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GED Math Graphics: Illustrated Guide to Self-Confidence


This site’s multi-volume Math Guide supports GED test preparation for small classes (typically 3-8) of disadvantaged and indigent students, both teens and adults. Its graphics and user-friendly format work particularly well in resource-constrained programs typical of nonprofit agencies: community based organizations, addiction treatment programs or domestic violence shelters.

The purpose here is to offer something new and useful, as broadly as possible, whether you are:

  • A Math Teacher
  • A non-Math Teacher who might be tasked to teach math in your program
  • Any teacher seeking Bilingual Math Support for Latino ELLs.


You can make your classroom a place where students gain confidence and experience success.  Displace boring “teacher talk” with active learning that is supported by targeted graphics. The difference is dramatic. Your class will be more effective—engaging and even more fun.

The Math Guide approach works because there is a world of difference between just presenting math and actually teaching it effectively. Two decades-old NCTM messages still apply well:

For the teacher: HOW you teach matters just as much as WHAT you teach,

For the student: Math is not just something you KNOW—it’s something you DO.

So dive right into activities, using the Times Table and Top 10 Charts to engage students and build their self-confidence. See the Teacher Notes, pp. 10-13. The sequence is fun and it works!

Also begin right away to use the charts in Unit 1, as needed to answer students’ questions as they work through basic word problems in whole numbers and decimals. These are resources not straight jackets—dip in and recycle as opposed to following a strict sequence. 

As students get stuck on particular questions, have the charts ready to capture the “teachable moment,” and get them back into the flow of activity. As key questions and topics arise again and again, the less wordy Concept Charts are great review for maximum visual impact.

As they continually encounter basic concepts within a range of problems and exercises, students will often see the same increasingly familiar charts. They will begin to recognize them easily, and in addition need to recite and internalize the story lines. Get them to draw large color posters of key charts, and post them in the classroom. This really works to get students engaged!

When students demonstrate confidence with material in Units 1-4, it’s time for the Test Review – Typical Questions. This student-friendly summary can help them very significantly with about half of all questions needed to pass the test, but of course they must also gain proficiency with a range of word problems--see the Teacher Notes, pp. 7-9.

For Non-Math Teachers, Too!

A special target audience is the qualified teacher who may not be specifically prepared in mathematics. Sharp focus and informal approach make these materials highly useful to non-math teachers who find themselves tasked to provide instruction in basic math.  

If that is you, then I invite you to download the Math Guide and I urge you to use it. If you like many of your peers are a self-defined “math phobe,” I guarantee that you will be pleasantly surprised to discover how transparent and adaptable the material really is.

I’m not saying that this stuff will make a heavy duty math teacher out of you, but that’s not the point. In reality, GED math is mostly softball level. You already know most topics, and with the graphics can teach them very effectively. Just put aside preconceptions and keep an open mind.

Skim through Unit 1 and Unit 2, to rediscover the essential simplicity of elementary level math. Your challenge is not so much to master the surprisingly basic material, but to make it accessible and show ALL your students success despite the range of disadvantages that some may bring to your class. For this important job, the Math Guide will help you to focus many of the valuable instructional skills you already have, and to use them effectively in novel ways.

Support for Latino English Language Learners (ELLs)

Companion bilingual units also offer support for Spanish-speaking ELLs. Here many nonprofit programs confront a dilemma—math teachers may be unable to teach in Spanish, yet ELLs’ classroom time is too limited to allow delay in their math education. To achieve tangible success before departing, each student must begin right away. 

The new instructional format bypasses this old roadblock. Clear math graphics make key points, supported by brief explanations in both English and Spanish. Thus Spanish-only students can begin math study on day one, as they also work to improve their language skills in English classes and interactions with peers.  

Overview of Math Guide components – Dive right in...




About the Author

Based in northern New Jersey, Howard Myers supports nonprofit GED math programs as author and professional development consultant. His educational experience includes 3 years as GED math teacher in an urban addiction treatment program for indigent teens, as well as 14 years in an urban vocational high school system as math teacher, math supervisor and Project Director for No Child Left Behind.

* Prior to his career in education, he lived and did business for a total of 10 years in four Asian countries, and held staff positions in market and strategic planning at a Fortune 100 corporation.

Note similarities in the Math Guide to successful presentations for impatient, preoccupied executives. Does that sound like some of your math students? A picture is still worth a thousand words, so graphic based formats often work well for a wide range of audiences!

Howard’s education includes EdD from Rutgers, MBA from Wharton, MA in Asian Studies from Seton Hall and BS in Chemical Engineering from Missouri S&T.

Contact – Howard Myers, Ed.D. HowardMy@aol.com

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