So, what is math intervention? Intervention, Response to Intervention, Academic Intervention Services, Tiers 1-2-3, and so many more terms seem to float around our schools and districts, but many of us still don't know exactly how to run these programs effectively. After several years of teaching math to both 5th and 6th grade in a few different school districts, I have noticed several factors that play a role in math intervention best practices and the math intervention classroom setup.
1. Intervention needs to meet the direct needs of every student below grade level in specific skills. If a student shows below grade level in a diagnostic assessment, you need to pinpoint the specific skills and standards that the student struggles in. Just because a student tests at grade 5, does not mean that they are at grade 5 in every area. That student may struggle in place value, geometry, and dividing multi-digit numbers. Those are the specific skills that their intervention needs to cover. Then, when that student masters those skills, they can be moved on to a new skill or even a new group who is addressing different skills.
2. Interventionists need to be skilled in diagnosing the needs of students, adapting to those needs through their instruction, and flexible with the groupings of their students. Sometimes you are the teacher providing intervention within your own classroom through differentiated instruction and use of various math intervention resources. The teachers who provide math intervention for your district should be able to provide quick and easy diagnostic math intervention assessments (as simple as a 3 question exit ticket) at least weekly to know where the students are in regards to the skills they are learning and practicing. Rather than just practicing the skills, the interventionist should also be teaching the skills. For example, rather than simply giving the students a multi-digit division problem, the interventionist should be showing example problems, providing the steps to solving a division problem, and modeling different strategies for the students to use.
Secondly, interventionists, or you as the classroom teacher, need to be flexible with math groups. If they are working with a group of students who need practice with place value, but two students master place value, those students should move on to a different intervention group focused on a different skill, or even return to the regular classroom if this was the main skill they needed to learn to be on grade level. The math intervention classroom setup is essential to providing effective intervention. Whether a specific intervention time is set aside, or students are pulled from your classroom, math intervention best practices allow for flexibility and movement among student groupings.
If you are a 5th grade teacher/interventionist, or needing to assess higher level 4th grade and lower level 6th grade students, these math quick checks are a great way to assess by skill and standard. They include basic skills, more complex problems, and word problems as a quick and easy diagnostic for each 5th grade math standard.
3. Intervention programs need a standard curriculum or resource to meet the needs at each grade level, including assessments to continually diagnose student needs and growth. One assessment can not determine everything in regards to intervention for a student. They need to continually be assessed with small assessments at least weekly to determine their ongoing needs and areas of growth. These assessments should be based on the skills they are working on in intervention programs and used to see if students need continued intervention and practice, or are ready to move on to a new skill.
It is also beneficial for interventionists to have resources that address each standard at each grade level. Whether this is a binder of practice worksheets, a package of games, or a textbook, having several items that allow the students to practice the standards they need to improve in is necessary. There shouldn't be just one practice sheet for each standard, but several activities, including an assessment, so that you can address the needs of each student extensively.
These 5th grade math intervention worksheets are divided by skill and can be used to assess or teach any 4th, 5th, or 6th grade math skill/standard. I have used these as a center activity, but also to simplify and address skills that students struggle with in both my 5th and 6th grade classrooms.
There are many questions around how to schedule intervention, who should be teaching intervention, how long to meet with students who need intervention, and so much more. But the bottom line is that interventionists need to be skilled in meeting the individual needs of each student and work to regularly assess students growth and adapt to their ever-changing needs. A solid, effective intervention program starts from the ground up, built on the desire to meet students where they are and grow with them.
You may know how to group students, when intervention is going to happen, or who is going to be teaching the math intervention, but you are still looking for just the right math intervention resources. Click on the images below to access a set of math intervention worksheets that will be ideal for your 4th, 5th, or 6th grade math intervention assessments or reteaching necessary math skills.
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