In maths, Kayne, aged 13, has been developing his understanding of place value.

Judy Gray, Kayne’s (BLENNZ Resource Teacher Vision) describes some of the activities and tactile adaptations the education team have introduced to support Kayne’s learning.

Kayne attends his local college.

Building on Kane’s initial experience of place value

Initially Kayne had some experience of counting bottle tops into groups of ten. Kayne counted the bottle tops by arranging them onto a tens frame (a squared table or frame arranged 2 squares by 5 squares) as shown in figure 1.

To support Kayne’s understanding of number the following activities have been introduced into his maths programme:

• Identifying what number is presented on the tens frames (Fig. 1).
• Making towers of 10s and counting them using Duplo Blocks.
• Using Duplo Blocks making towers of ten and counting them (Fig. 2).
• Making a number story to match what had been made using equipment.
• Creating and reading number stories using braille symbols for plus and equals. Selecting the correct answer (Fig. 3).

Teaching and learning strategies and adaptations

• We found that a larger tens frame shape to accomodate milk bottle tops was a more effective resource for Kayne. We attached velcro to the bottle tops to increase their stability.
• We used a velcro strip to secure the number lines (Fig. 3).
• We used duplo blocks to create towers of ten to enhance understanding of tens.
• Repetition is an ongoing strategy for counting tens and ones. Equations are brailled and read, e.g. 13 = 10 + 3 (Fig. 4).
• Some classroom resources, such as the three bar place value frame were less useful as they were not easily adaptable to meet Kayne’s needs.

Useful links

• Strategies for teaching maths using concrete objects from the Paths to literacy website developed by TSVBI and Perkins School for the Blind.
• Teaching Maths to students with Vision Impairment RNIB Maths guide.doc  – downloadable Word doc.
• Using tens frames – a resource on NZ Maths website.