Oh, math facts! Our students, whether they have disabilities or not, struggle to master them. How can we help? I believe that we can strategically break up math facts to help our students tackle them in smaller chucks. I also believe that we have to teach students good strategies for solving addition facts on their own when memorization is difficult. How To Break Up Math Facts While there isn’t a magic answer for solving all math fact mastery problems, I do think we can help our students see patterns. I like to start with simple problems that help them build… View Post

Routines are key. We need to have simple things that we do without even thinking about them to help our students grow. Each of these math routines can be integrated into things that you are already doing each day. 1. Number Sense Number sense is a complicated skill for some students to master. Consider intregrating the following questions into some of your math discussions or problems: Would you rather have 25 dollars or 50 dollars? Which is bigger? Which is smaller? Which is closer to 10? Is this number MORE than 10? Is this number LESS than 10? What number… View Post

Becoming an independent speller is a tough job for our students. After all, it is a task that requires our students to process multiple skills at one time. In my mind, they go group several “levels” as they work toward independently spelling words that follow typical spelling patterns. I love watching my students develop their spelling skills. It’s amazing to watch them go from a high level of support and work toward independence. But, it’s a process. Below, you’ll find my outline the various levels of support your students might need from you. The Levels of Spelling Independence The First… View Post

Morphemes might sound a little overwhelming, but they are actually quite simple. Morphemes are a small units of language. I had this idea that morphemes were these scary Greek and Latin roots. And while those are certainly *part* of it, it’s so much more simple than that. We can help our students become better readers, better spellers, and better decoders by helping them understand how to use small units of language. Basic Endings When first introducing the idea of morphemes, I begin with basic endings. I teach my students early on to cover up the –s, –ed or –ing ending… View Post

Teaching students to spell words with vowel teams and multiple syllables used to *really* intimidate me. And if vowel teams and syllable types intimidated me, how do you think our students feel? Below, you’ll find a few tips and tricks to help reduce the intimidation factor and making teaching words with vowel teams and multiple syllables a bit easier! Tip #1: Download the Vowel Rule Book Use this as a guide for yourself, general education teachers, instructional assistants, or parents. It’s important to have a good reference to understand a difficult skill. I made sure to leave some blank spaces… View Post