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Guiding Questions
How can I build numeracy skills into my low-level literacy curriculum? What skills should I focus on?
How can I encourage my students to have positive attitudes to numeracy in their lives and in the classroom?
How can I determine what students already know so that I can build on those skills?
How can I group students in the classroom to promote their current skills and development of new skills?
My Class: A ProfileStudents are reading at or below a fourth grade level as measured by standardized
tests.
25% Native speakers of English
Typically have mental health concerns and/or low cognitive function.
Many have U.S. diplomas (primarily Special Education). 75% Non-native speakers of English
Mostly uneducated in their native or secondary languages. Many have either spent the majority of their lives in refugee
camps or working minimum wage jobs in the U.S. without time or access to school.
Most have high oral skills in English. Many have self-reported mental health concerns or traumatic
brain injury. Some have suspected learning disabilities or low cognitive
function.
My Class: A Math Profile
Native Speakers of English:
Typically have a strong dislike of applied math problems.
Typically quite strong in written computation.
Often know procedures without understanding them.
Very good with money.
Non-native Speakers of English
Typically have very strong mental computation skills.
Typically struggle with written conventions.
Frequently get lost in the vocabulary of applied math problems, even if they know the math.
Math in a Reading Class?!
Fluency in reading includes reading numbers correctly.
Entry level jobs frequently have math assessments.
Managing money is a much needed skill.
More opportunities for exposure to math concepts will be beneficial when students reach higher level classes.
Gives another opportunity for students to show state-required progress on standardized tests.
Support from Minnesota Numeracy Initiative.
Habits of Mind Massachusetts Department of Education. (2005). Massachusetts Adult Basic Education Curriculum Framework for
Mathematics and Numeracy. Retrieved from http://empower.terc.edu/pdf/mathnum.pdf
Curiosity
Respect for Evidence
Persistence
Ownership
Reflection
Curiosity
Do I like to try new things relating to math?
Questions to ask: “Why? How? What if?”
Example:
Interest in how much math they already use. “That’s math??”
Strategy:
Large group discussions of aspects of math students already know.
Make math units fun and relevant to students.
Respect for Evidence Can I explain how I figured out the answer? Do I listen to
others’ explanations?
Questions: “How did you do that?”
Example:
Give students opportunities to explain how they came to their answer.
Strategy:
Math Problem of the Day Articulating how we solve problems Listening to others’ solutions
Sample Math Problem of the Day
Bedria needs to buy three pounds of grapes. Each pound costs $2.99. She has $10.00. How much money will she have left after buying her grapes?
Students came up with several ways of solving the problem, which gave us the opportunity to discuss when to use different strategies and how to practice them.
Solution 1: $2.99 x 3 = $8.97 ($2.99 + $2.99 + $2.99 =
$8.97) $10.00 – 8.97 = $1.03
Solution 2:$10.00 – $2.99 = $7.01$7.01 – $2.99 = $4.02$4.02 – $2.99 = $1.03
Solution 3: $2.99 is about $3.00$3.00 x 3 = $9.00$10.00 – $9.00 = $1.00Add in the 3 extra cents =
$1.03
Persistence
Will I keep trying, even if it gets harder?
Questions: “Can you explain it again/differently?”
Example:
One student’s struggle to understand “borrowing.”
Strategy:
Connect the problem area to something the student can do well already.
Try manipulatives to help it make more sense.
Ownership
Do I believe that what I am doing is important to me?
Questions: “So what?”
Example:
Subtraction with ages – determining grandfather’s age at death.
Strategy:
Find out what students do with math and if there are areas that have given them trouble in their lives.
Find out if there are questions they have never answered.
Reflection Do I think about how I figure things out?
Questions: “What did I learn today? How did I learn?”
Example:
One student’s struggle to use or understand coins. She determined that she needs to see, feel and move the coins for now. She uses them at home and in stores now.
Strategy:
One-to-one meetings with students after every math test to ask students what they have learned and if they can explain how they learn best.
Let them use that skill in class – drawing pictures, holding manipulatives, mental math, etc.
Grouping Students
My Favorite Groups
Group 1 One student good at
mental math One student good at
written calculations Group 2
One student who can talk through their math
One student who can do math without explaining
Group 3 One with low native
language literacy One with low cognitive
functioning
Benefits to Grouping
Higher level student can prove knowledge by explaining orally.
Higher level student gains confidence as teacher.
Lower level student can learn from the higher level student.
Lower level student often can assist with mental math skills while higher level student can use written conventions.
Reflection
How can I build numeracy skills into my low-level literacy curriculum? What skills should I focus on?
How can I encourage my students to have positive attitudes to numeracy in their lives and in the classroom?
How can I determine what students already know so that I can build on those skills?
How can I group students in the classroom to promote their current skills and development of new skills?
