OVERVIEW
Students in Title I programs in Prince William County Schools work on either reading or math, depending on what area they need assistance in. In the Title I math programs, instruction can take place in one of three models:
- Small Group instruction
- Math Recovery
- Knowing Math
SMALL GROUP MATH INSTRUCTION
Students may work with the Title I Math Teacher in a small group setting each day for approximately 30-45 minutes. This instruction is in addition to each student's daily math instruction provided by the regular classroom teacher. The additional math instruction allows students to better understand important math concepts as well as perform computations. The Title I math teacher carefully designs lessons which help students bring meaning to each task. By using manipulatives, hands-on materials, games, puzzles, and many other resources, teachers help students grasp important math concepts and skills which will eventually allow them to attain the standards set for the student's particular grade level.
MATH RECOVERY
Math Recovery, a program developed in Australia, is an intervention program for early mathematics. The Math Recovery program focuses on numeracy (number sense) and addition and subtraction in grades 1 and 2. This program relies heavily on two research based assessments, Assessment A and Assessment B. Title I Math teachers use these assessments to diagnose areas of difficulty as well as to design lessons to remediate these areas. Teachers videotape their work with students for review after working with the child. This allows the teacher to study the child’s methods of solving problems and design lessons related to their specific needs.
Math Recovery is a one on one program where teachers work with one student for 20 to 30 minutes a day, four or five days a week, twelve to fifteen weeks. After determining the child’s levels in Forward Number Word Sequence, Backward Number Word Sequence, Numeral Recognition and Identification, Subitizing, and stage of Arithmetical Learning (addition and subtraction), the teacher designs lessons to work at the child’s instructional level. Through the use of specially designed instructional strategies, children learn that math does make sense and they can succeed.
KNOWING MATH
Knowing Math is a small group mathematics intervention program for 4th - 6th grade students who are at least two years below grade level. Combining best practices of East Asian and U.S. instruction, it is designed to vertically accelerate students to grade level.
Students are provided with a new way of learning mathematics, different from their previous experiences which may have been accompanied by failure and frustration. At the same time, the curriculum draws on the mathematical knowledge that the students already have, although fragmentary and insufficient, to repair and re-organize it to build a sound foundation for future learning. Title I Math teachers use this program with students in grades four and five.
Contact Us:
Staff Development Specialists for Title I Math are:
Linda Zborofsky by email zborofln@pwcs.edu
Donna Stofko by email stofkoda@pwcs.edu
Updated 10/25/06