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2. Mathematics K–6 Support Document for Students with Special Education Needs
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4. Case study 8
5. Determining the starting point for instruction

Determining the starting point for instruction

The students were recently assessed to determine their achievement in relation to Early Stage 1, Stage 1 and Stage 2 outcomes in the Space and Geometry Strand (Substrand: Position), and the starting point for instruction.

On the basis of the assessment the teacher has organised the class into three tiers for the learning experience.

• Tier 1 consists of Sarah only. She is working towards Early Stage 1 outcomes for the Space and Geometry Strand (Substrand: Position).

Sarah has demonstrated that she can:

• recognise ‘on’ in the context of dressing, eg Sarah lifts her arms and head when the facilitator assisting with dressing shows Sarah her jumper and taps her arms, paired with the verbal prompt ‘Let’s put your jumper on’,^* Sarah smiles to indicate ‘yes’ when shown a piece of lycra and asked ‘Swimmers on?’
• recognise ‘up’ in the context of positional transfers, eg Sarah shifts her weight forward when moving from her wheelchair to her standing frame. The teacher shows Sarah the standing frame, provides a physical prompt by removing the belts, and straps on her wheelchair, paired with the verbal prompt ‘1, 2, 3 up’.

* The words in bold indicate the words that are emphasised in the instruction or question.

• Tier 2 consists of five students working towards Stage 1 outcomes for the Space and Geometry Strand (Substrand: Position). The students have demonstrated that they can:
• give and follow simple directions, eg ‘Put the bean-bag in the circle’
• use everyday language to describe the position of an object in relation to another object, eg ‘The book is in the box’.

• Tier 3 consists of 18 students working towards Stage 2 outcomes for the Space and Geometry Strand (Substrand: Position). The students have demonstrated that they can:

• give and follow simple directions, eg ‘Put the bean-bag in the circle’
• use everyday language to describe the position of an object in relation to another object, eg ‘The book is in the box’
• use everyday language to describe their position in relation to other objects, eg ‘I am sitting under the tree’
• use everyday language to describe the position of an object in relation to themselves, eg ‘The table is behind me’.