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27 Resources Math Teachers Use to Build Mathematical Understanding

A female math teacher sitting at a table with a female middle school-aged student


Math teachers use a variety of resources to help students build conceptual understanding, strengthen problem-solving skills, and make meaningful connections between mathematics and the real world. Interactive platforms, visual learning tools, and ready-to-use lesson materials support differentiated instruction while keeping students engaged. Below are resources recommended to enhance classroom instruction by math teachers enrolled in Rutgers Alternate Route Program.


Achieve the Core
Teacher Name: Marcelo Realpe
Grade: 6-8

"This site helps you focus on core standards to focus your pacing and lesson creation."
 

ALEKS
Teacher Name: Briana Guinta
Grade: 6-8

"The benefits of ALEKS are that the standards taught in the classroom are linked directly from the textbook to ALEKS."
 

Carnegie Learning
Teacher Name: Mary Ruiz
Grade: 9-12

"Carnegie Learning benefits students by providing personalized, AI-driven support (MATHia) for independent learning, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and resilience through "productive struggle," and boosting engagement with real-world examples, collaboration, and gamification, all while empowering teachers with research-backed, practical professional development for effective blended math instruction."
 

DeltaMath
Teacher Name: Brendley Nathaniel
Grade: 9-12

"I use this in my classroom weekly. It is a great way to assign homework that isn't busywork or a waste of time for students and teachers. Teachers can create specific assignments broken down by topic and difficulty. Students can see examples and get help with problems. An added benefit is that it is graded automatically (but it isn't just multiple choice)!"


Desmos
Teacher Name: Isaiah Roberts
Grade: 6-8

"Small lessons and activities for students to practice a newly learned skill, and you can adjust the pace of the activity to use it as teacher-led or student-paced."
 

Dyslexiclogic 
Teacher Name: Dina Ali
Grade: K-5

"Good phonics resource for those students who struggle with dyslexia."


Lesson Plan 1: Miles of Tiles – The Pool Border Problem
Teacher Name: Nithya Narayanan
Grade: 6-8

"It provides a visual understanding of the equation. It is the foundation of algebra with real-world examples."


LibraryThing/Author/JohnAVandewalle
Teacher Name: Rodrick Hampton
Grade: 6-8; K-5

"This site offers resources dedicated to mathematics for grades K-8. The author John A. Van de Walle provides the rationale for a paradigm shift in Mathematics instruction that runs counter to many common practices."


HowStuffWorks
Teacher Name: Sonal Rengunthwar
Grade: 6-8

"HowStuffWorks explains real-world applications of science and everyday phenomena. It can be used to show students how math concepts like measurements, statistics, and probabilities are used in real life, making learning more relevant and interesting."
 

How To Embed Maths Strategies
Teacher Name: Cristian Fernandez
Grade: 9-12

"I believe that the Teacher Toolkit site helps in the following ways: a) offers practical, classroom-ready strategies, b) supports differentiation, c) supports equitable participation, d) promotes deeper student thinking and independence, and e) strengthens mathematical communication with collaboration."
 

Illustrative Mathematics
Teacher Name: Maral Arezoomand
Grade: 9-12

"Offers free, standards-aligned problems and lessons with multiple solution strategies."
 

Kuta Software (Specific to Pre-Algebra-Calculus)
Teacher Name: Massiel Peralta Garcia
Grade: 9-12

"It gives free worksheets that can be used to drill certain skills."
 

Math Drills
Teacher Name: Noble Avellino
Grade: 9-12

"The students at my school are significantly behind in the basics of math. Their arithmetic skills are shaky, their understanding of fractions is poor, and that takes precious time away during math class to teach new content. Math Drills is an online resource that provides materials for me to improve my students' arithmetic skills through repetition. Not having to create these on my own, and being able to give students different worksheets depending on their ability is a huge help."
 

MATLAB Onramp
Teacher Name: Tierra Terry
Grade: 9-12

"Learn the basics of MATLAB through this introductory tutorial on commonly used features and workflows. Get started with the MATLAB language and environment so that you can analyze science and engineering data."
 

Math Medic
Teacher Name: Jialin Zeng
Grade: 9-12

"Amazing website with free math lesson plans."
 

Mastery for All
Teacher Name: Marcelo Realpe
Grade: 6-8

"How to teach mathematics visually and inspire motivation."
 

Math Playground
Teacher Name: Julie Moultrie
Grade: 6-8

"Students learn math while playing games."
 

Math with Mr. J
Teacher Name: Jacob Garcia
Grade: 6-8

"Mr. J breaks down mathematical concepts in a clear and concise way and this is a good resource to share in class or with students for homework."
 

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Teacher Name: Ventris Wright
Grade: 6-8

"Provides several pieces of information and classroom resources."
 

Nearpod
Teacher Name: Sonal Khedkar
Grade: K-5

"It has lots of ready-to-use activities. Nearpod creates slides for you as per the standards. You can also choose an activity from the Nearpod Library or the District Library. There are Filters available for grades, subjects, and standards."
 

Overleaf
Teacher Name: Jialin Zeng
Grade: 9-12

"A free website to compile LaTeX files to support creating rigorous math handouts."
 

Regional Educational Laboratories toolkits
Teacher Name: Mariesa Herrmann
Grade: 9-12

"These toolkits, including on fractions, provide videos and PLC materials to help teachers use evidence-based practices from the What Works Clearinghouse practice guides, including in math."

 

School Yourself
Teacher Name: Massiel Peralta Garcia
Grade: 9-12

"School Yourself is a free, interactive math platform that provides adaptive, step-by-step lessons across Algebra to Calculus, offering students personalized feedback and hands-on practice to strengthen understanding."
 

Self-paced Learning for Fusion
Teacher Name: Tierra Terry
Grade: 9-12

"Learn the fundamentals of Autodesk Fusion through our easy-to-follow tutorial series. Each path contains videos, step-by-step tutorials, and downloadable 3D models to help you learn Fusion at your own pace."
 

The British Museum- Mathematics In The Ancient World 
Teacher Name: Mary Ruiz
Grade: 9-12

"Articles and lesson resources exploring the role of mathematics in ancient civilizations."
 

The Number Line: Rational Numbers and Football
Teacher Name: Nithya Narayanan
Grade: 6-8

"Interactive game to understand negative number addition. It also helps students understand the negative number line."
 

YouCubed
Teacher Name: Rodrick Hampton
Grade: 6-8; K-5

"This site offers research-based tools for educators to support engaging, growth-focused math teaching with videos, lesson plans, assessments, and classroom-ready activities."


If you’re considering following your dream of teaching, Rutgers Alternate Route can offer you the support and training you need to succeed. Be sure to follow Rutgers Alternate Route on Twitter or sign up for Alternate Route’s monthly newsletter to receive more information and stories from the field of education.

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Kafi Rosenbaum

 Kafi RosenbaumKafi Rosenbaum is a recent graduate of Spelman College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in Writing. A writer and creative communicator, Kafi is passionate about storytelling that informs, engages, and connects audiences. As a Summer 2026 Content Creator Intern with the Rutgers Alternate Route program, she uses her passion to help support the program’s content and communications efforts. She also supports Black Star Communications through published works created in collaboration with the program.