Check in with Mrs G

Teaching Special Education & Social Skills

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Other Words for Addition

Teaching students other words for addition and subtraction are the first steps in the tricky business of learning to solve word problems. Finding out what operation the problem requires is key. In my resource room, I like to make it a game.

other-words-for-addition

Create Clue Cards

We use clue cards to sleuth. These are just index cards that students have written or glued a list of words onto and decorated! Students use their cards to find out what the operation is in any word problem.

I start by giving my students a quick cheat sheet. Depending on their ability students write or cut out and glue their clues onto the inside of the card. Then, students fold their cards in half and decorate the outside. Students can use these cards to learn to look for clues within the text. I have found that this helps my students feel more confident with the task of breaking down the text in a word problem.

other-words-for-addition

You can read more about the strategies and resources we use to solve word problems in my classroom here. (We also use this same simple style “clue card” for signal words for cause and effect, transition words, and tons more. Students love them so feel free to get creative!)

Other Words for Addition

  • Sum
  • Combine
  • Plus
  • Total
  • Add
  • In All

Other Words for Subtraction

  • Take Away
  • Minus
  • Difference
  • Less Than
  • Fewer

FREE Resource for teaching students to Solve Word Problems

Here is a free resource to help your students learn to solve word problems!

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One to One Correspondence

One to one correspondence is a valuable skill in the world of math. It is the foundation for counting, addition, subtraction and pretty much all number sense skills. Without mastery of one to one correspondence, students cannot achieve higher level math tasks such as how to multiply fractions.  Having your child memorize a counting sequence is totally meaningless unless they understand that each of those numbers represents a value. So, it is likely you will see many IEP goals written about one to one correspondence.

one-to-one-correspondence

Basically…

One to one correspondence is a fancy way of saying: learning to count objects by acknowledging that each one has a value. You can slide them from one pile to another or tap them individually.

How to Teach One to One Correspondence

The nice part is, you  can use anything to teach and practice this skill. At home with my preschooler, food is a favorite. Cheerios, carrots, pretzel sticks, you name it we count it. In the classroom, I also like to keep it interesting I have a jar of rando “cool” things kids have found/given me/left in my classroom over the years (you can see my JAR and the tools I made to use with it here). An abacus or homemade abacus of beads on a pipe cleaner taped to card stock work perfectly. I also incorporate practice into everyday life by carefully phrasing my conversations with students. For example, I ask my students to put one arm in one coat sleeve when we line up for lunch.

Example IEP Goal

I like to keep special education jargon low and accessibility of information high! We have to be fancy in IEPs because… well… lawyers. But, when you break it down, it is actually simple. Here is an example of an IEP goal you might see for one to one correspondence:

Sample IEP Goal: Provided with ten objects, student will count the objects using one to one correspondence and verbalize the correct total number with 80% accuracy in 3 of 5 trials as measured by teacher data.

You can read more about how I break down math concepts in my classroom here. If there is a term in your students IEP that you are not clear on, be sure to speak up! Your team can help!