My favorite programs, what are yours? LD rescource ELem.

Math
Math Facts the Fun Way http://www.citycreek.com/
I’m going to try:
http://www.mathusee.com/
Mountain Math
http://homepage.mac.com/algona81/iMovieTheater37.html this is a cute link to explain it
to buy it check; http://www.mtmath.com/

I’m also considering this: IT’s Elementary
http://www.epsbooks.com/catalogsite/code/epspgebld.cfm?product=2411M

Favorite virtual math website
http://matti.usu.edu/nlvm/nav/grade_g_2.html

I really need help in the math area.

I do realize that teachers teach but I’m convinced programs help. It is always nice knowing what others are using that they find helps.

Thanks,
Michelle

Wow Michelle,

Thanks for all the great information. I have been searching for good programs and it helps to know that you have had experience with some of these programs.

I’m a former spec. ed teacher and now mother to an LD 6 yr old. There is so much out there now that its overwhelming.

Thanks again for the great info.
Diane

Great list Michelle! I also use PGX, Great Leaps, and V/V and find them all very effective. In addition, for comprehension I also like

Specific Skills Series by Richard Boning
(yes, I know it’s old as the hills but gives alot of practice on skills such as inferencing, drawing conclusions, main idea, and is designed to be used as independent work in a classroom)
http://www.sra-4kids.com/supplemental/supplemental_detail.phtml?id=1

And for spelling I like Lindamood’s Seeing Stars. Visualizing words has really helped some of my poor spellers an incredible amount (and others not so much….)

Also, I’ve had mixed experiences with the Math the Fun Way stuff….it’s very fun to teach, and my students have learned and remembered the stories very successfully in my class, but without the visual reminders of the posters my students have never successfully transferred the stories to fact recall that can be used without the visual support. I’ve come to the conclusion that success in the more advanced levels of math does take the drudgery of memorization. One of my students spent over three years of daily practice to learn her multiplication facts (Mom is a real trooper!), but now, three years later, she STILL knows them, and can function with minimal support in her regular math class at middle school.

Thanks for the comprehensive list…overall it’s terrific, and your students are very lucky to have you!

Thanks for the posts. I hope more will post.

I have used Math The FUn way but I also pair each one with a silly little ryhme of my own plus a specific noise. I teach them in patterns too.

x0
x1
x2
x5
x9
DOUBLES
10 Memorized Facts

I have 36 problems on a half sheet of each that are self graphed and self graded. A set of flash cards for home and school are used. I call home if I don’t see improvement. I then send home posted it notes that I tell the parents to put all over the house, on the bathroom mirror, toilet seat, fridge, TV remote, nintendo control etc… Works like charm. I also have other kids ask the hard fact to them all the time, at recess, lunch line, whereever. They get it.

For each 10 memorized facts I do the Math the Fun way story or my own vairation. I make a sound pattern to go with it. I do this for the first 10 minutes of each math day. I rarely have any kid, regardless of IQ not be able to master all their facts by Thanksgiving.

For example

7 x3= 21 is a deep football army voice while pounding fists on table. On the last pound they put out 2 fingers and then one like a water gun.

say 6x8 is 48 Don’t forget to shut the gate with a sing songy voice while taking four fingers of one hand and then the other representing a closing gate with intertwined fingers and a motion with the fingers. (the fingers are first 4 then 8 like 48.

6x7 = 42 don’t forget to tie your shoe….. empahasizing TWO and stamping the feet as we do the rhyme. Also I use my fingers like the fingers are walking and then it jumps at the end like the story in Math the FUn way with the story of going over the high jump.

4x3 is 12 slapping the table and raising the hand way up on 12 saying twelVA loud.

Let’s see, the weirder the better. I find my kids doing the rhymes and changing their voice and it automatically comes out like those stupid commercials that get stuck in the head and you can’t get out.

7x8 is 56 A different tone clapping all the way but on the last clap I hold out one hand with five fingers and then on the word six, I hold up 6 fingers.

7x4 don’t make me late, 7x4 is 28. Shaking the finger like a scolding mom again with a scolding mother’s voice.

8x8 went to the store, and bought a Nintendo 64

Those are just some. I tell the kids they are weird but they work. We have fun. It’s great when the kids come up with their own.

Last year, the 5th grade teachers were so impressed with my ld kids and wanted to know my secrets. My kids knew their facts better than many in general ed. So I went and worked with general ed too. My kids felt so smart becasue they already knew something the other didn’t. :lol:

You’re probably right….I didn’t get multi-sensory enough when I was using Math the Fun Way. It sounds like you’ve really expanded the program to meet your students’ needs. Good for you! It’s actually been a few years since I’ve taught elementary, so I’m not using it at all now, since I’m a writing teacher at a private school for students with LDs.

Thanks again for the post!

A good program and another that is as old as the hills are the Sullivan Programmed Readers. I like this program because it offers decodable text that progresses very slowly and with a huge, huge amount of repetition, from CVC words to the rest. The scope and sequence is not identical to that found in the most popular programs, although many programs do differ.

I place students in this program when they pretty much know letter sounds and have had good practice with CVC decoding and endoding. The students get more repetition of high frequency words than in any othe program and it is almost foolproof. Students can work some of the time independently in this program, providing you check in daily to be certain they are handling new words.

Words are repeated and repeated and repeated. Then the student reads sentences where a letter or two or more of the target word are dropped. The student must fill in missing letters, so this also focuses students’ attention on the sequence of the individual letters. Sometimes a multiple choice format of very similar words is offered: Ted wrote with a (pin, pen). I have noted that students in this program increase speed and fluency, spelling, and experience less confusion of similar sounding vowel sounds.

Phoenix Learning Resources sells this ancient program that they have revived for today’s market. They can be reached at (800) 526-6581.

I have found an incredible new assistive technology company. The name is BrightEye Technology and they are distributors of textHELP and also sell two great scan and listen devices that are very easy to install and use, and have natural sounding voices. When you combine the textHELP software with these scanners, you have one amazing learning tool. These products also work well for ESL students. The best news is that their products are very similar to Kurzweil’s and more affordable. I just thought everyone might like to check out this company…their website address is www.brighteye.com. Lots of luck!

Reading Revolution is the best program I have found so far! It is multisensory, multiple-intelligence,fun and easy to learn. Kids love it and
find it easy to learn. They have been very successful for the last 5 years that I’ve used it. They are reading, writing, and spelling. Contact them: www.readingrevolution.com 1-888-880-7323. Mr. Romero is the national training director. Ask for info., and mention my name! Give it a try.
Ilene

One more program I want to add to the list is Peterson Handwriting at www.peterson-handwriting.com

This guy on the phone I spoke with was so helpful. I talked to him for an hour on what to order and how his program varies from Homework without Tears etc…

A lady I know who owns a tutoring program LOVES this program and has used it to remediate handwriting many, many times. It is fairly inexpensive too. I have not used a formal handwriting program in years so I’m looking forward to this.

Michelle AZ