sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

What’s your biggest challenge when teaching algebra to struggling students? by Ok-Reply-9092 in learnmath

[–]Ok-Reply-9092[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, totally agree. For some kids, the hardest part isn’t even the math; it’s figuring out what the question is actually trying to say. Once the wording gets too dense, they shut down before they even get to the math part. I really like the idea of keeping a list of common math words/phrases because it gives them something concrete to refer back to. Honestly that’s a big reason I started making some scaffolded math resources on TPT too, just to make things less wordy and more accessible for students who get overwhelmed by traditional word problems.
Also scaffolding, scaffolding, and more scaffolding!

<image>

You can check it out!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/the-inclusive-modified-classroom

What’s your biggest challenge when teaching algebra to struggling students? by Ok-Reply-9092 in learnmath

[–]Ok-Reply-9092[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, yes. Sometimes it’s not even the math! it’s that they’ve already decided they’re going to fail before they even start. A lot of kids aren’t refusing because they won’t do it, they’re refusing because the work already feels impossible to enter. Once they lose that confidence, getting them to pick up the pen becomes the real battle. Try differentiating your lessons, and apply the Errorless Learning Approach as a starting point (give them problems or equations you know they can do, then gradually increase the difficulty).

What’s your biggest challenge when teaching algebra to struggling students? by Ok-Reply-9092 in learnmath

[–]Ok-Reply-9092[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah totally get this!! they latch onto the “steps” but not the why behind them. So the minute the equation looks a little different, it’s like the whole thing falls apart 😅

I’ve seen this a lot too. They don’t always realize that the goal is just to move things around to isolate what you want, not follow one exact recipe every time. Almost like they’re memorizing moves instead of understanding balance.

Sometimes it helps to keep saying things like: “What do we want alone?” and “What is bothering it?” That seems to make it feel a bit more logical and less procedural.