Math Facts

ADVICE on

Math

from

Susan Barton

Developer of the

Barton Reading & Spelling System

www.BartonReading.com

_____

Children with dyslexia understand math concepts,

but they have trouble memorizing their math facts.

The Barton Reading & Spelling System will have no impact on math.

So here is Susan Barton’s advice on math.

_____

Math Facts

For adding and subtracting facts, TouchMath is great.

Watch this free YouTube video to see how to add using Touch Math.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uWT5i4PRN8

Watch this free YouTube video to see how to subtract using Touch Math.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW42AEW8mM4

For multiplication and division facts, Times Tales works like a charm:

www.timestales.com

Or, if your child has a Smart Pen for taking notes in class, it also has a

Calc mode.

Smart Pen solves the problem of not being able to take notes during a

lecture or meeting. To watch a video on the Smart Pen, go to:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2q8_fR0lTI

To see a demo of its Calc mode, go to:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sgyugOT38

Penmanship/Dysgraphia

If your child has penmanship problems, such as dysgraphia, that makes it

hard to line up numbers, use the free app called ModMath.

Use its on-screen keyboard to set up the math problem. Once you have

solved it, you can either print out your work, or email it directly to the

teacher.

www.modmath.com

Multi-step Math Problems

Students with dyslexia have trouble remembering (memorizing) the

sequence of steps in multi-step math problems. The free Photo Math app

is a great workaround for multi-step math problems, as well as fractions,

algebra, and more.

www.vimeo.com/109405701

Math Worksheets

If you need free worksheets to practice math facts or concepts, go to:

www.helpingwithmath.com/resources/wor-dyscalculia.htm

In the black bar across the top, choose Worksheets, then choose the skill

from the list.

Become a Math Tutor

If you are a professional Barton tutor who wants to offer math tutoring

services, Susan Barton recommends you get trained in multi-sensory

math techniques and use them while teaching a systematic and logical

math sequence.

One organization offer that type of training online – for professional tutors.

To learn more about their on-line multi-sensory math course, go to:

www.asdec.org/multisensory_math_1_distance

Math Curriculum

for Parents or Teachers

Susan Barton is not a math specialist, so she has never evaluated math

curriculum.

But many people on the On-Line Barton Tutor Chat Group are

homeschooling their children. They have shared the curriculum that worked

for their child. Their recommendations follow.

But please be aware that no one program worked for every student.

For each program one tutor recommended, another parent commented it

did not help their child – and then recommended a different program.

These are math programs recommended by homeschool parents who are

active in our online Barton Tutors group.

Singapore Math

For folks new to Singapore math or visual modeling of math problems, I

encourage you to explore the modeling books and videos that explain the

approach.

Here is a link to one of them:

www.hmheducation.com/singaporemath/pdf/ModelDrawing.pdf

Also there are numerous videos that demonstrate the steps involved with

modeling:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VG0CthXs0o&feature=related

Also math card games provide the ongoing review of facts that is fun:

http://store.rightstartmath.com/mathcardgames4thedition.aspx

Teaching Textbooks

We use Teaching Textbooks. It is fantastic. It reviews each concept, and

goes step by step through a problem if you miss it (after 2 attempts). I

have my kids circle the problem number they miss on the first attempt,

then they re-work it. I review it if they ask, and they enter it in for the

second attempt. If they miss it, they put a slash through the problem

number. This way I can see at a glance how it is going.

It is worth every penny! We have also used Times Tales for

multiplication/division facts, and have just recently signed up at Arcademics

for their basic math skills and other things (games). That is $20/year and

includes one student. You can add students for $5 each additional.

My oldest (8th grade) is profoundly dyslexic and really struggles with math.

We are in level 6 with him in Teaching Textbooks, and it has been wonderful

for him. We DO allow him to use a calculator, as long as he can show me

that he knows how to do each concept (long division and multiplying large

numbers).

Math-U-See

Some liked Math-U-See, while others said it did not work for their child.

MathUSee is not spiral. Each year's book focuses on a different topic.

