¶ … Allington's Strategies of Designing Research-Based Programs applied to a math classroom Why can't Johnny -- or Jane, to be politically correct -- read at a grade-appropriate level? Educators have attempted to answer and remedy this question for years. In Chapter 3 of his book What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing Research-Based Programs (Longman, 2001) Richard Allington attempts to provide, concrete advice to help teachers select age and ability appropriate reading materials for their classroom and suggestions as to how to create an atmosphere conducive to reading progress for all individual students. However, an often equally vexing problem is why students struggle with mathematics -- in other words, why can't Johnny and Jane add?

Specifically, when confronted with a group of 7th and 8th grade students, a grade where students of varying abilities are often still mixed together before being 'tracked' in high school, what strategies should a teacher employ? Allington stresses that teachers must find the right books for children, they must find materials that are neither too challenging nor too easy for the children's different skills levels. Also,...

This not only encourages relevance but also positively reinforcing student's current math skills -- don't say you 'can't do math,' you do use math, every time you compare prices in a store! Relevance increases motivation in developing math skills. Stressing relevance can help students see the use of math in vital areas of their daily lives that will be important in their near rather than far futures, creating immediate feelings of accomplishment and motivation. Sports minded students could track the performance of their favorite baseball players, or their times in track and field events. Economics minded students could examine and track the pricing of the goods they buy in the store, and the percentage of a budget devoted to food, clothing, etc. Students could be encouraged to…