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  • Secondary Characteristics: A Performance Factor

    For students with a disability, performance does not align with ability. In my view, there are 3 different categories of performance factors: the disability, gaps in achievement, and secondary characteristics. (Percents are contrived to provide a visual representation.) To address these secondary characteristics, which manifest as a set of behaviors, I suggest a focus on…

  • Using $10 and $1 Bills to Represent Regrouping in Addition or Subtraction

    Money is intuitive for many students, even when the underlying math is not. For example, I often find that students who do not understand well the concept of Base 10 place value do understand $10 and $1 bills. With this in mind, I created a virtual scaffolded handout that builds on student intuitive understanding of…

  • The Process of Learning

    The Process of Learning

    Often education and special education focuses solely on content. In turn, the content may focus only on steps and facts to memorize as opposed to ideas and concepts. A challenge for many students during k-12 education then in post-secondary life is being an independent, self-sufficient learner. The adults supporting them often focus on short term…

  • Math is a Language

    Math is a Language

    The Gutenberg printing press was revolutionary because it provided a faster way to share words. In turn, these words and how they were structured were representations of ideas used to make sense of the world around us. Math is a language with words and other symbols that also makes sense of the world around us.…

  • Counting Out Value of Coins

    Counting Out Value of Coins

    Counting out the total value for a set of coins can be very challenging for students who struggle with money. Here is a video showing how to use a WORD document table a former colleague and I created to support students in a life skills class. The video shows how this handout is used but…

  • Counting Out Value of Coins

    Counting Out Value of Coins

    Counting out the total value of a set of coins can be challenging for some students. A strategy to address this is a modified 100s chart with images of coins and decimal values. Versions of handouts There are 4 versions, listed in the order I used them with my students. I suggest you start with…

  • Online Floating Rulers to Measure Length

    To help students learn how to measure with a ruler, I focus on minimizing the number of tic marks on the ruler at first. The image below shows an excerpt from a WORD document with a halves ruler that I use and an instructional strategy. It also contains a quarters and an eighths ruler that…

  • Q&A Regarding Math and Online Learning

    Q&A Regarding Math and Online Learning

    I will be fielding questions about math and online learning in real time. As a follow up, I will respond to questions through this blog post. If you did not catch the Instagram session and have questions, you can post them here through a comment. I will post replies on this post. Below is a…

  • Real Life Math VS “Mathy” Math

    In working with students, parents and IEP teams, I find that there is an assumption that math at some point, possibly beyond arithmetic, is simply a science fiction movie that is minimally related to real life. I hear from students as well as adults, statements like, “algebra, when are we ever going to use it?”…

  • Online Math Games

    Here are a variety of online math game sites I have used over the years. Break is coming up for many districts. Maybe these can fill the void and allow some learning. Several address other content areas as well. I have also used these games for break times at school to keep students working on…