One Reason Why I love Using the Hundred Board and Why You Should Too if You Have a Reluctant Math Student

Peter (not his real name) didn’t know how to add and subtract even though he was already in Middle School.

He barely talked and English was not his native language. He had an intellectual disability. He did not want to do his Math activities. Yet after a few weeks with me, he eagerly does his Math work in advance. How?

Well, I used the hundred board technique I wrote about yesterday.

How I Used the Hundreds Board with a Reluctant Student

It turns out, Peter was discouraged about getting wrong answers in Math again and again. So I used the +1 and -1 hundreds board technique I wrote about yesterday. I only gave him +1 problems, then boosted his confidence in Math. Then -1 problems. Afterwards, I mixed them up, before giving him higher numbers.

Unfortunately, Peter transferred to another school before I was able to teach him more. If I had more time with him, here are the other hundred board lessons I will do (which I did for other students):

• Numeracy and Place Value using the 0 to 99 board
• Ratio & Proportion — using a 1 to 100 board instead of 0 to 99. I made students visualize a dollar as a hundred board. Then I made them visualize a penny as one small box of the board. Then I let them cut a hundred board by 5s, 10s and 25s to visualize nickels, dimes and quarters.
• Multiplication — I let them color the board to show multiples of 2, 3, 5 and 10
• Years later, I saw Peter in a district-wide event. He still do not talk that much but he gave me a wide grin of recognition. He is happier and I am grateful to be a small part of his learning journey.

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