Posts Tagged ‘rapid recall in math’

First Step: 

 Get your child neurologically organized.

Little Giant Steps has been providing education for parents and teachers for many years, so they can assist their children to reach their full academic potential.  All learning begins with the brain. So, first let’s get the brain ready to learn. Everyone, regardless of age or I.Q. will improve in their abilities if their brain is better organized and neurologically efficient.

A child arrives in this world with many areas of the brain still developing.  One of the crucial stages of early development includes establishing the central nervous system so the brain and body get connected (we call this “becoming neurologically organized”).  When a child is neurologically organized, information can travel effortlessly between the senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell).  When a child is neurologically organized, his movements are coordinated and he has age-appropriate fine and gross motor skills.

Most children become neurologically organized without any outside assistance.  God designed the human brain in such a way that when an infant begins moving, the brain receives the stimulation required to develop higher function.  Infants start out with very random and primitive movements, and then, as the brain develops, their movements become more complex.  It is the cross pattern movement of crawling and creeping that is so vital to a child’s continued progress and development.

If your child didn’t spend much time crawling and creeping, or if they skipped this important developmental stage, there is good news!  It is not too late!  Young children, teenagers, and even adults, can benefit by spending time every day crawling and creeping on the floor in a good cross pattern.  It just takes 2 minutes, twice a day each for cross crawling (like an army crawl) and cross creeping (up on hands and knees).  That’s just 8 minutes a day, five days a week!  Make sure the opposite hand and knee hit the floor at the same time (this cross pattern movement provides the proper stimulation to the brain).  The benefits will amaze you!  Improvement can be seen within 2 to 4 months in academics, behavior, social interaction, coordination of movement and other functional abilities.  It would be best to do these cross pattern activities for at least 6 months to ensure that the brain has received enough stimulation to make these positive effects permanent! 

See you next time with Step 2.  God bless.

Winning Over Learning Disabilities

Jan Bedell, The Brain Coach, Strives For Excellence

Over the years Jan Bedell, founder of Little Giant Steps and leader of the LGS Dream Team, has been inspired by God to create Neuro-Educational Programs.  Each year we change up and improve our educational curriculum that is richly embedded with neurodevelopmental activities, as a means not only to prepare the students to function academically, but to prepare the brain to receive, comprehend, process, store, and recall information in the most accurate and efficient way possible.

• This year is no exception.  The biggest change for 2011 has been the improvement in Early Learning Foundations (ELF).  Now, there are three levels (and expect a level 4 next year). 

* Early Learning Foundations Level 1 – Serves preschoolers and helps them with becoming more school-ready with gaining neuro-efficiency in addition to getting them ready for reading, writing, and math. We’ve added a new DVD to teach you how to use this program more effectively! All facets of the activities within this program will stimulate the brain to improve and enhance your child’s Auditory, Visual, Tactile and Gross Motor abilities. You’ll be amazed at your child’s new found skills when they become neurologically organized. They will be able to stay on task, follow directions and they will enjoy learning. Here’s what one mom had to say about this program:
“I ordered Early Learning Foundations for my “just turned” 4 year old. This is the most incredible curriculum I’ve ever had!! It almost makes me have “momma guilt” for not having it for my two older children. I also ordered ABC’s in a Flash and look forward to using it.”  K. S. in Spring, TX

* Early Learning Foundations Level 2- Serves Kindergarten. ELF is a multi-sensory approach to teaching basic math skills to early learners as well as individuals with challenges. Level 2 begins where Level 1 leaves off.  Rapid Recall System is included in the Kindergarten Level 2 ELF.  This program is not only excellent with what it accomplishes educationally and neurologically, but it is fun! Watch this video and listen to this principal with what she witnesses in her classrooms.

* Early Learning Foundations Level 3- Serves 1st grade.  Again this program is innovative, educationally sound, and the children love it. Watch this classroom’s response to taking a one minute speed and accuracy test with the Rapid Recall math facts program.    More information on the research done in schools on Rapid Recall System is available on LGS Educational Services website.  Have a blessed day.

Incremental Success Builds The Base

One thing that has been so much fun working with Jan Bedell’s neuro-educational programs, is seeing the children improve and succeed each day as we see the lower levels of their brains get organized (they begin to think and comprehend in organized ways ~ a big advantage especially in gaining math skills). While her programs provide curriculum supplementation, like Rapid Recall for math facts, they really ready the child for better processing of what they hear, see, say and touch.  Their short-term memory improves with the practiced design of ”The Brain Coach’s” educational programs.  These programs deliver life-long imprinting on the brain, because they actually create new neuro-pathways.  They close developmental gaps that may exist.  It is exciting to see more and more learning disabilities being remedied via the use of neurodevelopmentally focused supplemental curriculum and educational tools. 

Seeing Is Believeing 

This past year we had the pleasure of working the the Summit Christian Academy.  It is an elementary school (NAUMS) and therefore we had a great deal of participation not only with the teachers, but parents.  We kept hearing reports about how the kindergarten loved doing their Rapid Recall (Math Facts) each day.  So, here it is for you to see for yourself.  Kindergarten 2011 Math Speed Test!

If interested in more information on our work at schools, go to Little Giant Steps’ YouTube Channel.

What follows is the story of one teacher’s struggles to help her students achieve math fact mastery and how the Rapid Recall System revolutionized her approach and effectiveness in achieving that goal.

       Rapid Recall System = Math Facts Mastery

For years I drilled math facts into students without much success. Flash cards and drill sheets were the standard fare. Students were expected to know their math facts and recite them with confidence and accuracy. Students would use their fingers, stare at their paper, or look to the ceiling as if the answers might fall out of the sky for them.

