Post # 13 Readings for This Course

This information was sent by email but I also wanted to post it on the blog for some readers who are not taking the course. There are required readings for this course.  You will find them in the supplemental materials folder in the course DROPBOX.  They will be labeled: Required Readings.  You should begin with Subitizing and The Learning Brain.  Subitizing explains our reasons for approaching numeracy as a core deficit.  Subitizing is the automatic recognition of quantity and I would add, quantity relationships.  It is a crucial component of math instruction/education. The chapter from Blakemore and Frith explains some of the research on how the brain processes mathematics that you will find throughout the manual.  

The UDL Principles chart is something that should be downloaded along with Adler Fracts and the Pattern Block Activity and placed in your manual.  I have provided a section of the manual in the rear where you find all the power point presentation handouts.  It is also a place for you to put articles and references that you find relevant. Note the language used to describe the interactions between the student and content.  These are phrases we use when we talk the talk of education.  In order for us to be universally understood when we describe the methodology and impact of multisensory, we need to have a shared vocabulary. 

The articles from NCTM and The Learning Brain may be printed and placed in your binder too if you wish.  I like having them in color and full size so that I can make notes or underline passages.  Because they are in pdf format, you may also print them as 2 pages per sheet and double sided if you want.  That will save paper and bulk in the manual.

Once you understand numeracy, begin looking at Ten is the Magic Number and the Joyce Steeves articles.  You should also begin looking through the first sections of the binder and reading the material there.  I have made an effort to condense research and rationale for you so that you do not need to do a lot of research on the internet.

Be prepared to reflect on Subitizing, The Learning Brain, and Ten is the Magic Number for the first video conference sessions.  These are not the only required readings but they are the early ones. There are others which you will find in Dropbox. Most teachers also enjoy the articles Tying It All Together by Jennifer Suh. 

I would recommend that you also look at Fluency Without Fear by Jo Boaler.  It is readily available on the internet.  There is a particularly poignant paragraph about the abuse way many programs teach fluency.  We should pay attention.  

You should also become familiar with the Website: Achieve the Core: Math Focus By Grade and the content focus in math for each grade. This is a very valuable resource which is fairly new.