1. Screen students, identify at-risk learners, and provide targeted supports.

If your division does not have screeners, you can use:

• The Saskatchewan Common Math Assessments, Exemplars, or Rubrics
• Number Sense Screeners (SaskMATH)

5.Targeted supports should focus on whole numbers and number sense in K-5 and rational numbers and number sense in Grades 4-8. (Riccomini & Witzel, 2010)

• Video: WWC Recommendation: Materials should focus on whole numbers in K-5 and on rational numbers in 4-8

6. Instruction during targeted supports should be explicit and systematic. During regular instruction, we often skip around through math content to show connections between skills. This approach may cause difficulty for students that are struggling to master a single concept or skill (Riccomini & Witzel, 2010).

• Video: Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Response to Intervention (RtI) for Elementary and Middle Schools. Taking early action may be key to helping students struggling with mathematics.
• Resource Video Script for above
• Video 2 Explicit, Systematic Instruction: Elementary
• Definitions for Explicit, Systematic Instruction
• How to plan for explicit instruction
• Article: Explicit Instruction: A Teaching Strategy in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics for Students with Learning Disabilities.

The essential strategies to include when teaching targeted support groups are:

• Visual representations
• Manipulatives and concrete experiences
• Concrete to representational to abstract (CRA) sequence (Begin with concrete hands-on experiences then move towards visual representations and abstract and symbolic representations)
  • Video: What Is The Concrete Representational Abstract Approach?
  • Video:WWC Recommendation: Materials should include opportunities to work with visual representations
  • CRA Step-by-step: Concrete Representational Abstract (CRA) is a three step instructional approach that has been found to be highly effective in teaching math concepts

Models (exemplars) of well-worked problems

• Teacher and student think-alouds
• Guided practice and feedback
• Frequent reviews and summaries
• Instruction on solving word problems based on common underlying structures
  • Video: WWC Recommendation: Interventions should include instruction on solving word problems
  • Numberless word problems
• Analysis and discussion of common errors

Sample Lesson Plan:

Fact fluency practice (5-10 minutes)

5-10 minutes of basic fluency practice. Fluency practice is provided through games using cards, dice, catch-balls, etc. Observe students as they play and monitor and track student fluency.

• Students should be able to state each fact on three different occasions without applying strategies to consider it “mastered”. 

Game Ideas

Math Card Games

Hit the Deck: A collection of math games with a deck of cards

Games to Play with a Pair of Dice.pdf

5 Math Games That Decrease Your Prep Time (These games can be adapted for any skill)

Up, Down and Around – Math Games by Addition Strategy

Slapjack Math Game

Plus 9 Face Off

Friendly Fish Addition Game

Did you know…any games that use a deck of cards can also be played with ten frame cards to provide visual support for students that need it?

Review last session’s work (5 minutes)

Students write a short entrance slip based on the material they worked on in the last session. Discuss and review the work.

New learning (10-20 minutes)

New learning. Ensure that instruction is explicit and systematic. Provide opportunities for students to talk about their understanding and reasoning and receive immediate feedback. Use manipulatives, visuals and models.

Independent practice (formative assessment) (5-10 minutes)

“On your own” question as a formative assessment.

Optional: Reward game

Something students enjoy that still reinforces math concepts and/or fact fluency.