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  • Time on an Analog Clock – a Chunked Approach

    Time on an Analog Clock – a Chunked Approach

    Telling time on an analog clock is challenging for many students, especially some with special needs. I worked with a middle school student with a disability one summer and after a few lessons he scored 100% over two days on telling time. Below shows the progression I used with him. I used a task analysis…

  • Intro to Multiplication – A Sequence of Lessons

    Intro to Multiplication – A Sequence of Lessons

    Below are photos from multiple lessons to introduce multiplication. They are combined into a single document. I use a task analysis approach to first develop conceptual understanding of multiplication as repeated addition. This is followed by skip counting and then using skip counting to multiply. The lessons are not necessary completed in a single day.…

  • IXL.com – Excellent Tool for Differentiation

    IXL.com – Excellent Tool for Differentiation

    IXL.com is a site that provides online practice for math (and other topics). It has a hidden feature that allows for very effective differentiation. This can be highly useful in a general ed math class and in settings for special education services. This includes special ed settings with students working on a wide ranges of…

  • Learning Math – The Patting Head and Rubbing Belly Phenomena

    Learning Math – The Patting Head and Rubbing Belly Phenomena

    In education, math especially, there exist a learning situation I call the patting head and rubbing belly phenomena. In this phenomena students are presented a math problem that consists of several steps they know how to do and then maybe one or two additional steps that are new. Adding the additional step is like adding…

  • Shopping at the Grocery Store

    There are numerous hidden tasks that we undertake while at the grocery store. We process them so quickly or subconsciously that we are not aware of these steps. As a result, we may overlook these steps while educating students on life skills such as grocery shopping. Subsequently, these steps may not be part of the…

  • Symmetry Made Accessible

    Symmetry Made Accessible

    The work shown below posted on LinkedIn by Maria Priovolou. I think this is awesome. The photo below shows a focus on just the vertical axis and the student has to reflect one object at a time. This is a nice task analysis approach. The stamp creates the objects which makes it hands on and…

  • So Easy?!

    So Easy?!

    Problems like the addition problem below are often viewed by adults as straight forward. This perception can make it difficult for adults, including teachers and even special education teachers to help students who struggle with it. I find that the math teacher candidates and special education teacher candidates struggle with breaking down math topics, especially…

  • Mailbag Jan 29 2018

    Mailbag Jan 29 2018

    A reader asked about an algebra 2 problem and shared (below) his effort to cut up the math into bite-sized pieces. I greatly appreciate his effort because he is trying to meet student needs. While this post is very “mathy” I want to make a couple of points to the readers. First, I wrote out…

  • Cutting Up the Math Into Bite-sized Pieces

    Cutting Up the Math Into Bite-sized Pieces

    When I train new math and special education teachers I explain that teaching math should be like feeding a hot dog to a baby in a high chair. Cut up the hot dog into bite-sized pieces. The baby will still consumer the entire hot dog. Same with math. Our students can consume the entire math…

  • CTSPEDMATHDUDE Approach to Teaching Math

    CTSPEDMATHDUDE Approach to Teaching Math

    The purpose for having this website is to share my approach to teaching math. The approach is the use of special ed principles brought to bear on math. Specifically, I use a task analysis approach to break down a math topic into “bite-sized” pieces and to use a variety of instructional strategies and reinforcement to…