Introduction

Appendix 2-1: Accommodations and ModificationsIn some cases, individual students may require accommodationsand/or modifications, in accordance with their Individual EducationPlan (IEP), to support their participation in learning activities.Providing AccommodationsStudents may require accommodations, including special strategies,support, and/or equipment to allow them to participate in learningactivities. There are three types of accommodations:• Instructional accommodations are adjustments in teaching strategies,including styles of presentation, methods of organization, orthe use of technology or multimedia.• Environmental accommodations are supports or changes that thestudent may require in the physical environment of the classroomand/or the school, such as preferential seating or speciallighting.• Assessment accommodations are adjustments in assessment activitiesand methods that enable the student to demonstrate learning,such as allowing additional time to complete tasks or permittingoral responses to test questions.Some of the ways in which teachers can provide accommodationswith respect to mathematics learning activities are listed in thefollowing chart.The term accommodations is usedto refer to the special teaching andassessment strategies, human supports,and/or individualized equipmentrequired to enable a studentto learn and to demonstrate learning.Accommodations do not alterthe provincial curriculum expectationsfor the grade.Modifications are changes madein the age-appropriate grade-levelexpectations for a subject … inorder to meet a student’s learningneeds. These changes may involvedeveloping expectations that reflectknowledge and skills required inthe curriculum for a differentgrade level and/or increasing ordecreasing the number and/orcomplexity of the regular gradelevelcurriculum expectations.(Ontario Ministry of Education,2004, pp. 25–26)Instructional Accommodations• Vary instructional strategies, using different manipulatives, examples, and visuals (e.g., concretematerials, pictures, diagrams) as necessary to aid understanding.• Rephrase information and instructions to make them simpler and clearer.• Use non-verbal signals and gesture cues to convey information.• Teach mathematical vocabulary explicitly.• Have students work with a peer.• Structure activities by breaking them into smaller steps.• Model concepts using concrete materials, and encourage students to use them when learningconcepts or working on problems.• Have students use calculators and/or addition and multiplication grids for computations.(continued)Principles Underlying Effective Mathematics Instruction 41