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From dyscalculia to understanding

What is the most effective way of helping dyscalculic students to understand basic maths?

In many ways the answer to this question is simple. Where maths is taught in a multi-sensory way so that the calculations can be seen, heard and touched as the maths progresses, then students can make rapid progress.

To give a simple example, a dyscalculic child who doesn’t understand the essence of fractions can be helped by approaching the topic via the cutting up of sheets of paper in many different ways and seeing how these fractions combine, physically and mathematically – while writing the mathematical symbol on each resultant piece of paper.

Since the Dyscalculia Centre started to explore this approach some ten years ago we have produced a significant number of resources to help teachers of dyscalculic students on their journey to numeric literacy using this multi-sensory approach.

However, during this time one of the most interesting things we’ve discovered is that many students who clearly are dyscalculic do not need to engage in a full course of multi-sensory maths in order to get themselves up to speed.

Instead, they simply need guiding through the elements of maths that remain hard for them to grasp.

For these students and their teachers we have produced Dyscalculia Practice Activities. The practical activities can be conducted in a small group at school (or copied for parents to use with their children at home), and cover the whole range of maths from the essence of number to fractions, shapes and decimals.

You can start by locating an area of difficulty (for example, fractions) that the student has and then focus on the activities relating to these until the student is confident in the topic.

The volume contains 90 sets of activities, with each set incorporating ten or more individual tasks for the student to undertake with the teacher.

Dyscalculia Practice Activities is available as a printed copiable volume or as a CD which can be put on the school’s learning platform for use by other staff.

Dyscalculia Practice Activities by Tony Attwood
Publisher’s reference: T1782emn
ISBN: 978 1 86083 820 0
Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/dyscalculia/T1782.pdf

Prices

  • Photocopiable book: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • CD with school-wide rights: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Both the book and the CD: £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the book…