Access for All: Practical Ways to Adjust Tier 1 Math Tasks, K-3
with Dr. Kateri Thunder
A Hybrid Mini Series with 3 half-day virtual sessions and 1 full-day in person session
Who Should Attend?
Classroom Teachers, Interventionists, Special Educators, and Coaches
At a Glance
How do I adjust my Tier 1 math tasks so that every learner can actively and meaningfully participate?
Join us for an energizing mini-series focused on making Tier 1 math tasks truly accessible for every young learner.
We’ll explore simple, powerful adjustments that help all students take part in meaningful mathematical thinking—whether they’re working in whole-group routines, small-group investigations, partner tasks, or independent practice. Using familiar programs like Investigations, Bridges, and Illustrative Math—plus rich resources like Thinking Classrooms routines, 3-Act Tasks, Slow Reveal Graphs, and Esti-Mysteries—we’ll try out and adapt real tasks together.
You’ll leave with ready-to-use strategies, refreshed confidence, and practical moves that help every child join in and thrive during math time.
Session 1: February 4 (half-day virtual, 9am-12pm)
Adjusting Whole Group Routines and Lessons
In this session, we’ll explore how to make your whole-group math time a place where every student can jump in, stay engaged, and contribute meaningful thinking. Together, we’ll look at common K–4 routines—Number Strings, Which One Doesn’t Belong, Slow Reveal Graphs, Esti-Mysteries, counting routines, and inquiry launches—and learn simple, high-leverage adjustments that open up access without watering down the math. We’ll practice spotting barriers, designing clearer entry points, and fine-tuning prompts, representations, and pacing so all learners can participate confidently. You’ll walk away with practical strategies you can use the very next day to make whole-group instruction more inclusive, more engaging, and more mathematically rich for every student.
Session 2: February 19 (half-day virtual, 9am-12pm)
Adjusting Inquiry and Rich Math Tasks
In this session, we’ll dig into how to help every learner engage meaningfully with rich, inquiry-based math tasks. Together, we’ll explore problems from programs like Investigations, Bridges, and Illustrative Math, as well as high-interest resources such as 3-Act Tasks and Thinking Classrooms prompts. We’ll practice identifying the moments where students may get stuck—and learn quick, efficient ways to adjust directions, representations, language demands, tools, and structures so all students can enter the task and stay with the thinking. Through hands-on collaboration, you’ll try out adaptations with colleagues, test their impact, and refine them for real-world use. You’ll leave with practical strategies that preserve rigor, increase access, and bring more joy and agency to your math inquiries.
Session 3: March 24 (half-day virtual, 9am-12pm)
Adjusting Independent Practice and Math Games
In this session, we’ll explore how to make independent practice and math games accessible, purposeful, and engaging for every learner. We’ll look closely at common workbook pages, center activities, and game structures from programs like Investigations, Bridges, and Illustrative Math, and identify where students may encounter unnecessary barriers. Then, we’ll practice simple, efficient adjustments—tweaking directions, offering choice, varying representations, shifting the level of scaffolding, or modifying constraints—to help all students participate with confidence while still engaging in meaningful math thinking. You’ll try out game adaptations with colleagues, experience how small changes can open big doors, and walk away with ready-to-use strategies that make independent practice time smoother, more inclusive, and more engaging for your entire class.
Session 4: April 15 (in-person, 9am-3:30pm)
Everyone Can Join In: Adapting Tier 1 Math for Real Classroom Participation
Join us for an energizing, hands-on day focused on helping every child take part in meaningful math learning. We’ll dive into Tier 1 routines and tasks together—experiencing them as learners, noticing where access opens or closes, and exploring practical ways to support productive struggle without lowering the bar. In the afternoon, you’ll roll up your sleeves and adapt real tasks—your own or provided examples—using simple, effective moves you can put into action right away. You’ll leave with a ready-to-teach adapted routine or task, a set of easy strategies for increasing access, and a clear plan for making your daily math time more inclusive, engaging, and successful for all students.
Date and Time:
HALF DAY VIRTUAL: February 4th, February 19, March 24, 2026, 9am-12pm
FULL DAY IN-PERSON: April 15th, 2026, 9am-3:30pm
Location: In Person April 15th, 9-3:30 Delta Hotel in South Burlington
includes a light breakfast and lunch.
Cost: includes the book- Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom (either K-2 or 3-5)
CVEDC Member: $575
Non-Member: $675
About the Presenter:
Kateri Thunder, Ph.D. is an educator, researcher, author, and coach who collaborates with learners and educators from school divisions around the world to translate research into practice. Kateri has served as an inclusive, early childhood educator, an Upward Bound educator, a mathematics specialist, an assistant professor of mathematics education at James Madison University, and Site Director for the Central Virginia Writing Project. Kateri researches, writes, and presents on equity and access in education and the intersection of literacy and mathematics for teaching and learning. She has partnered with thousands of educators to catalyze change in their classrooms and schools. Kateri is a best-selling author, along with John Hattie, John Almarode, Doug Fisher, and Nancy Frey, for Corwin’s Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom Series, The Success Criteria Playbook, and The Mathematics Playbook.