Children also learn and practice basic facts throughout the curriculum, in the context of problem solving, choral drills and a variety of games. Students explore a situation by drawing a picture, gathering and organizing data, graphing the data, and analyzing their results. The science content in Math Trailblazers is intended to supplement, rather than replace, a school's existing science curriculum. Math Trailblazers also makes a strong connection to language arts. As part of every lesson, students discuss and write about mathematics.
Many lessons use trade books to launch or extend mathematical investigations.
The Investigations curriculum also includes activities based on recent research on young children's understanding of the mathematics of change. In Investigations units, students explore the central topics in depth through a series of investigations, gradually encountering and using many important mathematical ideas. Investigations units are three to six weeks in length on topics such as number, data analysis and geometry. Investigations is published by Cuisenaire Dale Seymour Publications. This curriculum makes connections among the core ideas of mathematics, between mathematics and other school subjects, and between mathematics and its applications outside of the classroom.