M5M5
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Reged: 07/29/05
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My daughter is in 5th grade and in special ed for math (she used to be in for reading too, but she moved out of that last year). In math, she is on a 2-3 grade level. Her regular teacher (this is her first year teaching) I feel is giving her excessive math work (right now it's fractions and all the junk that goes with that)...2 pages a night. DD is not getting it (hasn't been getting it)...and we have tried everything we know of to teach her how to do this math work...we basically have to do it for her (it's THAT bad). We've tried sending the homework back to school uncompleted with an explanation that she can not do the work...it's way beyond her skill level right now. She gets zeros. Then I complained about the zeros, so the teacher will give her a zero and then a modified grade of 80....no matter what. I'm just at a loss as what to do now. She is spending HOURS on just 2 pages of math...and then we have to wind up giving her the answers anyway.
Is this right? We've never had this problem before. DD is also having other problems with this teacher...and it's to the point where I almost feel like the teacher is picking on her (if what my DD says is right). All of a sudden she is having "social" problems and they want to put her in a social class in resource. Um really? NO. She has come home in tears because she feels the teacher picks on her. I'm not sure if the teacher is singling her out (my daughter does exaggerate sometimes) or not. I don't think she has any experience dealing with ADHD students.
Anyway...I'm not sure what to do about the math work. She's just not getting it. We recently had an IEP meeting (me via phone) and I told everyone the problem...all the teacher could say was there is a math program on the internet that may help (it doesn't). Since the meeting, DD's been getting 2 pages of math work a night whereas it was one page before. Oh, this teacher will be gone next month (she is a sub...since the beginning of the year while the regular teacher had a baby). If things improve next month with DD, then i will know it is the teacher.
Advice?
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elliesmom
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Reged: 11/07/05
Posts: 8835
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What is in her IEP?
Does it say "just change her grade to 80." That doesn't sound like much of a solution. I can't imagine anything being a solution other than designing a totally separate curriculum to help her catch up. A 5th grader who is on a 2-3 grade level is going to be totally lost.
If it were my child i would probably take her to Sylvan - I have seen them do amazing things and they tailor the curriculum to each child.
If I couldn't afford that, I would order some homeschool math materials at her level and work our way up, and asking that her IEP be changed to reflect that she submit math work for what she is working on. I love the "Math U See" program. Heavy on understanding light on busywork.
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Forgiveness is...letting go of the hope that the past can be changed.
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Sherron
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Reged: 11/25/06
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What annual goals and benchmarks were determined for her for math, and with what accommodations? Usually ADHD accommodations include shortened assignments, extended time, frequent breaks, or the use of manipulatives to help focus attention. Doubling her assignments seems counterproductive... read over her IEP to see if what is being done is indeed following the recommendations.
The social problems... it's possible dd is frustrated with the class, not being able to do the work, and the teacher's expectations... to her, that can feel like getting "picked" on, even when that's not what's going on.
What to do about the math work? For starters... stop doing it for her. It's a bandaid that doesn't solve the problem, and will make it worse in the long run, since homework is used to measure understanding. The teacher doesn't want to measure your understanding. You will get her passed to the next grade, but math builds and she will be missing the basics to succeed in the subject.
You can see if dd finds Khan Academy useful. She can view the videos and practice the concepts at her own pace, and if you create an account, it keeps track of your progress, along with achievement awards. Here's the link: khanacademy.org
Other than that, consider a one on tutor. Not sure if you have a Sylvan Learning Center near you, but from what I understand, they have online options as well.
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ssmom79
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Reged: 06/27/07
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Is the problem she cannot retain the information or it takes longer than expected to grasp the concept? Do you see this in other areas of school?
There are lots of online resources meant to make learning the concepts more interactive and possibly increasing the retention ability of the child. You should search beyond the recommendation from the teacher into other areas on the web.
For my SD in math, it is repetition. If she has trouble getting a concept (and that's her problem, she doesn't 'get it' as quickly as the class moves) so when she has trouble, we pull the assignment aside and we practice several times similar problems to the one she is doing. That helps her get it. I don't know how your daughter best learns and if this may be help, you may find she learns another way.
You probably have not seen this before for two reasons, one is the teacher and two is the fifth grade course work. Fifth grade starts the harder math concepts, where you really need to master a concept to work with the next. Plus they move so quickly from one to another it's difficult to retain it all.
What does her IEP say about homework, does she get any additional time to complete it? Can you see about working that into her IEP? So maybe she gets the same work, but has longer to finish?
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M5M5
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Reged: 07/29/05
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Quick reply--I'm going to try to include as much info as I can here, and hopefully answer all of your questions. This is taken directly from the IEP paperwork sent to me:
*She is deficit in comparison to peers on work quality, on-task w/out supervision, she has problems attentional issues such as listening to directions/instructions, thinking thru work, and focus on the task at hand. Teacher is trying to assist her with accommodations/modifications and extra teacher help - this is from her 5th grade teacher
Classroom accommodations: presentation of subject matter - prompting upon request, environmental arrangements - planned/preferential seating
Custom Accommodations: assignments/tests - give extra cues/prompts, check often for understanding/review, provide extra grade opportunities (re-do items missed) for poor performance as determined by teacher discretion, additional time and/or extended time limits.
Math
Classroom accomodations (same as above)
Custome accommodations: abbreviated assignments (fewer items/questions) @ teacher discretion and if tests allow, additional time or extended time limits, provide extra grade opportunites (re-do items missed) for poor performance as determined by the teacher, modify difficulty level of content, modify grading scale (grades below 80 will be modified to 80..which I think is redundant), give extra cues/prompts and checking often for understanding.
