Welcome back to TeachTastic's ongoing series on crafting effective Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals. Our mission remains steadfast: to provide invaluable guidance and practical tips for teachers of all grade levels, ensuring every student's unique learning needs are met. Today, we delve into the world of third-grade multiplication and operations in algebraic thinking, focusing on interpreting expressions like 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each.
Understanding Our Student: Current Skills and Challenges
Before we embark on crafting a tailored IEP goal, let's acquaint ourselves with the students we're working with. This understanding forms the bedrock of effective goal setting:
Student's Current Proficiencies:
Our student demonstrates an ability to state the number of groups and the number of objects per group, showcasing a foundational grasp of multiplication concepts.
Areas Requiring Improvement:
However, our student faces a challenge when it comes to matching an expression to a visual model or context. This disconnect hinders their ability to fully grasp multiplication as a concept.
Accommodations Utilized:
To support their learning, our student relies on a graphic organizer and a multiplication chart as accommodations. These tools provide valuable scaffolding to bridge the gap between their current skills and targeted proficiency.
Student Profile: Grade Level and Educational Standard
Our student is currently in the third grade, and their educational journey aligns with the educational standard 3.OA.C.7, which falls under the broader standard of 3.OA.A: Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division. Specifically, our focus is on 3.OA.A.1:
"Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can be expressed as 5 × 7."
Crafting the Teacher's IEP Goal: A Path to Mastery
Now, let's dive into the heart of our goal-writing process. To address our student's unique needs and align with the educational standard, the teacher has thoughtfully crafted the following IEP goal:
Base Goal:
"By (insert date), when presented with problems involving multiplication, the student will interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. This progress will significantly enhance the student's operations and algebraic thinking skills, as evidenced by an improvement from 0/10 correct work samples out of ten consecutive trials to 8/10 correct work samples in ten consecutive trials."
Specific Modified Goals:
Part One: Numbers within Products of 10
"By (insert date), when presented with problems involving multiplication within products of 10, the student will interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 2 × 5 as the total number of objects in 2 groups of 5 objects each. This progress will significantly enhance the student's operations and algebraic thinking skills, as evidenced by an improvement from 0/10 correct work samples out of ten consecutive trials to 8/10 correct work samples in ten consecutive trials."
Part Two: Numbers Greater than 50
"By (insert date), when presented with problems involving multiplication with numbers greater than 50, the student will interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. This progress will significantly enhance the student's operations and algebraic thinking skills, as evidenced by an improvement from 0/10 correct work samples out of ten consecutive trials to 8/10 correct work samples in ten consecutive trials."
Breaking the goal into these two parts allows for a more focused and gradual approach to skill development. It recognizes that the student may require different levels of support and intervention for numbers within products of 10 compared to numbers greater than 50, while still targeting the overarching skill of interpreting multiplication expressions.
IEP Present Levels Statement
The IEP Present Levels Statement encapsulates our student's current skills and areas requiring improvement:
In Mathematics:
The student demonstrates an understanding of the number of groups and objects per group, showcasing foundational multiplication concepts.
Areas Requiring Improvement:
The student struggles to match multiplication expressions to visual models or real-world contexts, hindering their comprehensive grasp of multiplication as a mathematical concept.
Accommodations and Support:
To bridge this gap, the student utilizes a graphic organizer and a multiplication chart as accommodations, ensuring equitable access to the curriculum.
This Present Levels Statement sets the stage for our student's journey toward mastery of multiplication and algebraic thinking. It underlines the importance of personalized instruction and targeted interventions in special education.
Thank you for joining us on this journey of IEP goal writing!
We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to explore the intricacies of crafting effective IEP goals with us. Your dedication to the education and success of your students is truly commendable.
In our next article, we'll venture into the realm of 1.OA.A.1: Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems. We'll dive into strategies for tackling word problems involving various scenarios, and we'll discuss how to utilize objects, drawings, and equations to represent and solve these challenges.
So, stay tuned for more valuable insights and practical tips from TeachTastic. We look forward to continuing this educational journey with you. Together, we can make a meaningful impact on the lives of our students.
Until then, happy teaching and learning!
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