Our classes are made up of a variety of learners. 

One thing that is great about the Eureka Math program is the amount of modeling that is done to teach each lesson. 

During the Concept Development section of the lesson plan, the students are engaged in a clear modeling of the new skill. 

​However, sometimes I find that although that modeling does reach a large make up of my class, there are times that some students would need a leveled model, or modeled at a lower level.  This could mean bringing back a model from a previous lesson, or just continuing to show students a concept in the most concrete way until they are ready to take on the skill at a more abstract level.
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In the classroom we have a variety of students and types of learners. 

It is important that we use one program to educate all students, but it may not be a one size fits all dynamic in implementation. 

​Sometimes, students will need slight changes in the presentation of the material or in the material itself. 

​This is something teachers can do without losing the integrity of what the Eureka Math program would like to teach students.

​Here are some ways to create modification to support diverse learners in your classroom using Eureka Math:
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There is always something we may all fear when it comes to making changes to your daily lessons.  For some, this fear comes with technology.  We all know technology is there to help and bring ease and extra engagement to our teaching.  However, at times it can feel overwhelming and hard.  Sometimes it is often put on the back burner of just “something else to learn to do.”  

I feel bogged down by all of the “new” sometimes too.  There always seems to be something to learn or figure out.  The time to do it is never the present.  When working with students in the classroom, the go to method is what I know and feel confident with.  None of us want to work on troubleshooting while being watched by the class.

Peer interactions are one of the most helpful strategies when it comes to student learning. 

Kids love to discuss ideas with classmates and most of the time, when kids are working together, everything becomes a game. 

​The students become so engaged in their activity and begin learning quickly from one another.

​How to Create Dynamic Partnerships
 
When pairing up students, one strategy to use is to mix the academic levels of students.  When you pair together a stronger math student and a student in need of support,  you are giving the student in need of more support a strong model. 
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One way to draw students into learning a new math concept is to incorporate picture book read-alouds.

Read-alouds are picture books that use fun stories to also explain math concepts by using an engaging story line and vibrant illustrations. 

Students are drawn into the concept of the story and can understand what the math operation is by how it is used in the book. 

​After you read a story, the class can take part in a group discussion about what happened in the story.  You can also use students in the class to reenact the story with models to show how the characters used math in the story.
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When introducing new vocabulary to prepare your students for new Eureka Math lessons, sometimes it is better to present the new terms to learners in a variety of ways. 

One way to do this could be to create math notebooks.

What are Math Notebooks

A math notebook is just any composition book or notebook that is just dedicated to learning new math concepts and math vocabulary. 

​Students can either bring in a notebook of their choice, or the teacher can provide a whole class set.  The students can use this notebook as a reference that they can go back to whenever they are in need of additional support.  

RDW or Read Draw Write, is the procedure Eureka Math uses to teach how to solve story problems. 
 
RDW provides students with a systematic way to approach word problems.

​Following the steps consistently allows them to focus on the content and not the process.
 
The RDW method helps students fully understand what the problem is asking them to do, draw a model to show their math thinking, write an equation to show computation, and finally write a complete sentence to answer the problem.

It’s no secret that the Eureka Math program has a heavy weight on computation and fluency skills. 
 
However, it also creates a way for students to apply those skills into real life situations.  That comes with problem solving with story problems and new math terminology to learn. 
 
Students are required to do a good amount of reading with this program as well.  As we work in classrooms full of various levels of readers, we can incorporate our leveled reading techniques into our Eureka Math lessons.  This will help support those students in need to be capable of reaching the level needed to understand what the task at hand is asking students to do and what math strategies are needed to solve the problem.

Students are  always excited to learn about money. 

​They love the idea of shopping and knowing how much money they have with the goal of buying something special in mind.  
 
When we introduce money as a math concept, we keep in mind that this is something students are immersed in every day. 

​They are constantly looking at prices and comparing the cost to the amount of money they may have to spend.  It will help students make real world connections if we introduce the topic with scenarios students most likely encounter for themselves.  

The Eureka Math program provides a wide variety of ways to support your varied level of students in your classroom. 

However, have you ever felt that you are just not meeting the needs of all of your learners with the standard lesson routine? 

​One way to still include all of the math program components at a varied level of support is to create a math workshop model.
 
In the same fashion of a reader’s workshop model, you have a mini-lesson, varied grouping of students, and a whole class closing.  This concept can be directly related to the Eureka Math program as well during your math block of time.