I don't know how else to explain it other than she is just not getting it. We do problems together, and when she tries to do them herself, she can't remember how to do them. And we've been over and over and over it constantly. She's just not getting it. She's expected to do her special ed math with her special ed teacher every day, and on top of that she has to do her 5th grade math..which she is just not getting. If she's assigned math homework, I think it should be on the level she is still trying to master (her special ed class). There's just no way she can get the 5th grade stuff they are doing now. I don't know how else to help her. I have no checked into Sylvan, but that's a good idea...I'll talk to DH about that tonight and check into price and all that.
Sherron..it's not like we do it "for" her. We do it "with" her (but yeah, it's almost like we are doing it for her). If she does it by herself, she gets everything wrong and will get a zero...that will be later modified to an 80. Seems redundant. I'll also be honest here, sometimes the 5th grade work even I am having problems getting (simply because all she brings home is a worksheet with poor explanations and examples on the back)...so DH is the one usually helping her with her math (he's a wiz at math USUALLY), but...he's not helping her either. It is beyond us...how to teach her. And if we are going to be doing this much work with her, we should take her out of school and home school her, honestly. She has 2 pages of math to do a day, and 1-3 pages of LA to do, plus reading assignments, every day. I think it's ridiculous. She's not been able to go outside to play lately during the week because she has too much work to do. I'm over it.
I will check out the Khan Academy website..thanks!
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Cassie23
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Reged: 10/07/05
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Is she currently on ADHD medication? Once my son started his meds we noticed a direct change specifically in Mathematics. Much of what you wrote in your first posting was my son before the meds. He struggled with concepts and how to apply them. It would take him hours to do homework and hours to study. He would get frustrated because he just wasn't getting it. I felt like we were doing it for him at times just to get him through. That changed after the diagnosis and the medication was stabilized.
Tutors will help your child with what they are learning currently, but my not help if your child is struggling with Math concepts and foundations. There are home programs- tutors can come into your home and work with your child. They are usually $50 an hour I believe.
Sylvan is VERY expensive. I went in with son and the testing was free- I think that was a special and is not the norm. They take a test and then will show you how they scored. My son did pretty well...he had a lot of the foundation/concepts down just struggled with the follow through. He was rated a 40% which means he knew 40% of what they were testing for. She told me how many hours would get him to where she should be... Essentially they wanted him for a total of 40 hours (I think 4 a week) which comes out to be about $52/hour. They have payment plans but they have to be paid monthly so it's about $800 a month.
I like what they have to offer, but our Sylvan is very small and my son felt uncomfortable there. I knew he wouldn't be able to do well while feeling out of his element. I will see there were more grade school children there than any other age.
In the end, we were in the middle of the ADD diagnosis for son while we did the study at Sylvan. We decided against it, but I will probably look for a Math tutor for him over the summer. Sharpen him up for the school year. He received a B for his semester grade. Our school does block classes so that was his final grade- no Math this semester.
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M5M5
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Reged: 07/29/05
Posts: 11722
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Yes, she takes Vyvanse and there has been a huge huge difference in her grades since she's been taking it. She came OUT of special ed for reading and all her other grades improved as well. It's just since she entered 5th grade that she's been having all of these problems. Her math improved a little when she was placed on meds, but not a whole lot. Her other teachers were not giving her this...what I think of as excessive...grade level homework to do every day. In fact, she was never give any grade level homework for what she was in resource for. It was always at the level she was on at the time.
Math is just not a strong area for her. If that's how expensive Sylvan is, there is no way we can afford it.
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Cassie23
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I don't even know if you can do less hours than they suggest, that is. The sheet they gave me has the least amount of hours at 72! It's really expensive... You could do it on a monthly basis and drop out if you don't like it... But $800 some a month can be pretty costly for most.
Edited by Cassie23 (02/08/12 07:33 PM)
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ssmom79
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Reged: 06/27/07
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Custom Accommodations: assignments/tests - give extra cues/prompts, check often for understanding/review, provide extra grade opportunities (re-do items missed) for poor performance as determined by teacher discretion, additional time and/or extended time limits.
______________________________
This will allow extended time on homework. Perhaps with this extended time she will retain the information. Maybe the teacher will allow this in conjunction with the below accommodations.
Math
Classroom accomodations (same as above)
Custome accommodations: abbreviated assignments (fewer items/questions) @ teacher discretion and if tests allow, additional time or extended time limits, provide extra grade opportunites (re-do items missed) for poor performance as determined by the teacher, modify difficulty level of content, modify grading scale (grades below 80 will be modified to 80..which I think is redundant), give extra cues/prompts and checking often for understanding.
______________________
This could reduce the two page assignments with the abbreviated assignments portion in conjunction with the above additional time.
Then I'd get into something online that can assist with discovering the best way for you DD to learn and retain math. She CAN do it, it may take longer and more work to do it, but you just have to be there to help her learn what works and how she can succeed. I think if she feels less pressure from the amount of work, she may perform better.
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Sherron
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Reged: 11/25/06
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"Yes, she takes Vyvanse and there has been a huge huge difference in her grades since she's been taking it. She came OUT of special ed for reading and all her other grades improved as well. It's just since she entered 5th grade that she's been having all of these problems. Her math improved a little when she was placed on meds, but not a whole lot."
Sounds like the issue is no longer the adhd, since she brought all other subjects up but math. She is a 5th grader, expected to do 5th grade level assignments with the knowledge base of a 2nd - 3rd grader. Of course she doesn't get it. She is behind and you might as well be asking her to do trig at this point. Not happening, until the gaps are filled in.
Khan Academy is an option. Sylvan is an option... a more expensive one, but making a call to find out more info is free, and you may just be surprised what options they have available.
tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/form_tutoring_discount.cfm
tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/form_assessment_discount.cfm
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