Using Simple Imagery to Help Students Learn Mathematics

Utilizing imagery and visual memory can be very helpful when learning mathematics.  A single picture can help a student define and remember a concept, or it can even help them to recall the steps required to compute a problem.  What’s more, it often brings the “fun factor” into the learning environment as students can pull out their crayons, colored pencils or magic markers to complete the activity.

I recently learned about the Palm Tree Method from one of my students. I scoured the internet to find its origin, but came up empty handed.  So, although I did not come up with this idea, it is still one of my favorites for solving proportions.  Here is a sample problem and the steps to follow.

1. Write out the proportion.
2. Draw a green oval around the numerator of the first fraction and the denominator of the second fraction.
3. Draw another green oval around the denominator of the first fraction and the numerator of the second fraction.  
4. Notice how the crisscrossing ovals create a multiplication sign.  This will remind students that they will be multiplying the numbers circled. 
5. Draw the trunk on the tree as a brown rectangle.
6. Write out the problem:  100·x = 60·80  (placing the equals sign in the trunk of the palm tree).
7. Solve the next step 60·80=4800 (again placing the equals sign in the trunk of the palm tree).
8. Then divide the two sides by 100 to solve for x.

If you would like to learn about other imagery activities to help your students learn math concepts, you might like my products, Measurement Memory Strategies or Why We Should Learn about Angles.

Cheers, Erica

Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com  www.dyslexiamaterials.com and  www.learningtolearn.biz 

Learning Place Value with Pompoms and Pill Boxes

Bringing a tactile, visual and experiential component into math instruction can bring the “fun factor” into your lessons.  In addition, incorporating multisensory dynamics into lessons makes them more memorable and concrete. 

This activity is great for math centers, a classroom activity or individual remediation. 

When I teach place values, I like to engage my students with colorful pompoms and pill boxes!  You can usually find pill boxes and bags of assorted pompoms at a Dollar Store.  With a few color coded labels, that cover the days of the week, your pill boxes can be transformed into pompom compartments.  I like to put a single color in each compartment and I color code the labels to match.  This makes it easy for students to reassemble the activity for the next person.  Also, make sure to vary the number of pompoms in each partition.  I like to make a variety of difficulty levels for the students and use the seven boxes as follows:

· Millions, Hundred Thousands, Ten Thousands, Thousands, Hundreds, Tens, Ones

· Hundreds, Tens, Ones, Decimal, Tenths, Hundredths, Thousandths

· Decimal, Tenths, Hundredths, Thousandths, Ten Thousandths, Hundred Thousandths, Millionths

I also like to provide a laminated sheet so students can record answers with a dry erase marker or I place the answer sheet in a dry erase pocket.   Students can check their answers with an answer sheet or a barcode on the back of the pill box.

If you would like this activity, you can create it yourself.  However, this activity, as well as the score sheets, are included in my popular publication, Place Value Panic Game, and Instruction. To learn more, Click Here.

Cheers, Erica
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com  www.dyslexiamaterials.com and  www.learningtolearn.biz 

Main Ideas and Supporting Details Instruction, Activities and Games

Many students struggle with main ideas and supporting details.  What’s more, they often find the instruction and activities associated with these abstract concepts to be boring.  I have just finished a new, main idea and supporting details product that offers engaging, multisensory, and mindful lessons, handouts, activities and games.  A charming, cartoon-like character, Main I-deer, will walk your students through the process in a fun and memorable way.  To top it off, I have included two card games (beginners and intermediate) that can be used for group work, learning centers or individual remediation.  

Come check out a free image as well as a preview document.

Cheers, Erica 

Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com  www.dyslexiamaterials.com and  www.learningtolearn.biz 

108 Online Games that Offer Cognitive or Educational Benefits

Over the years, I have scoured the internet for great, online games.  I am a learning specialist, and if I can get my students involved in activities that benefit cognition and learning, then they can expand their potential and also find joy in the process.   I have each of the games described and linked on the website for my private practice.  In addition, the games are categorized under the following headings, so that it is easy to find the needed resources:  cognitive, general education, writing and language, social studies, science, spelling, reading, digital story telling, math, grammar, typing, social skills, and sequencing.

So, I wanted to share this link with other teachers and families.  CLICK HERE  

I hope you find it useful.  I would love to hear your thoughts!  Also, if you have any other sites that you like, let me know and I will be happy to place them on the page. 

