Geometry
Area
Area is defined as the total amount of space within a two-dimensional figure and thus measures how much flat surface an object occupies, with area…
Read lesson →
Author
Professor Orion Hawthorne
Page 1 of 7
Professor Orion Hawthorne , Lead lesson writer · K-8 math curriculum specialist
Lead lesson writer for Math Lessons. Former classroom teacher and math-curriculum specialist with a focus on making foundational K-8 math concepts click for first-time learners.
Foundational arithmetic Place value & multi-digit operations Fractions & equivalence Geometry & measurement Word-problem strategies Pre-K & Kindergarten math readiness
Professor Orion Hawthorne is the lead lesson writer at Math Lessons, responsible for the day-to-day structure and clarity of every lesson the site publishes. The "Professor" honorific is informal — it reflects two decades of working with elementary and middle-school learners as a teacher, tutor and curriculum-design consultant rather than a tenured academic appointment. The voice on the page is one human with a deep affection for the subject and a habit of asking "but does it actually make sense?" of every explanation before it ships.
Orion's lessons follow a deliberate template. Each one opens with a plain-English definition that names the concept and makes its purpose obvious — addition is combining quantities to find a sum, division is sharing or grouping. The worked example always grounds the abstraction in something a learner can hold or imagine: apples, blocks, tiles, a number line. Practice problems then escalate from a single-step calculation to multi-step problems and word problems, with full reasoning shown for each, because the goal is for the reader to walk away knowing *why* the answer is right, not merely *what* it is.
Beyond the lessons themselves, Orion is responsible for keeping the site's topical structure coherent. New lessons are written into the existing pillar — Pre-K & Kindergarten, Basic Arithmetic, Multiplication, Division, Fractions, Geometry, Larger Numbers, Currency Math, Financial Math — and refer back to prerequisite lessons inline so a reader who lands on "long division" can trace the path back to "skip counting" or "subtraction with borrowing" if they need to.
When Orion is not writing lessons, the time is spent reviewing reader questions submitted through the contact page (every one is read), updating older lessons whose worked examples could be clearer, and sketching the next batch of topics — currently: place-value beyond 100,000, decimal arithmetic, and the pre-algebra bridge into solving for unknowns. If a topic feels underserved, the most likely path to seeing it covered is to send a note saying so.
Posts by Professor Orion Hawthorne
-
-
Financial MathBudget a Weekly Allowance: Word Problems
Budget a weekly allowance with worked word problems — plan spending vs. saving, handle income and expenses, and build real-world dollar-and-cents math skills.
Read lesson → -
FractionsCompare fractions
A very important skill in math is comparing fractions, because this skill helps you to understand how much of something there is and how to apply that…
Read lesson → -
Financial MathCompare Savings Options
If you want to build financial health and wealth over time as part of your overall financial strategy, you’ll want to build a savings portfolio. However,…
Read lesson → -
FractionsComparing Fractions with Like Denominators
Compare fractions with the same denominator using clear visual models — when bottom numbers match, the bigger numerator is greater. Worked examples for grades 3-4.
Read lesson → -
FractionsComparing Fractions with Like Numerators
Fractures are compared differently when they share the same numerator versus when they share a common denominator. The common denominator becomes the basis…
Read lesson → -
Pre-K & KindergartenCounting and Cardinality
The Pre-K cornerstone lesson on counting and cardinality — what each number word means, why the last count tells you "how many", and how to count any group reliably.
Read lesson → -
Pre-K & KindergartenData Analysis
Organizing or grouping things according to certain characteristics or defining criteria. This allows users to more easily see patterns, make complex sets of…
Read lesson → -
DivisionEquations with Unknown Numbers
An unknown number is a term used in mathematics to describe an equation that has two equal sides that have a missing value either immediately before or…
Read lesson → -
FractionsEquivalent Fractions
Equivalent fractions encompass different types of fractions that represent equal values, or portions, as a whole. Although they have different forms, both…
Read lesson → -
Financial MathFinancial literacy
To be financially literate means to be able to spend funds wisely. The idea behind financial literacy is that it helps individuals make the appropriate…
Read lesson → -
FractionsFractions Equivalent to Whole Numbers
Any fraction with a whole number as its numerator represents a whole number quantity, as there is no remainder left in addition to this fraction’s decimal.…
Read lesson →
