The Dyscalculia Toolkit: Supporting Learning Difficulties in Maths(Corwin Ltd)

About the Book

Designed for all teachers, this book provides a wealth of materials and resources to support the needs of learners, aged 6 to 14 years, who have difficulty with maths and number.

Packed full with 220 activities and 55 games, the author provides you with a complete toolkit to enable you to understand dyscalculia and implement practical and innovative strategies to use in the classroom or at home.

This fourth edition is updated with new content including:

-          more on dice and board games, multiplication and division;

-          new downloadable and printable teaching materials (including tracking sheets, activity sheets, game boards and teaching resources);

-          updated videos.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Section I: Early Number Work with Numbers Up to 10 Overview What are the main problems? Activity – Make dot patterns for the numbers 1 to 10 Activity – Focus on key component facts Activity – Make transparent dot pattern cards for the numbers 1 to 5 Game – Make 5 Activity – Explore smaller numbers inside larger numbers Game – Numbers Inside Activity – Change one dot pattern into another Activity – Change dot patterns by adding or subtracting Activity – Use dot patterns to explore the idea of odd and even Game – Collect 5s Game – Key Components Guessing Game Activity – Sort and re-sort a set of dominoes Activity – Connect subtraction to addition Activity – Regroup: Apply logic to find new component facts from given facts Activities – Become familiar with Cuisenaire rods Activity – Explore odd and even with Cuisenaire rods and with money Game – Odd and Even Collectors Game – Draw Your Race on a Number Line Activities – Use Cuisenaire rods to learn all components of the numbers 1–10 Activity – Make a ‘Story’ of a number Game – Race to Tell a Story Activity – Make and read equations with Cuisenaire rods Activity – Draw and record equations informally Game – Key Facts Triad Game Game – Post-It Note Subtraction Activities – Record equations in writing Activity – Make up word problems to match a given number fact Game – Cover the Numbers, or Shut the Box Game – Clear the Deck Activity – Make a bead string, in two colours, of 10 beads Activities – Learn complements of 10 with the bead string Game – How Many Beads? How Many Are Hidden? Activity – Find complements of 10 with Cuisenaire rods Game – Complements Number Search Game – Complements Ping-Pong Game – Ten in a Bed Activities – Explore and learn the doubles up to 5 plus 5 Activities – Estimate and measure using Cuisenaire rods Activities – Focus on plus/minus 1 and plus/minus 2 Game – Who Has the Most Equations? Game – Domino Tens Activity – Compare the difference and equalise Activities – Hidden quantity subtraction Activity – Teach complementary addition Activity – Complementary addition on a number line Activity – Make up word problems about missing numbers Activity – Use reasoning to find near-complements and near-doubles Activity – Identify the best strategy for different situations Activities – Use money for component work SECTION 2: Basic Calculation with Numbers Above 10 Overview What are the main problems? How to help Activity – Connect the numbers 10–20 with the numbers below 10 Game – Polka Dots Game – Regroup Activities – Focus on the ‘teen’ numbers Activities – Explore the numbers between 10 and 20 with Cuisenaire rods Activity – Learn the doubles up to 10 plus 10 Game – Double Take Game – It All Adds Up Activities – Locate 2-digit numbers and put them in context Activities – Complements to 20 Activity – Complements to larger multiples of 10 Activity – Complements on a number line Activity – Introduce bridging through 10 with Cuisenaire rods Game – Five and What’s Left Activity – Bridge through 10 on a number line Activity – Practise bridging and reinforce the commutativity of addition Game – Frame an Addition Activity – Bridge through multiples of 10 on a number line Game – Race Along a Number Line and Bridge Game – Race to the End of the Number Line Activity – Complementary addition, or subtraction by adding Game – Frame a Subtraction Activity – Complementary addition for subtracting round numbers Activity – Harder complementary addition on a number line Activities – Complements to 100 Game – Keep the Change! Activities – Practise and extend the doubles facts Activity – Halving is the opposite of doubling Activity – Find half of round numbers Activity – Function machines for doubling and halving Activity – Use reasoning to find near-complements and near-doubles Activity – 9 is almost 10 Activity – The Basic 8 strategies Activity – Identify which strategy works best in different situations Game – Subtraction Equations Activity – A flexible approach to partitioning Activities – Explore partitioning methods for 2-digit mental additions Activity – Teach an expanded written