Special Education
Above & Beyond with Digi-Block Mathematics
The Curriculum for Learners with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Above & Beyond with Digi-Block Mathematics is appropriate for learners of any age and grade with moderate or mild mental delays, autism, language and/or sensory impairment, or traumatic brain injury. The mission of Above & Beyond is to bring the opportunity to learn significant and meaningful mathematics to all learners with significant cognitive disabilities.
A quick look: Above and Beyond info 451 KB
Introduction
Developed in cooperation with practicing special educators, Above & Beyond addresses the unique learning needs of this special population. Through concrete experiences with blocks, students unlock the mystery of place value, develop a profound understanding of number, and learn to carry out arithmetic procedures that have previously been beyond their grasp.
Above & Beyond is used successfully in 21 states in a variety of classroom settings with groups as well as with students needing one-on-one assistance. Above & Beyond helps students with cognitive disabilities learn many of the same important number concepts and skills that typical students learn --- concepts and skills that empower them to function with a maximum degree of independence.
Curriculum
Above & Beyond provides a complete and thorough base-10 curriculum for developmentally delayed students in elementary, middle or high school. The content is organized into four Units that guide students through a carefully developed sequence of lessons. Beginning with the most elementary mathematical experiences in Unit 1 and continuing through Units 2, 3, and 4, students build conceptual understanding of the base-10 number system, proficiency with the four arithmetic operations, and facility with dollars and cents.
Unit 1: Ones (75 Lessons)
Unit 2: Ten (41 lessons)
Alternative to Units 1 and 2: Unit 1-2 FastTrack (66 lessons)
Unit 3: Place Value for Whole Numbers (151 lessons)
Unit 4: Between Whole Numbers (22 lessons)
To learn more about each unit, download a complete scope and sequence here.
| Features | Benefits |
|---|---|
The program bypasses language as the primary instruction tool. |
Students with language deficits are able to grasp mathematical concepts through manipulation of physical objects. |
All learning occurs through experience with the blocks. |
Students build a strong and enduring mental model of place value and use that model to help them carry out procedures. |
Instruction moves progressively from concrete to visual to symbolic. |
Students extend their tactile understanding developed through manipulation of the blocks by drawing the block operations on paper and then carrying them out with numerals - a powerful progression toward independent thinking. |
The multi-sensory approach allows students to experience mathematics kinesthetically, visually, and auditorily. |
Students are able to build understanding in their strongest modality while building skills in those modalities they would otherwise ignore. |
The program is easily individualized. |
Students progress at their own pace. Teachers can organize their classrooms so that different groups are working at different levels. |
Instruction and Assessment
Above & Beyond with Digi-Block Mathematics teaches place value, number sense, number relationships, and number operations in a slow, orderly, and systematic manner. With the blocks as a deeply rooted mental model, many cognitively disabled students are able to learn the operations, procedures, and applications that they had previously been unable to learn.
Each Unit is divided into three sections:
- Assessment: This section contains materials that create, guide, and support an effective assessment system for your students. These materials include assessment procedures, prompts, and evidence-of-learning information for each objective, a generic rubric, and chapter-by-chapter record sheets for recording student progress.
- Lessons: Lessons are concisely written, clearly formatted, and identify the critical instructional components of the lesson: objective, sub-objective, type of lesson, instructional method, lesson description, materials needed, step-by-step procedure, and evidence of learning information.
- Activity Sheets: Activity sheets are reproducible, cross-referenced, student activity pages that support and accompany the lessons.
Download sample assessment sheets here:
Unit 2 assessment tasks and promptsStudent's Progress Sheet Unit 2, Chapter 1
Summary Progress Sheet Unit 2
Download a sample lesson here:
Unit 3, Lesson 78Unit 3, Assignment Sheet 56