Hey there, teacher friends!
I’m not going to lie, growing up I absolutely despised maths. It was definitely not my strong suit. However, I am now confident enough to know how to work out a discounted sale amount on a rack of clothes and how much change I should get when ordering a coffee – you know the important stuff.
I have a vivid memory of a very old maths teacher, handing me the same old textbook, and writing a few notes on the board, then explaining in less than 5 minutes the unit in the book we had to complete. Then he would fall asleep, I’m pretty sure at the back of the classroom. We all know this story.
However, it’s not the one I want told for my classroom. EVER! Maths can be a challenge for students with special needs, but with the right approach, it can also be a lot of fun! It doesn’t have to be a snooze fest; it can be actually enjoyable and, more importantly, skilling up our students for life.
Here are some ideas for engaging and motivating maths activities you too could use in your classrooms.⭐️
Simple Math Games
Maths games are a great way to make learning maths fun and engaging for special education students. There are soooooo many different maths games available that are easy to learn and really fun to actually play.▶️
One popular maths game in our classroom is a simple game of Uno, which can help students practise number recognition, counting, and addition skills.
Our class was actually given a donated game of Yahtzee. We soon found out that it is another classic game that can be adapted for maths practice by having students roll dice and add up the numbers to practise addition and multiplication.
The big one, Monopoly. Fantastic for life skills overall, even if you’re the banker and have to sort out and count money for players on the board. It’s long-lasting! Sometimes we have to leave it out on another table in our classroom for rainy day, as it takes a long time to get to the end.
Sudoku is another popular maths game that can be a fun way to practise logical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students become involved by filling in a grid with numbers so that each row, column, and 3×3 sub-grid contains all of the digits from 1 to 9.
Math Manipulatives
Math manipulatives are crucial tools for teaching maths concepts!
They help students to see, touch, and interact with abstract ideas in a more tangible way, improving their understanding and retention of new concepts.
Here’s a snapshot of our MAB Block Task Cards in action, providing hands-on learning with colourful blocks to help students practise counting and basic addition skills. We often pull out the MAB blocks or even counters to help this task box set.
Visit our website to look at our resources
Maths Art
Maths Art is always a favourite activity. Having various visual learners in my class, it really helps having illustrated tasks to help with mathematical learning. One of my students’ favourites is colour by code.
Colour by code is a colouring activity based upon rounding up prices. Students colour a created image based upon the money specified that needs rounding up in price, with the answers represented by various colours.
These are all differentiated for different learning levels, with a variety of images per pack. We usually complete a colour by code activity with a different holidays / seasons to make it extra fun!
Click here to look at colour by code resources
Cooking and Baking
Both cooking and baking are amazing subjects for mathematical learning for our special ed kiddos.
When in the kitchen our students are faced with so many learning opportunities from following recipes and measuring ingredients to practising measurement and fractions.
It has so many embedded life skills, but gives so many engaging maths based activities.
Math Scavenger Hunt
Maths problems can can be big adventurers. Really great for kinesthetic learning types. Why not create a fun scavenger hunt that requires solving maths problems to find clues in your own school. This could be a great team building exercise working on those social skills too.
Math Songs and Videos
Rapping times tables are a great one, and is great for key auditory learning students
. There are many on You Tube! Just type into a channel search for catchy maths songs and videos on topics like fractions and multiplication.
Or have students create their own catchy maths song / poem or rap. This would be a killer assignment to present your students mathematical skills.
Maths Puzzles
Sudoku and crosswords can challenge problem-solving and critical thinking skills, while reinforcing maths concepts.
Or how about getting an old puzzle – and write maths equations on the backs of the pieces.Then let students put together with corresponding answers (fitting pieces).
How cool would that be!
Menu Maths
These are bright, differentiated life skills activities, based upon ordering from a menu.
Students are given a poster of created prices (various posters included) and work their way through a progression of maths equations. It’s like going to the store and ordering food without having to leave the classroom.
It’s could be accompanied by how to order social situations and role play activities. Menu maths is a great way to take your students on a life skills excursion of cuisines without leaving the classroom.
Click here to see menu maths resources!
The good thing about maths, is it can be embedded in most things students are learning.
By making maths enjoyable and exciting it won’t even feel like they are actually learning!
In maths special education students can build their maths skills, yet also develop additional life skills whilst learning the subject.
What are your favourite Maths tasks? I would love to know! Connect with us on Instagram.
Thank You! ❤️
Thanks for hanging out with us! We hope you found this post helpful to both you and your special students.
Be sure to check us out when it comes to special education teaching resources and ideas, The Special Education Studio is where it’s at. Visit our website and socials for helpful tips, resources, and personalised support.