Lesson Planning
Before I begin my lessons, I like to look at what is on the worksheets from the Leveled Daily Curriculum that I have planned for the week and write them down in my lesson plan book. I do this for a couple of reasons. Mainly, I like to be prepared. If I am going to finish a unit during the week, I’ll print out the next one. I also like to have everything I need to teach the lessons for the week in my math box, so I don’t have to waste school time looking for my materials. In previous blog posts, I talked about how important it is to have everything you need when you sit down to start a lesson. If your child is ready to start work, but you need to keep leaving the table to get a pencil or math manipulatives, your child will likely become frustrated, causing unnecessary stress.
When it comes to the boys learning a new concept, if I find them struggling, I change the way I teach it. For example, Davyd was struggling with double-digit subtraction. First, we tried a pop-it ten frames, then we tried tally marks. His comprehension was off. He kept trying to add the numbers. So, I tried a number line. It made such a difference. He was zooming through the problems and was even remembering the steps to regrouping. There are so many great strategies to teach math concepts that you can find with a quick internet search if you need help. Don’t give up. Your child might just need a different strategy to comprehend what you are teaching.
Math isn’t everyone’s favorite subject. It comes easier to some people. Ben and I love math and can do it all day. Davyd and George prefer language-based activities. Math is more fun when you are successful at it. There are so many math games and activities that you can use to make math fun. Also, try different strategies like number lines, ten frames, drawings, and tally marks to help your child comprehend. Check out The Autism Helper shop, there are even adapted books to help make learning fun!
Next month, I will be talking about reading lessons using The Leveled Daily Curriculum.
This content was originally published here.