From Struggles to Smiles

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From Struggles to Smiles

  • July 27, 2022
  • Posted by: Caitlin McCallum
  • Category: Wow Story
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Wow Wednesday Stories From the Classroom

I had a first grader who was struggling in so many ways.  She started late because of difficulties with health and home life.  She missed school for medical reasons and illnesses.  She was quiet and frustrated.  The struggles were identified immediately by her teachers as a student that would benefit from LSEM services.

We started the year with simple counting, as she would skip 13 and would only be able to reach 20 with accuracy.  She enjoyed jumping from square to square as she learned 10’s digits.  As we worked through recognizing higher numbers and practiced being able to say them, she grew more confident.  She loves it when math isn’t a struggle. Now, math has become fun and she is able now to lead other first graders to learn how to play Racko, which requires keeping numbers in order, and Sums in Space (her favorite!), which requires recognition of operations and adding or subtracting up to 18.  We continue to work on keeping it fun when her competition wins.

She has bloomed this year, gaining confidence with her peers and in the classroom.  She smiles and talks more.  She has truly caught up academically and is now eager for 2nd grade.

~written by Pam Bierbaum, LSEM Teacher at St. James Lutheran School in Shawano, WI