Teaching math in high school in a special education classroom
More and more I hear teachers tell me they are being expected to teach higher level math concepts to their high school students. Topics like functions, linear equations, geometry, coordinate graphing, and even advanced algebra are all requests I have gotten over the last few months. The sad reality is that these teachers are rarely given anything more than a list of standards to follow. Why? There is just very little material out there to support students with significant disabilities in the middle and high school range. So what are you to do?
In this post, I want to give you some concrete, actionable tips to use and remember before jumping into these more advanced math topics. More importantly, I want you to see it is possible with the right tools and support, even your most affected students can work through these standards and gain some knowledge and understanding that may benefit them in the future. And, of course, I will have some free downloads for you to try if you still are not convinced.
1. Pre-requisite skills
Ok, let’s face it, most of the topics I mentioned above have a laundry list of pre-requisite math skills a student would need to have in order to be successful. In addition, 99% of the students coming into high school just do not have them. It is a tough conundrum to solve for sure. But, there is a simple solution, have a mind shift about what those pre-requisite skills really are.
You will never, ever be able to go back and teach all the math skills necessary to solve a linear function equation. But that does not mean you cannot still teach your students how to complete a simple function table. And, if you can get them to do that, they are right on the precipice of solving a linear equation.
Meet your students WHERE THEY ARE. Rather than trying to go back and teach all the skills they never were exposed to or never learned, figure out how to use the skills they do have to teach them this material. Sounds impossible? Let’s take functions as an example.
So here is the standard: F.IF.1c Identify the input or output of a function given in table form. (see the complete standards for this unit HERE) A standard function table may look like this:
But what if you could make it look like this:
And not only that, what if you used actual objects and a real-life function machine. (I made this one while in the classroom, and used it for so many things. The kids loved it. CLICK HERE) With enough practice and creativity, many of your students will start to understand the input/output concept.
Still struggling, try moving away from quantities and leveraging those skills they do have. Like this table:
As special ed teachers we are so good at thinking outside of the box!! Even with these more advanced standards we just need to get even more creative. Be sure to download my free set of function worksheets at the end of this post.
2. Vocabulary
As we introduce these higher level concepts, I find it so helpful to take a step back and really focus on vocabulary. As much as possible, I would encourage you to use the REAL words. Do not make up cute replacements that you think will be easier for students to remember. Instead, use simple pictures to pair with these curriculum based words.
I know so many students who have learned very sophisticated words for items that are highly desirable to them. Since most, if not all, of this content will be new let’s just start off with the correct vocabulary.
Play games, practice daily, and be consistent with your use of words and symbols to deepen their understanding of this new and challenging material.
3. Real world examples
This one is probably fairly obvious to many of you. When you start on a new topic, try to relate it to items and processes your students are already familiar with.
Again, we may need to think outside of the box but it makes such a difference. Google searches were my best friend when trying to come up with ideas for some of these more advanced units. There is so much out there, it just takes some time to hunt it down.
4. Repetition and re-teaching
So, if you have followed my blog for any time or purchased any of my resources, you know how I feel about repetition. It is absolutely crucial and should never be taken for granted. When I create these high level units, I not only make tons of worksheets (probably way more than is necessary), but I also strongly encourage teachers to use them more than once.
This is likely a brand new skill, and it will take many, many, many trials to master. Now, I do like to add some variation to the mix. Change up the objects, the quantities, the colors, even just changing the font all adds to the variety and increases the likelihood of generalization. So, repetition with variety is HUGE!!
How much time to spend on re-teaching? That is a question that can be hard to answer. If your students just do really horrible on the assessment, then I would definitely go back and re-teach for at least a week. But, here is the key: if you give the assessment BEFORE starting the topic as a pre-assessment, then you have a much better idea if there was any growth. I would often have students who only got 3 out of 10 correct on the assessment. Sounds awful right? But, they had only 1 correct on the pre-assessment. Guess what?! That is 200% growth. Without that pre-assessment piece I might feel really discouraged and spend way too much time re-teaching. How much growth is enough? Only you can decide that.
5. Using pictures
So as you saw in the function table example, you can insert pictures in the place of numbers and letters as much as possible. A program I used, Hands on Equations, did a great job of this. (You can see a YouTube video about that HERE.)
Compare these two worksheets:
You may have some students than can complete this function table with the numbers. But, more likely, you have students who are not even able to read much above a 1st – 2nd grade level. Could they do the worksheet with pictures? Same exact problem, just less pre-requisite knowledge needed. I know they would need support of course, but you are more likely to make some connections and gain some independence with the second worksheet.
Hopefully, by now I have inspired you to try it. At the very least, I hope I have eased that sense of panic you may have had as your administrator handed you these “new” standards that had to be addressed. It is absolutely possible!! And, if you still feel like you have no way to put all that together, I have you covered!! I have lots of advanced math units in my store ready to download, print, and go. Use your energy on the teaching rather than the creating. Click HERE to see all the units I have specifically for middle and high school.
Now, about that free download. Just click the button below to grab my set of function table worksheet. Then, watch your email for some more function freebies!!
Take a look a this video that covers my Functions and Linear Equations Unit. Get it now, click HERE.
6. After talking through the solution, have students write the number sentence that represents the answer to the problem. 7. Finally, have students check their work by solving the problem and seeing if it makes sense.
