Part of the Everyday Math curriculum in first grade is teaching students how to count the value of coins beginning with adding pennies and nickels, and eventually adding on dimes and quarters. This can prove quite challenging for students with poor working memory because I am asking them to recall the value of each coin presented, then to remember how to count up by 1's, 5's, 10's, and 25's. For example, students are asked how much 3 dimes, 2 nickels, and 3 pennies are worth. In Everyday Math this is presented to them two different ways- with actual pictures of coins (sometimes showing the back, sometimes showing the front) or as:
D D D N N P P P (with the D = dime, N= nickel, etc.).
Most of this is done orally, with me demonstrating on the overhead how to count on. We also do daily oral counting by 5's and 10's by chanting.
For my students with poor working memory, I am now going to have a small "cheat sheet" for them to refer to at their desks. This will show front and backs of all the coins as well as the letter it represents (D, N, P, or Q) AND the value of each coin. I will also have them write down under each picture of the coin(s) how much it is worth, so they can go back after and count up. This way they won't need to remember how much the dimes were worth, how much the nickels are worth, and then how much the pennies are worth. For examle, for the previous example, I would have them write 10, 10, 10, 5, 5, 1, 1, 1. Then the student could go back and count to see how much money they have.
4 comments:
Kellie,
I agree learning to count money can be a challenging task for those w/ poor working memory.Not only do they need to remember both the fronts and backs of coins, they need to remember the value AND how to count it. I believe visual prompts and movement are always helpful. A "cheat sheet" will help, as well as the chanting. Have you tried movement with the chanting, somewhat like "head, shoulders, knees and toes,". That might make the concept stick. Keep at it. I'm sure the more we read the more ideas we will generate.
-Cheryl C.
Kelli,
I like the idea of providing a cheat sheet for each student to use at his/her desk. I will definitely be trying that! I also have them write the value above each coin and then if needed, the accumulated total as they move from coin to coin. So when adding D, D, N, P they would first write 10, 10, 5, 1. Then they would go back and above the second 10, they would write 20. Above the 5, they would write 25. Above the 1, they would write 26. Obviously the drawback is the lengthy amount of time it takes to complete each problem. However, hopefully with repeated practice automaticity will occur!
Not being a classroom teacher, I find it remarkable how challenging some of these tasks must be for young kids, particular those with deficits in working memory! Your example is a really clear one in terms of a task that relies so heavily on working memory. I agree with Aimee that the time required to put your strategies in place and to complete each problem is a drawback, but once the students have committed the value of each coin to their long-term memory and automatically can recall that information, they won't need quite as much support.
A cheat sheet for each child's desk is a great idea Kelli! As Amiee mentioned, I also have them write the value above each coin. I do like the idea of having them write the accumulated total as they move from coin to coin. This is something I will add when teaching this concept. When adding different values of coins I have taught my students to pause and take a breath when switching values of coins. For example: D D D (breath) N N (breath) P P P P. By pausing and breathing it helps them to think about what comes next. By having the accumulated amount written down, it will help those students with poor working memory to remember the amount they are adding.
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