numeracy for all success stories

7/28/2019 Numeracy for All Success Stories

1/24

How has your teaching practice changedas a result of your participation

in this project?

June 7, 2013


2/24

As a result of participation in this pilot project, I have more tools and

strategies for differentiating instruction to meet my students needs. I began to

use math stations regularly in my classroom. It was great to have the hands on

materials provided in the Numeracy For All kit! I find this to be a great way to

modify activities for a variety of learners and it gives me time to meet with

specific students.School A


3/24

Since using the Equals program Ihave changed my teaching practiceby changing the structure of the my

math lessons.

I have added more small lessonsthroughout the week instead of onelarge lesson.

School B

My lessons havea better moremeaningful flowwith manyconnections as

we are alwaysreviewingprevious work.


4/24

This project has greatly impacted my ability to teach math to my students.

Last year was my first year teaching my program and it was also my first year of

teaching. I did not have a curriculum to work from and really struggled in trying to

present my students with a balanced academic and life skills program. Using the Equals program has significantly impacted my classroom. It has

presented me with a plan that I can alter to suit each individuals level and needs.

The resources have been amazing. My students love the manipulatives . Their level

of engagement is very high and they love math class now. Even if they are not

always achieving the desired outcome, they are sitting, engaged and participatingin the lessons.

School C


5/24

It was hard at the beginning of the year, coming into a new grade,and having a student who was having major difficulties with the

math program. This math program has allowed me to combine the

math curriculum along with the numeracy for all to actively engage

my students making math more fun and interesting!

Equals has also helped me in differentiating my instruction to meetthe needs of all my students using a variety of manipulatives and

resources.

Equals has helped me in helping my students connect math to reallife experiences and understand how they can use this outside the

classroom; hence connecting meaning to what they are learning.

School D


6/24

~ I found myself rethinking how to use manipulatives in

the classroom more effectively

~ building on what I had already been doing with

technology and improving on it by utilizing the ipad

~ incredible resources - the levelled based instruction is

a great guide in building skills and differentiating

instruction

School E


7/24

I introduce new vocabulary one word

at a time and review these new words.

They are posted on my math word wall.

I have a good resource to refer to when

I need to break down concepts into

simpler activities.

I have lots of new manipulatives

that the students love!

I always start with the concreteconnections and move to the

semi-concrete and abstract

School F


8/24

I have realized that numeracy is much

more than math and that it can be easily

incorporated into so many activities and in

doing so creates meaning for my students.

I have realized that numeracy skills can

be introduced to all students of all ability

levels and that there are many tools

available to reach the needs of all

students.

Equals has helped me develop a broader sense of numeracy, helped me learn

where my students numeracy skills are at and helped me create more

meaningful numeracy lessons for my students.

School G


9/24

It has given me a resource that Ican use, not only primarily formath, but as a supplement to

other curricular activities. Thusgiving me more ideas on how tomake math connectionsthroughout the day in all contentareas.

The Equals program gave megreater insight into the specificareas that were lacking in thestudents numeracy knowledge,thus enabling me to fill in the gapsduring the year.

I had a variety of newmanipulatives to use with thestudents. They really enjoyedusing these tools in the classroomand were excited to demonstratetheir learned skills in the reviewand follow-up portions of thelessons.

Personal math word walls

School H


10/24

Since introducing the Numeracy for All resources we have been able

to more actively involve our students in the use of many of the

manipulatives. Many of our integrated students found another way tocommunicate their math knowledge and skills. We were able to use

some of the resources to enhance what we were already doing in our

lessons.

School I


11/24

This project has had me question many of my assumptions of

what individual students knew and did not know. Sometimes it is

easy to forget that the students we work with have very

fragmented skills. This program has helped me find and target

those missing skills. School J


12/24

We are using more manipulatives to teach the students.

We have a quick go to place to find activities and lessons for the

students in our class that arent able to do the grade 5/6 curriculums.

Has helped us to create activities at the students ability level andhelped to increase engagement. It also helps us to provide a startpoint for students with special needs.

Spatial awareness in front,behind, on top, etc School K


13/24

Clear units with concrete math activities

to prove we are learning numeracy too.

I have materials to share with others as

suggestions for teaching struggling

students.

Students are doing similar activities to their

typically developing peers and I am teaching

math terms and vocabulary.

