Procedures for using an abacus to teach addition to learning disabled children are described. Considerations in choosing, constructing, and doing basic problems with an abacus are discussed. (CL)

Analysis of arithmetic problem-solving difficulties among secondary school learning disabled students (N=63) indicated students had the most difficulty with problems of the indirect type and problems that contained extraneous information. Teaching suggestions are offered. (Author/DB)

The article looks at primitive counting techniques and suggests a systematic set of diagnostic activities for teaching young learning disabled children to count. (SBH)

The author points out the usefulness of the ALP minicalculator program with learning disabled learners and introduces a novel aspect of the program--a new method of dealing with fractions via the calculator in which decimal answers are converted to equivalent fractions. (SBH)

Relates Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) with anecdotes of learning-disabled students in primary grades. Message of CGI is that when teachers begin listening to children, they realize how much more students know than they recognized previously. Teachers can achieve goals of compensatory mathematics education by building on this knowledge. (SKS)

The article offers practical games and "tricks" to help remediate deficits in arithmetic and mathematics at the elementary school level. Games include using the fingers to calculate, lattice multiplication, dividing paper into equal columns, square games, code cracking games, and fraction dominoes. (Author/DB)

Readiness activities are described which are designed to help learning disabled (LD) students learn to perform computations in story problems. Activities proceed from concrete objects to numbers and involve the students in devising story problems. The language experience approach is incorporated with the enactive, iconic, and symbolic levels of…

Six students with learning disabilities were taught to solve arithmetic problems appearing on worksheets containing self-monitoring checklists including mnemonic devices to facilitate retention. Results found student performance improved to the criterion level of over 90 percent correct and was maintained over a follow-up period. (Author/PB)

The "count-by" technique of multiplication was taught to a fourth grade student with learning disabilities. The student learned to count by numbers not typically taught (e.g., fours, sevens, and eights). The method resulted in substantial increases in correct multiplications performed per minute, which were maintained and generalized to…

The article offers an interpretation of "specially designed instruction" in arithmetic computation for learning disabled students which challenges overreliance on paper-and-pencil methodologies, rule-oriented procedures, and traditional sequences. Long division is used as an example of developing conceptual understanding to undergird computation.…

Some of the problems of learning disabled students which make teaching arithmetic difficult include: symbol-object relationships, reversibility of functions, perceptual deficits, multiplication tables, division tasks, word problems, and place values. Among suggestions for teachers are presenting and setting up problems according to students'…

Guidelines are presented for modifying basic instruction of subtraction facts for elementary level learning disabled students. A detailed case study is used to illustrate a five-step structured program: (1) find a way to work it out; (2) add to check; (3) learn the partner facts; (4) study families of facts; (5) review and practice. The selection…

The article details a process to develop and test an instructional program designed to teach learning disabled students the procedural, process, and task specific knowledge necessary to solve four kinds of arithmetic story problems. Single subject and group research designs were used to evaluate the problem solving unit. (Author/DB)

This document is a collection of six mathematics lesson plans for use with students with learning disabilities or mild mental retardation. The lesson plans utilize the Essential Elements of Instruction (EEI) 5-Step lesson design model developed by Madeline Hunter. The lesson plans and their authors are as follows: (1) "An EEI Lesson for 1st…

This article compares the relative merits of using Cuisenaire rods (unsegmented, unnumbered, and representing continuous quantities) and number sticks (segmented, numbered, and representing discrete quantities) to introduce number and arithmetic concepts to beginning students or students with learning difficulties or mental disabilities. (DB)