I have a 15 year old female student that has been in an SDC class for several years. Her spelling, writing, and lang. arts skills have improved greatly in the last year. She has inclusion classes in Computer/P.E., Science, Social Studies and is doing very well. Her addition and subtraction are pretty good even up to 5 digits and beyond. Her x’s are very poor and there is no division skills. We have been working daily on measurement of foot and yard conversions. This instruction has been going on for 8 wks. and she cannot remember on a moment to moment basis that 12” is a foot, 3 ft. = a yd, and a yd. is = to 36”. She is frustrated as well as her parents and the teacher. I am thinking with the problems that she has had in math that she has dyscalculia. Any help and suggestion? This area will be on her 8th grade proficiencies that she needs to take and pass as well as on the State tests. We are trying to present her the math with many strategies and manipulatices as we can think of.
Re: math problems
This is defnitely an area that’s usually taught to death in the abstract when there needs to be a bridge from the real world. (Ratios and equivalents are also concepts that many kids don’t get from math instruction — so I would not assume a dyscalculia kind of problem, though it’s of course possible.)
Get real yardsticks and rulers. SOmething tells me place value isn’t a solid concept for her, either, so I would work in some practice making change…
This is just an idea but what about making a project using items she has to measure…things like fabric, ribbons, zippers and other items to make a purse. The back of patterns have lots of various problems using fractions of yards.
Give her a REAL problem to solve using real objects and measuring real items instead of pencil and paper algorithms to solve. She needs a more hands on tactile modality to grasp on to this. It may take a lot of practice but if she does this she will get it. My daughter does a lot of sewing and she has dyslexia. We are able to solve many math measurement, reading and following directions problems using sewing materials and she is grasping fractions and math much better.