I use more hands on materials ( in the program) to get at a

concept

versus worksheets and skill and drill. I use the materials

and games I already own at more appropriate times( more purposeful teaching).

School L


14/24

Although I found the assessment portion ofEquals very time consuming it can also bebeneficial. I did find that you need to payclose attention to each of the individualsubtests and how your student did.I found that if you followed therecommended placement given by Equals thatstudents may end up missing entire concepts.While testing I found that it was easiest tocomplete all students on one subtest. I had atrolley beside my testing area with all thematerials required.

To help organize the assessmentmaterials I put the picture cardsand all other cards needed intocard and photo sleeves andorganized each into the differentconcepts.

During testing it is easy to flipfrom one page to the other andeasy for storage.

When not in use all the testingmaterials are easily stored withinone box.

Assessment Materials Organizing the suppliesrequired before handmakes implementation ofthe assessment quick as allthe materials are alreadygathered. All that isnecessary is to get thematerials listed on thefront of the ziploc baggie.

School M


15/24

I believe that it really helped make it easier to

reach students that were really struggling.

Also, it has helped me better explore various

options to demonstrate learning that are more

interesting for students and hold their

attention for longer periods of time.

It has helped to differentiate more easily.

School N


16/24

Helped think about building layers-starting simple and buildingon top, not just simply introducing the whole concept

Thoughtful delivery of languageHands onexperiences-varyingthe manipulatives I

offer

Rethink how I can usevisuals to support student learning

Reinforced that I was doing agood job teaching numeracy

Lots of work to plan and implement-questioned

the time needed to start up for the amount ofnumeracy focus in a behavior classroom School O


17/24

I have enjoyed piloting the Equals program because it

has helped me deliver the information in a different

format. It has tiered lessons, and lots of suggestions. I

love the manipulatives, bright posters, and work mats.

The program itself makes sure you cover all the phases

of learning in math. The biggest lesson I learned is neverassume they know a concept.

School P


18/24

~Thoughts on the Equals Math Program

Used in a Regular Grade One Classroom~

The manipulatives were awesome!

The posters, cards, and web sites were great for allstudents

The lessons are well suited to the student who isexperiencing great difficulty with Math concepts

The lesson plans helped me break down Math

concepts for easy, step by step instruction for thesestudents

Lessons were well designed good for use with anassistant and weaker students

School Q


19/24

Numeracy for AllWhat I learned

School R


20/24

Key understandings from my year with

Equals I was able to complete three full assessments which took between 3 and 5 and half

hours to complete and 4 partial assessments

Although the assessment was long, the information gathered gave me the bestunderstanding of where the students were at

I met with parents after the assessment, made up a report to communicate theresults (which I posted on the wiki) and these results were used in my planning

My students all have the diagnosis of autism and are considered in the severerange which had an impact on my ability to move beyond concrete lessons

Use of technology is very beneficial to my students and I downloaded a number ofthe apps shared by my peers in our initial meetings and as posted in the sessions

I incorporated many math books into my weekly routines

I used all of the materials in my daily practice and my students developed greaterindependence and greater number sense

This program gave me inspiration to look into the research of how individuals withautism understand and learn math

School R


21/24

Use of manipulatives is essential

School R


22/24

Equals reinforced the importance of Concrete learning

for my students

How many slugs can we find in the playground?What does 5 look like when we write it?

Can we make count 5 other things?

School R


23/24

Challenges and A-ha moments

I found it difficult to make the scheduled meetings due to myuniversity commitments but appreciated the recordedsessions

Doing the assessment to inform teaching was a lot of work

but as I had more practice with the assessment, I was able toassess faster

I wish I had someone I could meet and share with in person

although I did do a presentation to all the teachers in theschool and have made a commitment to assess a number of

students in integrated setting that struggle with math

I think the lesson books are fantastic and set a great

framework for planning

School R


24/24

THANK YOU to the teachers who participated in the2012 2013 Numeracy for All community of practice.

The teachers were from the following school authorities:

Battle River Regional Division

Calgary Board of Education

Chinooks Edge School Division

Edmonton Public Schools

Elves Special Needs Society

Fort McMurray Roman Catholic Separate School District

Grande Prairie School District

Greater St. Albert Roman Catholic Separate School District

High Prairie School Division

Medicine Hat Catholic Separate Regional Division

Red Deer Catholic Separate Regional Division

Red Deer Public School District

Renfrew Educational Services

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