Connections between readings and classroom

I read the article Helping Students with Disabilities Understand what Mathematics Means. In this article it talks about different ways to help students understand math. The first guideline they talk about is to use various models of representation. Educators should represent math in different ways so students have can a variety of ways to visualize a problem. Because many students have a hard time understanding what math means, this could provide many different ways to have students see what the math concept is about. In our classroom we have a couple students with special needs and my CT makes sure to have a lot of different manipulatives and show problems in a variety of ways. One thing I like that my CT and I do is to include movement in a lot of our lessons. For First Grade I think this is really important not only for special needs kids but for all students.

The next thing this article talks about is to consider appropriate structures for teaching specific concepts. This section talks about different ways to present material to students. One way is to have a compare and contrast, another way is to show examples and non examples of things. In my classroom I have found that during some lessons my CT uses these. She does not go as in depth as they do in the article. I think one reason for this is the one student who this would benefit is not always in the room during our math time.

The next part of this article is to consider the language of mathematics. Sometimes language can be something that students get stuck on, especially in math. It may be hard to learn new concepts when you can not understand the words. This article suggests breaking it down in simple language and using lots of examples. My CT does this anyways in First Grade because most of these concepts are new to students anyways.

It is also important to make real world connections and provide detailed instructions. These are important so students know exactly what to do. Also if students can make a connection with something they already know, they are more likely to pick up on the concept. My CT uses these strategies in our classroom not only to support the students with special needs but also in general.

I have found that through this article my CT uses some form of all of these guidelines. I think this article was really beneficial to read to make sure that when you are planning your lesson or your unit you make these considerations.