How to Teach Fractions to Kids With Disabilities

Fraction lessons proivde students with disabilities the opportunity to practice the concepts.

Learning fractions can be difficult for all students. Students with disabilities struggle with the concepts associated with fractions. According to the Council for Learning Disabilities International, the areas of skill deficits most consistently reported by middle school and high school teachers of students with learning disabilities are related to fractions, decimals and percents. Students with disabilities also struggle with division concepts, which are an important aspect of learning and comparing fractions. Teachers can help students with disabilities master fractions by providing concrete instruction and allowing for plenty of practice for the students with disabilities.

Things You'll Need

• Paperclips

Instructions

1. Connect the concept of fractions to the larger idea of division and proportions. For example, provide the student with disabilities eight paperclips. Ask the student how many paperclips each student would get if there were eight students. Each student would get one paperclip in this scenario. Demonstrate that each student gets 1/8 of all the paper clips. Repeat with a larger number of paperclips and students to arrive at different fractions.

2. Provide enough teacher-led examples to allow students with learning disabilities to demonstrate effective knowledge of the topic before moving to new ideas or assigning homework.

3. Give systematic instruction for each problem type the students will encounter during the lesson with clear steps to solve the problem. For example, students may need to compare fractions such as 1/3 and 1/4 to determine which is larger. Another aspect of the lesson may require comparing 1/3 of 90 pounds and 1/2 of 50 pounds to determine which is larger.

4. Provide plenty of practice opportunities for the student with disabilities. The student must be able to master the concept presented prior to moving on to more difficult materials. According to LD Online, most commercial math books do not provide practice problems for disabled students to efficiently master concepts before moving on to additional topics.

Tips & Warnings

• Peer teaching can be a beneficial approach to helping students with disabilities; however, even students without disabilities struggle with fractions. Choose students who demonstrate mastery of fractions prior to assigning another student to work with the student with disabilities.

References

• CLD International; Best Practices: Teaching Decimals, Fractions, and Percents to Students With Learning Disabilities; Frederick J. Brigham, et al.
• LD Online; Mathematics Instruction for Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities; Eric D. Jones, et al.; 1997