For instance, the book on division takes a students from basic division facts

through long division in a year – a sequence that takes several years in a

spiral curriculum. This can be helpful for a students who needs review of a

particular math topic or for a student, like my son, who needs and wants to

focus on a particular topic with lots of repetition in order to get the concept

into long term memory.

This curriculum is technically supposed to be taught by the parent. It does

come with a DVD that models for the parent how each lesson ought to be

taught. My children (ages 10 and 12) just watch the DVD.

On the DVD, Mr. Demme teaches a class of students (that you never see

but you can hear them), is funny/corny (which my children like), and

provides plenty of wait time for the children to come up with an answer.

However, since the DVD is not technically designed to be the student's

lesson, the DVD lesson is only 5 minutes long (sometimes less) and only

provides one example. Sometimes my son needs to watch a particular

lesson more than once.

For program fidelity, each lesson should follow Mr. Demme's recommended

sequence:

 Teach the lesson to the student.

 Have the student teach the lesson to the parent using proper math vocabulary

and the math manipulatives. (My kids hate this part, but it really does help them

to remember how to solve the problems.)

 Complete as many lesson worksheets as needed to show mastery. There are 3

for each lesson.

 Complete as many review worksheets as needed to show mastery of previously

learned material. There are 3 for each lesson.

 Complete the application and enrichment worksheet. My kids see this as a "fun"

worksheet/activity page.

 Take the test.

Each lesson, using the above sequence, is designed to last a week. But Mr.

Demme strongly encourages parents to let a child go at his own pace.

It's easy to skip pages and move on if a child shows mastery on a particular

topic. However, when my child needs more practice, I have to make up

additional worksheets myself. The worksheets are plain and uncluttered on

white paper, with 8 to 20 problems/page.

The website, www.mathusee.com, provides on-line practice of basic facts as

well as a worksheet generator for basic facts and computation problems,

but not for story problems.

Manipulatives are also available and highly recommended by the company.

We hardly use them, but they are nice to have when their needed.

Reasoning Mind

www.reasoningmind.org

Reflex Math

I'd like to point out that the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op (free to join) has a

group buy right now for Reflex Math. The everyday price directly from RM is

$35 per student.

From HBC it's still $35 for a one-student subscription (and you get 500

"smartpoints" - like in-store currency) but it's only $59 for a 3-student

subscription. If you have 2 kids, that saves you a bundle! Woohoo!

If you use my link below I'll get smartpoints if you order. Thank you!

www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/Reflex/?source=36299

Math Mammoth

I don't know why Math Mammoth works so well. I think it's because it's

based on the Asian method, and I think the Asian method is more of an

outside the box thinking, which our students tend to thrive with. I don't

think I'd use any other math curriculum for my kids now (and I am familiar

with many of them).

The only drawback is it doesn't have as much review of past lessons as I'd

like, since our students tend to forget. But I think that is solved by holding

back some of the problems from pages that had a lot of review on them and

cycling them through for review, or doing 2-3 chapters concurrently. (The

developer says this is possible and tells you which chapters this can be done

with in her explanations of each section).

Another parent and Barton tutor shared:

“I switched from Math U See to Math Mammoth this year and my dyslexic

10 year old is much happier.

We are also using Beast Academy which I read to him. Conceptual

mathematics is a strong suit for this kid, but the memorization stuff is hard.

Multiplication tables are very challenging but with some accommodations,

he is thriving. So far. :)”

Arcademics

One Barton tutor shared:

“We are using Arcademics and it is GREAT! My kids are all getting better at

their math facts, as there are games for all sorts of subjects there. I use it

for basic math facts: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.”

A different tutor responded with:

“Thank you for the suggestion. I just signed up for the free month trial for

my youngest child. And it's only $20 a year after that, which is great!”

Right Start Math

One Barton tutor, who is also a homeschool parent, shared:

“I have been home educating for 14 years. If you are ever looking for

recommendations for overall math programs that are EXCELLENT for

children with dyslexia, I highly recommend Right Start Math

(grammar/middle school) and then Video Text (algebra and geometry).

They have both worked wonderfully for my children, as they explain the

WHY of math. The children are getting A's in math and have a deep

understanding of the subject matter.”Math