Using Graph Paper as a Math Accommodation

As a special education teacher, I work with a lot of kiddos with tracking issues that impact their reading, writing, and math skills.  In addition, many of them also struggle with fine motor skills and have larger than typical handwriting.  

One of the ways that I help my students during math is to have them use graph paper when solving problems.  

Handing out graph paper for your students to use to work through problems is a very simple way to help them keep their numbers aligned correctly.  


As you can see, you can easily use it for every operation.

I had our Occupational Therapist push in for one of my math reviews and she LOVED how the squares limited the space for each digit.  She was so impressed by the penmanship my kiddos showed!

I created a FREE video that shows step-by-step instructions on how I use graph paper and other manipulatives to teach multi-digit multiplication with and without decimals.  It was especially helpful for my students with special needs.

I downloaded and printed this free graph paper here. 

I'd love to hear about how this worked in your classroom!