Calendar is a staple of many preschool circle time routines and often justified as “math instruction” even though many of the skills targeted during calendar surpass Virginia’s standards for four-year-olds. Try the quiz below to see just how far. Hint: Research shows that temporal concepts like units of time (days, weeks) and their sequence… Read More Rethinking “Calendar Time” for Preschoolers
Not Only Calculators
It may not seem like it is testing season but preparing students to access state assessments is very important throughout the school year. To use an accommodation in a state testing environment, a student must have that accommodation justified and documented in their IEP or 504 Plan. It should be included in their daily instruction… Read More Not Only Calculators
Using Visual Representations in Math Instruction
Teaching Abstract Concepts to Concrete Thinkers Students with autism are, generally, concrete thinkers, which can make teaching math skills difficult. As math work becomes more abstract, how can educators help these students build problem solving and application skills? Jo Boaler, Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University, reports that brain evidence supports the use of… Read More Using Visual Representations in Math Instruction
Teaching Vocabulary in the Math Classroom
In their article, What’s the Big Deal About Vocabulary, Dunstan and Tyminski state, “The Frayer model (Frayer, Frederick, & Klausmeier 1969) is a graphic organizer that allows students to use inquiry to learn new concepts in mathematics and science.” Use it to make a literacy-math connection for your students (Dunston & Tyminski, 2013). To teach students… Read More Teaching Vocabulary in the Math Classroom
New Math Resources from the VDOE
The 2016 Virginia Mathematics Standards of Learning are now fully implemented and will be assessed starting in Spring 2018. The VDOE has resources available to support implementation of the 2016 standards. 2016 Mathematics Curriculum Framework Documents Updated Standards of Learning and Curriculum Framework documents are available on the VDOE’s website. The updated curriculum documents include… Read More New Math Resources from the VDOE
High Leverage Practices in Special Education
The Council for Exceptional Children has partnered with the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR), to develop and publish a set of High Leverage Practices (HLPs) for special educators and teacher candidates. The fundamental purpose of the project was to identify effective practices for supporting special educators (McKleskey, et al, 2017). The… Read More High Leverage Practices in Special Education
Leadership Tools and Literacy Walk-through Protocols
Walk-throughs provide a snap shot of student learning. Protocols can effectively structure classroom visits and focus them to observe for components of effective instruction. Brief, frequent, routine classroom visits with explicit “look-fors” can be powerful opportunities for collaboration between educational leaders and teachers (Protheroe, 2009). Literacy Walk-throughs Principals and literacy leaders can access this collection… Read More Leadership Tools and Literacy Walk-through Protocols
