Ok, I got another question.My 3rd grade child’s IEP does not have multiplication goals on it.I am thinking that it should have.I asked the learning support person about how she is doing with multiplication as I was helping her at home-no response.I asked if they are working on them at school got -yes we have a chart in class showing what they know so peer pressure will spur them on. I asked about changing goals on IEP when reached -was told they change the goals when needed on their own which sounds like they don’t change the IEP,and can they do that without letting me know and without putting it into the IEP.It did not even sound like division is even going to be touched this year by learning support even though regular education teacher sent home homework on it,which sent my child into a tizzy.Any way should the IEP contain the goals of the curriculum of that year and all previous goals that have not been met or am I too pushy?
Re: IEP questions
It may depend upon your state; in Mass. the curriculum is mandated and tested annually with state assessment tests that exempt none but the most severly impaired students.
Re: IEP questions
Yes, the regular curriculum for the child’s current grade need not be repeated in the IEP. The IEP basically will have a sampling of goals based on the areas in which the child is significantly behind. We always work on more than is on the IEP. It’s better to spend the extra time teaching than writing the whole curriculum in the IEP in my opinion.
Janis
Re: IEP questions
Multiplication facts??? How about addition and subraction facts??? My son was taught by the touch point system and then it was suggested that he wouldn’t be able to learn the multiplication facts. Instead, the use of a calculator would be best due to his disabiltity to process info. This has always bothered me. Is it something I should rethink? He is in the 7th gr. Thanks.
Re: Revisting math facts...
I think it’s a good idea to try the math facts again now that he’s a few years older. Our dyslexic son couldn’t get the math facts for years, but suddenly in 7th grade it clicked and he’s finally got his multiplication tables down cold. As a result long division is no longer such a struggle. Simple addition/subtraction is still a problem for him, but I think it’s just a matter of time before that clicks too.
Their brains are really going into significant development by this age and it really might be worth trying to get your child to work on those skills again.
*definitely* rethink.
There’s a whole group of folks who think working to memorize things just isn’t worth the effort. That’s baloney. What keeps him from learning those facts? There are alternatives :) There are even books with titles like “What to do when you can’t add and subtract” and “what to do when you can’t learn your times tables.” And they tell you what to do!
How about a quarterly review of the IEP?
ONe of my biggest paperwork joys was going through IEPs and marking whether a goal had been mastered, worked on (but still needed work), or hadn’t really been gotten to. I’d have tried to put all the stuff I thought we’d get to in there. I’ll be the first to admit that in general, I’d look over those goals at the end of the year and make those notes for hte next year’s teacher — I didn’t need to tell myself during the year what was going on. HOwever, I’d have been more than willing to meet with a parent say, once per grading period, and just look over the goals and talk about how it was being taught on a day-to-day basis.
It sounds like a real issue is communication between regular ed and special ed — as in, sending home work that your kiddo isn’t ready for. What exactly is the deal with math — she’s supposed to get “support” from the resource room? If she’s supposed to be keeping up, then it’s only the kinds of help to keep up that would/should be in the IEP; if she’s not, that needs to be addressed and the IEP should say what she *is* doing.
It sort of sounds like she’s sitting in on math that’s over her head, and then getting a quick run-through of assorted other stuff in the resource room. Easier to schedule than something that would actually make sense — and it’s worth trying to figure out other options if that’s what’s happening.
is that the name of the book?
We are having problems with memorizing times tables. Is that the name of the book? Would love to look into it but can’t find it under those names. Thanks
Re: *definitely* rethink.
I am still confused as I have been in the past regarding math facts„, Will he benefit from learning them in his future??? Or will a calculator suffice??? And the thought of him starting out new overwhelms me, what will it do to him?, and definitly will need a teacher that teaches basic math!!! And we are having teacher problems anyway, not following IEP things! Very frustrating year, new school-new case teacher. 7th grade at the Middle School….Thanks for your input!
Re: *definitely* rethink.
Sheree,
Are you aiming for him to graduate from high school? If so, then yes, by all means make every attempt possible to teach him the multiplication facts through 10’s. It will be very difficult to do most high school math without knowing the facts. Some tests do not allow the use of a calculator. Personally, I think there are few children who are incapable of learning them. Usually, it is a case of not practicing them until mastered. I had a student with an IQ around 60 and a severe hearing loss who learned them. How long did it take? Six long years. Yes, it can get boring practicing something for six years when most people learn them in a few months. But he did it, and he now has them for daily life.
Janis
This isn’t directly answering your question but multiplication is the regular math circul for third grade. So I guess it depends where your child is at. My third grade child mainstreamed for math this year, after two years in resource room, and he has pretty much conquered multiplication. Doesn’t still have division down though.
What helped him a lot was Math Facts the Fun Way. He often got in the 90s on multiplication math tests which boosted his confidence a lot.
Beth