SPED Tricks and Treats

Some of my favorite special ed bloggers have teamed up to share some amazing TRICKS and TREATS with you.  

I have a math trick to share.  My kids have a terrible learning how and why we borrow with zeros in subtraction.  Look at the problem below.  My students do not understand that you borrow from the 3, the 0 becomes a 10, and then a 9 because you give ten to the ones place.  Rather than try to teach my students all of those steps, I tell my students that 30 in the problem is the same as 30 tens.  I can borrow 1 ten from 30 tens.  That leaves 29 tens and the ones place becomes 12.  It's so much easier for my kids to understand borrow in this manner.

 I created an entire year's worth of writing lessons.  As a special treat, I am sharing the first 2 weeks with all of you!  I have included teacher plans, anchor chart ideas, and 2 pages of student work for each lesson.  Check it out!  It will make your writing lesson plans super easy!  (Download the preview.)

Hop over to Teach. Love, Autism for more great tricks and treats.

Math Hacks: Division

Do your kids struggle with long division?  Then this is the post for you.

First, take a regular problem:

Next, students draw a line after each number in the dividend.  (If the first number in the dividend is smaller than the divisor, then you would draw the line after the first two numbers.)

Next, students draw one line each time they count by the divisor.  Draw one dot to represent 1.  For example, students would count 3 (draw a line), 6 (draw a line), 7 (draw a dot.)  Count the lines and write that number as the first part of the quotient.

The dot represents the remainder for the first part of the problem.  Move that 1 over in front of the number in the tens place.  Students follow the same procedure.  They count 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 (draw one line for each number) 19 (draw a dot)  Count the lines and write it as the tens place in the quotient.

The dot represents a 1 and is moved in front of the 4 in the ones place.  Students count, 3, 6, 9, 12 (draw a line for each number) 13, 14 (draw a dot for each number.)  Count the lines and write the number as the ones place in the quotient.  The dots represents the remainder for the quotient.

I have this available as a smart board file in my store for $3.  You can find it {HERE}

Math Hacks: Multiplication

Do your kids struggle with multiplying large numbers?  I love this method for helping them remember the 6-9 facts.

So, once we get the facts down, my kids usually have a hard time remembering all of the steps and keeping all of their numbers lined up.  After trying many different "tricks"  I finally found the lattice method.  It's very easy for my kiddos because they only have to know their basic facts, and it's easy to keep everything lined up.


Here's a typical problem:

Write the problem like this in a grid.

Multiply 3x4 and write 12 in the first box.  3x6=18 in the next box on the top row.

Move to the bottom row.  9x4=36  9x6=54

 After the grid is filled in, students add on the diagonal.  Start on the bottom left corner.  Move the 4 down to the one's place.  Next, add 6+5+8=19.  Write the 9 in the tens place and carry the one to the next diagonal row.  Add 3+2+1+1=7.  Then bring the 1 from the top corner down to the thousands place.

Much easier for kids to remember.  My kids can multiply grade level problems using this method.

You can find my smart board file {HERE}