method for column addition Activity – Avoid decomposition in subtraction SECTION 3: Place Value Overview A note about the threefold nature of the column labelling system What are the main problems? How to help Activities – Exchange units into tens Activities – Concrete counting on place value mats Game – Magic 10s Activities – Make a 20-step staircase and explore the ‘teen’ number names Activity – Cover 20 Game – Race to Cover 100 Game – Four Throws to Reach 100 Activities – Make and read numbers made of Cuisenaire rods or base-10 materials Games – Dice and spinner games Activities – Practise subtraction and decomposition with concrete materials Game – Spot the Decomposition Activities – Use a spike abacus Game – Win Counters on a 100-Square Game – Race through a 100-Square Activities – Practise adding and subtracting 10 and 100 Game – Steer the Number Activity – Transform a 2-digit number in two steps Activity – Teach the threefold repeating pattern: units, tens and hundreds Activities – Explore place value as a shorthand Activities – Read and write multi-digit numbers Activities – Build up large numbers, one column at a time Activity – What is the value of …? Game – Two-Digit Sequences Game – Three-Digit Sequences (Focus on Tens) Game – Place Value Boxes Game – Calculator Skittles Activity – Partition numbers into tens and units in various ways Activity – Split off the ‘teen’ numbers Game – Jump 10 Activities – Locate any number on a number line Activity – Round up or down Game – The Six-Card Rounding Game Game – The Rounding Challenge Activity – Teach x 10 and divded by 10 as a shift between columns Activity – Extend place value thinking to decimals Activity – Connect decimal place value notation to money Game – Rounding Races SECTION 4: Times Tables, Multiplication and Division Overview What are the main problems? How to help Activities – Build small numbers out of equal-sized groups Activity – Connect division to multiplication from the very beginning Activity – Illustrate simple word problems Activity – Use Cuisenaire rods to show that multiplication is commutative Activities – Use Cuisenaire rods to connect multiplication and division Activity – Diagrammatic recording of multiplication and division Activity – Connect step-counting and repeated addition with times tables Activity – Practise mental step-counting from given tables facts Activities – Make times tables patterns on a 100-square Activities – Make times tables patterns on number lines Activities – Key fact: Double means ‘multiply by 2’ Activity – Key facts: x5 is half of x10 Activity – How many 10s? So, twice as many 5s Activity – Key facts division practice Activity – x9 is almost x10 Game – Don’t Walk if You Can Take the Bus Activity – Find all the steps of any times table by reasoning from key facts Activity – Practise all the steps of any times table by reasoning from key facts Activity – Find division facts by reasoning from key facts Game – Mouse Tables Activity – Construct a multiplication grid Activity – Complete a partially filled multiplication grid Games using self-correcting cards to practise individual times tables Game – Multiples from the 1–6 Times Tables Activity – Harder mixed tables practice Game – Products in a Row Game – Factors Activities – Change the shape of the multiplication rectangle Game – Areas on a Grid Activity – Use rectangle sketches to help derive new multiplication facts Activity – Use rods to explore short division Activity – Teach an expanded written notation for short division Activity – Use rectangle sketches to support short division Activity – Compare division sketches to multiplication sketches Activity – Teach the divisibility rules Game – Divisibility Rules Activity – Boxes for long multiplication Recommended Books and Resources Appendix: Introduction to Concrete Manipulative Materials

About the Author :
Ronit Bird is a teacher whose interest in pupils with specific learning difficulties began with a focus on dyslexia. She qualified as a teacher at London University and subsequently gained a further qualification as a specialist teacher of learners with SpLD. While working with dyslexic pupils in a mainstream school, Ronit started to develop strategies and teaching activities to help support the learning of pupils who were experiencing difficulties in maths. Ronit has taught in both primary and secondary settings, and has worked as a SENCO in both the independent and state sectors. As part of the Harrow Dyscalculia Project in 2006–2010, Ronit ran training courses on dyscalculia for subject leaders, teachers and teaching assistants, later working in an advisory capacity with participating schools across the Harrow LEA. Ronit currently works as a teacher and continues to create and deliver professional development courses for teachers. Over the past few years Ronit has developed a growing interest in making demonstration videos for teachers and parents.