When I arrived at the Mountain View Elementary school today, I never imagined it would
be my most challenging day yet. Stephanie was indeed a very special young girl, but in
more ways than one. Stephanies teacher had informed me that the little girl was diagnosed
with a learning disability, and although she was in the 3rd grade, she worked on a
kindergarten level.
My task for the day was helping Stephanie with two digit subtraction. I tried every way
imaginable to get this child to understand, but there was no success. As frustration set in
for both of us, I suggested we sit back, take a deep breath and start over. I pondered for a
moment and then it clicked. I had remembered the strategy that my teacher used to get me
to understand when I was in the third grade. Make a number line! At this point I felt
anything was worth a try.
The first step was to find a quieter spot without all the classroom distractions. The rest was
like magic. Even though she needed to use the number line that we made together, by the
end of the day Stephanie was subtracting on her own. With practice I believe she will
eventually be able to wean herself away from the number line and do it totally on her own.