REASONING

Math Reasoning involves: problem solving

A student may be struggling in this area if you observe that s/he:

scores poorly on I-Ready math or other benchmarking measure
has difficulty grasping math concepts
has trouble understanding the “language of math”
has difficulty detecting numerical patterns
has trouble identifying appropriate strategies or processes in word problems
has difficulty recognizing salient details and organizing information needed for problem solving

Math reasoning is complex and at the outset it’s important to make sure the student has the ability to perform the underlying computation (eg. can they multiply successfully if needed for the problem or can they skip count for number patterns?) and can read the problem independently and understand all the vocabulary, not just terms related to math.

Word-Problem Mnemonics

Multiplication/Division Schemas

What Works Clearinghouse

Addition/Subtraction Schemas

Advanced Problem Solving

Peer Assisted Learning

From: Word Problem-Solving Instruction in Inclusive Third-Grade Mathematics Classrooms, Cynthia C. Griffin and Asha K Jitendra:

"Instructional strategies that researchers have found to be consistently effective for teaching students who experience learning difficulties in mathematics include depicting problems visually and graphically, teaching math concepts and principles by using explicit instruction, and using peer-assisted learning activities during mathematics instruction"

(Baker, Gersten, & Lee, 2002: L.S. Fuchs, Fuchs, Yazdian, & Powell, 2002: Jitendra, Griffin, Deadline-Buchman, et al., 2007: Kroesbergen, Van Luit, & Maas, 2004: Van Garderen & Montague, 2003).

REASONING INTERVENTIONS

This curated list of interventions has been compiled from a variety of sources including: University of Missouri EBI, Intervention Central, fcrr.org, and Reading Rockets. This is by no means an all inclusive list and there may be many you prefer over the ones cited here. If so, let us know so we can include your favorites too! The interventions on this page are evidence based and require few if any additional materials. Many can be adapted for use at different grade levels and are generally listed in order of complexity and skill level.