Oh yes, I did send home those flash cards with the answers on the back instructing parents to spend a set amount of time drilling their children. We spent hours on math manipulatives. But at the beginning of the new school year, I would hear from the second grade teachers that the students didn’t know their math facts and would I please work harder this year. This went on year after year.

Last year I had the opportunity to implement the Rapid Recall System in my first grade classroom. We began the system in September with students that ranged from not recognizing numbers to being able to do one or two addition problems in three minutes. The majority of the students were familiar with counting, but that was the extent of their mathematic skills.

Rapid Recall was easy to implement. The first week was spent teaching students about ‘plus zero’ facts. This system had us showing the students addition facts with ‘plus zero’ in all forms. We reviewed ‘plus zero’ facts several times throughout the day. By the end of the week, all my students mastered their ‘plus zero’ facts.

The second week we did the same routine with ‘plus one’ facts and the students did speed drills on ‘plus zero’ facts. My students were thrilled with the perfect scores they received on their speed drill papers!

The third week we began the meat of the program. Each week we focused on five math facts – two reciprocals and one double. We started each day by listening to a two-minute math track with only the five facts for the week. This part was easy. The students were listening while I was able to do those daily tasks like attendance and lunch count that take time but include no educational instruction. When the math track was over, we went on to other tasks.

Later in the morning, I flashed the five math fact cards to the students twice. I read each card. The students didn’t speak; they just listened. It took about a minute and it was on to other activities.

-more of this teachers point of view next time-

Here is a note from a teacher involved in a research program done in 2008-2009:

After using the neurodevelopmental approach in my classroom this past year, my students improved academically, gained strength physically and matured emotionally.  These students individually were able to complete sequences of tasks without promptings as well as staying focused on the task that was before them.  Other adults around them commented that their reasoning skills as well as their organizational skills were far above those of peers.  Unlike other first grade classrooms in my past 18 years of teaching and those around us not participating in the program, these students were more respectful of each other and worked together to accomplish tasks without arguments.  Students were successful, so both the students and teacher’s stress level came down.   Together, we were working “smarter”, not harder. 

RAPID RECALL SYSTEM

What a fantastic math facts system!  In 18 years of teaching, I have tried many ways to teach math facts but this system was by far the easiest to implement and I had better results with this system than anything else I have tried – all in just 7 minutes a day!   Even my lower-level students flourished and were successful under this system.

Tanda Trussell, First Grade Teacher

Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips CISD

Stinnett, TX

Math Facts In 10 Min. A Day

Teachers are using this supplemental math facts system and discovering the multi-sensory, neuro-educationally-based system works:    “I like the quick one minute drill to keep focus.  You can see how much they’ve grown for the week.” Maxine Bonner—Grade 2  

“My kids really love the sounds between the rows of the facts.  They will giggle.  Everyone will laugh and predict what is said.  It takes my students two or three days to learn the facts.  They know them by the end of the week.” Jennifer Baggett—Grade 2

Three and one half years ago, our youngest daughter, Joanna, was struggling socially, academically, and relationally.  After 14 months on Little Giant Steps program she had improved in all academic areas; 2 grade levels math and more than 5 grade levels in Word Recognition and Reading Comprehension.  She now has been off the LGS program for two years, and last week we had her evaluated again to fine tune her brain for rapid decision making needed for her hobby—scuba diving & underwater rescue.  During these past 2 years she has gained more than 3 and ½ grade levels in math and maxed out reading comprehension.  Joanna is rapidly finishing high school with the most dramatic improvement in math. Her brain is still sharp!

Last night I was talking with a former elementary school principal who left her profession for the time being, while she enjoys raising her family.  She was talking about teaching her children with Little Giant Steps core math program called, Rapid Recall System.  She has followed the evolution of this program that offers a multi-sensory approach based on the neurodevelopmental approach.  In fact, this program was designed by a teacher with over 30 years experience and is also a very experience neuro-educational specialist, Jan Bedell.

What this former principal likes most was the fact that in 10 minutes a day, her children are showing exceptional progress.  Yes, just 10 minutes a day!  (14 minutes for multiplication)  As I noted, this is a program based on the neurodevelopmental approach. That means it works at a root level with the brain.  We know from years of experience, the brain learns best when stimulated with short intense bursts of information that are fun!  We always leave the student wanting more.  The program allows a great deal of flexibility for both the instructor and student, but is done frequently during the day. (At least twice.)  There are auditory, visual and tactility components of the program, which helps to develop efficient and permanent neuro-pathways that increase the ability to improve input as well as output of information. The students academic scores go up because in a short amount of time they have permanent rapid recall of math fact skills.  Skills they will use the rest of their lives.

Here’s another mother who has weighed in on Rapid Recall System:

“My daughter had a very difficult time ’getting’ her math facts. We tried a lot of different approaches but nothing worked. Still searching, we tried the Rapid Recall System. Somehow, she began to know her facts before we studied them! I am so impressed and thankful for Rapid Recall. I recommend it to everyone with elementary students!”    – S. Phillips, Houston, Texas

P.S.  Good news for School Systems!  We now have adapted the Rapid Recall System to be integrated into the classrooms as an easy-to-use math supplement that will help bring all students up to grade level with their math facts. Our research program done in a school during the 2008-2009 school term showed a dramatic increase of mastery for those students using Rapid Recall as opposed to the other three control groups using just their math curriculum.

 ”I am happy to say that due to all the help you gave us,  our son has transitioned very smoothly into the classroom environment. He continues to excel in math - he has a 98% average in Saxon 54. His language arts skills are also coming along smoothly. His attention span continues to improve – although he still struggles to stay on task. He got very good feedback from his teachers and I feel like we have the tools to continue on this journey toward being all that God made him to be. We so appreciate all that you taught us and I recommend you and your products often!! Thank you so much!                      ~  D.B.