Students Count on Functional Math Skills to Succeed

Where do we begin?

Like anyone about to build something, we need a foundation. In order to build a child’s grasp of math concepts, we start with one to one correspondence. The goal is to count in increments of one. By matching items to numbers, a student will eventually understand that a number represents a matching or corresponding number of items. The real-world application could be household tasks such as setting the table and matching socks.

From here, we move on to recognizing and being able to write the first ten digits, then place value: fives, tens, hundreds. Building on that, we teach skip counting. In order to tell time, the ability count by fives is necessary. This is the minimal application of skip counting. Obviously, it is also important for counting money.

Before we focus on the big three aspects of functional math skills, we do expect students to have a basic grasp of operations, such as addition and subtraction. Depending on progress with these, it is sometimes possible to move up to multiplication and division.

Our goal at Alpha School is not for them to demonstrate understanding independently, like you would for an exam or a grade. Rather, we want them to be able to use a calculator to do different sorts of functional calculations, like balancing a bank statement or paying bills.

Time

Teaching time as a functional skill comes down to understanding time and telling time. This means using time in a reasonable manner and being able to use both analog and digital clocks to get to work on time, make the bus or meet a friend for a movie.

Students with significant cognitive or developmental disabilities often get “stuck” on preferred activities, which then override all subsequent activities, such as lunch.

Visual clocks, like a Time Timer, or a picture schedule, work best in these situations. Seeing their schedule tends to give them a better sense of control.

Money

With money, we progress through several levels of skill. It starts with recognizing denominations: pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Next, they count by single denomination, followed by mixed coins. The end goal is for students to understand the value of money. This involves budgets, as well as understanding wages and paying bills.

Measurement

We could have left it at time and money. We are talking about life, after all. However, being familiar with units of measurement, in terms of length or volume, is too useful a skill to leave out. Using a ruler or tape measure, for example, at least until the student can recognize inches, feet or yards, can lead to an aptitude for carpentry or graphic arts. We must never forget that we want our students to not merely function, but to thrive. Grant them the knowledge of measures of volume, I.e. cups, quarts, galls, etc is useful for filling tubs, cooking and following directions. Cooking is yet another life skill we teach, after all. Being able to do so for themselves is one level of success. Seeking and gaining work in the culinary arts, even as kitchen assistants, is another level.