domains, chosen by the school Not all eight. The school selects which domains matter for their students, and the diagnostic assesses those.
Aligned to our scope & sequence The questions map onto our own lessons rather than a generic grade-level bank, which is why the result names a lesson instead of a score band.
Starts 2–3 grades behind It starts below grade level on purpose, then climbs, branching on what the student gets right.
Stops at the point of frustration It works up through each domain until the student can’t succeed any more, then stops. That boundary is where they start.

Why it starts low. Starting two or three grades back gives you something you can teach from. The assessment climbs until it reaches a skill the student hasn’t got yet, and that skill is where you begin — a specific lesson, not a score band.

The post-assessment

The gate between domains

Each domain has its own post-assessment, and every student takes it once they’ve reached grade level in that domain. It confirms the domain is genuinely closed before they start the next one. The last teaching lesson in a domain is the last one at your students’ grade — don’t teach past it.

This is why you don’t rush toward grade level

It comes when the skill is actually there, not when the calendar or the lesson count says it should be. Pushing a student forward to get there sooner rebuilds the gap you’re trying to close, and the assessment will find it.

What decides advance or reteach

Lesson by lesson, this is the rule
Two or more Mastered At least two students in the group reach Mastered — you’re on track. Move to the next lesson.
Fewer than two Reteach rather than push ahead — the platform will notify you. Teach all of Step 3 differently, then re-launch the Student Activity questions for Steps 3 and 4. See Lesson plans.

Domains build on themselves, so moving past a gap doesn’t leave it small. It grows, and the post-assessment is where it shows up. If a group keeps missing mastery across several lessons, that’s a placement signal — contact Tutor Support.

PreviousStudent activities NextGames

© 2026 Braintrust Tutors. Proprietary and confidential — for use by licensed Braintrust partner schools and tutors. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.

Braintrust Math · K–8
Teaching the Braintrust Tutor’s Math Program

Games

Step 5, and optional. About 5–10 minutes of reinforcement at the end of the session, from the Braintrust Game Picker. The plan links the Picker and never names a specific game, because the right one depends on your group and the time you have left. Often a lesson stretches over more than one session — fit the game in wherever it lands.

Open it: Braintrust Game Picker ↗ — also linked at the top of every lesson plan and again at the game step.

Why there is a game step

It isn’t filler
Motivation is a recommendation, not a nicety The research our lesson model is built on puts motivational strategies alongside explicit instruction and fluency work. Most students in intervention have spent a long time finding math unrewarding, so ending on something they enjoy is part of the design.
It’s also spaced practice Coming back to a skill after a gap sticks better than drilling it all at once. Which lessons you feed the game is what turns it into review — see below.

Using the Game Picker

Four steps, then launch
01Pick your subjectSwitch the Picker to the math subject.
02Find a gameSearch by lesson name or number, or browse the game cards. Each card shows how many lessons it covers.
03Select the lessonsChoose which lessons to include — the game draws its content from them.
04Launch GameLaunch Game stays disabled until at least one lesson is selected. Then name up to four players, or choose Solo Play.
The lesson selection is the instructional decision

Pick only the lesson you just taught and the game reviews that skill, which helps when it was hard. Add earlier lessons and it becomes cumulative review, which is what you want once the skill is solid. It takes thirty seconds and changes what those ten minutes do.

The deck ends on a celebration slide. Use it. Naming what students got done takes ten seconds, and for students who’ve found math discouraging for a long time, it isn’t a throwaway.

Two rules

Both come up in QA
The plan never names a game If a Materials line or a slide names one specific game, that’s a defect — flag it. The plan links the Picker so you can match the game to your group and the time left.
The game is not the graded work Step 5 isn’t graded. What decides advance-or-reteach comes from Steps 1–4, so a game never stands in for launching those — see Student activities.

If you’re short on time, the game is the part that flexes. End deliberately either way rather than letting the session trail off. And if you’ve just retaught a lesson, use any time left on the game to keep reinforcing the skill.

PreviousAssessments