Making Math Accessible for All Students
Fractions are challenging. Multiplying fractions is really challenging! This post presents a Google Jamboard to introduce students to the concept of multiplication of fractions. Overview The artifact is chunked to incrementally move from multiplication of whole numbers to whole number and fraction to multiplication of fractions. The representation of multiplication as number of objects in …
The concept of fractions as some number of equal parts begins in 1st grade per the Common Core (image below). There are students who struggle with the idea of equal parts and this could undermine student work in subsequent topics. The activity cited in this post is designed to develop the concept of equal parts. …
Division of fractions may be one of the most abstract concepts in middle school math. Here is an approach to address the concept using a Google Jamboard (you can make a copy which allows you to edit it), which would be a foundation for the ensuing steps. I will preface this approach by stating the …
This post provides a handout that guides students through the various steps for completing the square to transform an equation into vertex form. Students are guided through each step in isolation. Overview Students are presented each step in a separate chunk of the lesson. Then the steps are chained together, with scaffolding that is faded. …
The fractional units of a ruler and measuring fractional lengths can be tricky, especially for students with processing, working memory, or visual related disabilities. For the students I have helped, here is the approach I have used. I relate the fractional marks and counting them to walking across a set of stepping stones. This ties …
Continue reading “Fractional Units of Ruler – Instructional Strategy”
This post provides details about a handout for simplifying rational monomial expressions. It incorporates a couple strategies to make the simplification of rational monomial expressions more accessible. The strategies include address prerequisites skills ahead of time, chunking, and scaffolding. This incrementally walks the students through the steps. The Pages of the Handout The handout has …
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 …
It is easy to get caught up in the steps and rote memorization when working with fractions. The brain processes information more effectively when the information is meaningful. ADHD makes paying attention to rote memorization of steps even more challenging. Below is an excerpt of work I completed with a middle school student who has …
Continue reading “Making Sense of Fractions – Regrouping with Mixed Numbers”
I recently worked with a student on an online grocery shopping activity – finding ingredients for mac and cheese. We had the ingredients listed in a column on a Google Doc (allows both of us to edit the doc simultaneously) and then he cropped and pasted a photo of each ingredient (see photo below). The …
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