Math can be a difficult subject for students under the best circumstances. But supporting students in math during distance learning is even more challenging!
In the classroom, we’ve got so many ways of supporting students in math:
- small group instruction
- differentiated centers
- hands-on manipulatives
- … and the support of you as a teacher of course! 😉
Even though supporting students in math during distance learning is challenging, it’s not impossible. Read on for some ideas!
Provide Examples
Distance learning looks different for a lot of us. Some teachers are able to teach their students daily via Zoom (or another platform). Other teachers may have a list of assignments to complete on Google Classroom. There are also teachers whose students have little technology access and have had to provide paper packets.
No matter what your distance learning looks like, your students need to be provided with examples of how to solve math problems. You can do this in a few ways online:
- Model live examples when you are teaching them via video chat
- Create a section of your Google Classroom that has videos and/or photos of sample math problems. Or upload videos directly to your Google Slides–my friend Alexandra, at Tech About Math, runs an online course to help you develop Google Slides!
- Send students links to pre-recorded videos to watch on their own time
Create Assignments that Support Students
Math is all about practice! But, if students can’t remember how to correctly solve a type of problem, they may be doing a lot of incorrect practice. And nobody wants that!
Instead of assigning students a worksheet full of math problems, why not make that assignment work FOR you? Unless I am assessing students, I prefer to give them practice that also provides some review as well.
This could be in the form of step-by-step directions or even a link to a video!
Each of my distance learning resources provide students a review as well as practice! These resources are available in multiple math strands for both 4th grade and 5th grade.
Give Students Access to Online Tools
A huge difference between the physical classroom and distance learning is the lack of hands-on experiences. Providing students the opportunity to use manipulatives in math is so important!
Luckily, there are now tons of sites that offer virtual manipulatives that can support students during distance learning. Here are just a few of them:
Just like with physical manipulatives, it is important to model how to use virtual manipulatives. You can show students how to use these during a live video lesson or in a pre-recorded video.
Even though supporting students in math during distance learning is challenging, it’s more important than ever that we provide that support to students! Have more ideas of ways to support students with math? Drop them in the comments!
Interested in more distance learning resources? Check these out!