Cheers, Erica

Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com  www.dyslexiamaterials.com and  www.learningtolearn.biz 

Helping Students to Record and Turn in Assignments

Recording assignments and turning in the finished product may seem like a “no brainer” for many teachers, but did you know that executive functioning, a key cognitive component in planning and organizing, is not fully developed until many reach their early 20s?  What’s more, many young students are not allowed to use modern technologies, such as smart phones and Ipads while at school to help them with this process.  Furthermore, many students are overwhelmed by the countless distractions in a busy classroom and miss what appear to be clear directives.  So, what can we do to help students remember to record as well as turn in assignments? 

Create a Structured, Reliable Classroom Routine:

   1)   Plan assignments for the whole week.  This will save a lot of time and trouble for everyone.

   2)   Post assignments and reminders at the beginning of class in a location that is easy to see. 

   3)   Review new assignments as well as those that are due, verbally, once everyone is settled down.

   4)   Make sure that all the students record assignments and check agendas for accuracy. 

   5)   Print assignments out onto labels that students can place into their assignment pads.  This is great for students that have graphomotor weaknesses.

   6)   Make a document or take a picture of written assignments and email it to the students and students’ parents with a simple email list.  

   7)   When students hand in their assignments, give them a sticker of a hand to place into their assignment pad.  This way they will know that they turned it in. 

   8)   To make sure everyone turned in their assignments say, “Raise your hand if you turned in your assignment.”  Be specific about which assignment and hold up a sample for all the students to see.

Offer a Consistent and Planned Approach for Missed Class Work and Assignments:

   1)   Post assignments on the internet.  However, do not use this approach unless the site is reliable and you can always post the assignments before the end of the school day.

   2)   Require that each of your students share their contact information with at least 5 other students (Study Buddies).  This way students can contact one another as needed. 

   3)   Suggest a plan for how and when students can make up the work.

   4)   Email assignments to students and their parents.

   5)   Allow students to email you finished assignments when they are not able to attend class. 

   6)   Communicate all missed work with students, parents and any service providers.

If you are looking for structured ways to help your students with planning, organizing and time management, consider purchasing Planning, Time Management and Organization for Success.  It offers over 100 pages of graphic organizers and handouts that can help your students with reading, writing, test prep, planning for long term assignments, memory, active learning, motivation and more.  Click here or on the image to learn more.

Cheers, Erica
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com  www.dyslexiamaterials.com and  www.learningtolearn.biz 

Why Do Finnish Schools Finish First? 10 Ways to Improve US Education

Let’s face it, the US education system is a mess.  Most kids are anxious and stressed, many teachers are fearful and disrespected, countless parents are confused and annoyed and scores of administrators are angry and aggressive.  When programs are hurting most, funding is usually diminished.  Kids don’t receive services until they are failing or close to failing, and if interventions help these underachieving students, services are continually stripped away as soon as they get their heads above water.  It’s a competitive, punitive, and dysfunctional system that desperately needs radical reform. 

This blog post reflects back on and summarizes the main points of an interesting article from The Atlantic Magazine published back in December of 2011 entitled, What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success.  This is what they suggest:

 10 Strategies for Success:

     1.    Assign less homework!

     2.    Integrate creative play into classroom lessons.

     3.    Get rid of standardized tests.

     4.    Let teachers create their own assessments.

     5.    Give teachers appreciation, responsibility and respectable pay.

     6.    Improve teacher training.

     7.    If a teacher is not doing a good job, it must be addressed.

     8.    Teachers and schools must stop competing and become cooperative.

     9.    Provide equal education opportunities for all children regardless of income, background or location.

   10.    Offer all students free meals, healthcare, counseling and guidance.

What do you think of these suggestions?  Do you have any other strategies that could help?

Here is the link to the article: 

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Cheers, Erica

Show Don’t Tell: A Descriptive Writing Game

Descriptive writing enables the author to paint scenes and characters in the mind’s eye of the reader.  Like an artist, carefully selected, colorful words can convey vivid imagery, but only if the author learns to "show" and not "tell" the audience.  Learning how to use illustrative adjectives, action verbs, graphic adverbs, expressive metaphors, vivid similes and showy personification is the key to writing engaging stories.  What's more is it makes the process of writing a lot more fun!

Concrete learners or students that struggle with visualization or language processing can find descriptive writing difficult to learn.  They can also find the learning process boring and tedious.  As a result, I created a game to help make descriptive writing both enjoyable and memorable.

 

Show Don’t Tell: A Fabulously Fun Descriptive Writing Game, by Dr. Erica Warren at Good Sensory Learning, will walk you through the process.  You will be amazed at the beautiful paragraphs that players of all ages will create. 

Copyright 2013

Come learn more by clicking here

Cheers, Erica
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com  www.dyslexiamaterials.com and  www.learningtolearn.biz