Climbing New Heights in Math through Literacy

EducationUsing Literacy Strategies to

Strengthen Your Math Instruction

Who We Are

• Brandi Atkins- Dinwiddie Middle School and Longwood University

• Kara Bowles- Campbell County Schools and Longwood University

• Julia Dudley-Haley- Appomattox Middle School and Longwood University

• Michelle Moats-Appomattox Middle School and Longwood University

Today’s Agenda

• Literacy comprehension in your Math class- Chart Talk

• How to Incorporate Reading Comprehension Strategies in Your Math Class

• My Interactive Math Word Wall- Create a ready-to-use instructional resource!

• Wrap-up and book share

What You Will Learn Today

• You will learn how to incorporate reading comprehension strategies into your math instruction.

• You will create grade level specific instructional resources.

• You will explore grade level and content specific texts to enhance your math instruction.

What the Research Says

According to Roni Jo Draper’s article in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult

Literacy, literacy and literacy education are vital parts of

mathematics instruction. Students who are taught to strategically read

math problems are better able to engage in and comprehend the

problem.

What the Research Says

When students incorrectly solve math story problems, the errors are not necessarily in

numerical calculations. Instead, many students make errors in comprehension of

the problem. Teaching students how to read story problems for comprehension

can greatly boost the probability that students will correctly solve the problem.

-Improving Reading to Improve Math

Show What You Know: Chart Talk• Around the room you will see five pieces of

chart paper. Each paper focuses on one literacy comprehension strategy.

• Using a marker from the bin, you will walk around silently. At each piece of chart paper, you will record how you use (or could use) this strategy in your math instruction.

• You have five minutes to write on as many strategy posters as you can.

• You may also respond to your colleague’s thoughts by asking questions or making connections to your own instruction.

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Countdown ClockBy Dr. Jeff ErtzbergerBack to Clock Home

Turn and Talk

Back at your seats, turn to your grade level colleagues and discuss what you have

learned so far about literacy in math instruction.

Share Out

• What ideas did you learn about using literacy in math instruction?

• How are you already incorporating literacy into your math instruction?

Let’s Briefly Discuss Reading Comprehension Strategies• Visualizing- Students create pictures in their

mind to engage with the text.

• Making Connections- Students make connections to the text using their prior knowledge (schema)

• Predicting- Students hypothesize about a text before reading it

• Asking questions- Asking questions helps students to clarify information and deepen their understanding of the text.

• Summarizing- Students locate key ideas in text

Why is This Important to Your Math Instruction?

• Math SOLs are featuring an increasing number of single and multi-step word problems.

• Students are expected to comprehend the word problem AND perform the correct mathematical functions.

• From first grade on, Virginia SOLs require students to solve word/story problems.

How Can We Connect Reading to Math?

Juan is sharing a pizza with 3 friends. If the pizza contains 8 slices and the friends want to

share it equally, how many slices will each friend receive?

Visualizing

Strategy

Creating an image in your mind that enhances the text.

Connection to Mathematics

“I can picture a pepperoni pizza and a party with my friends. I see myself going in a circle handing out slices to each of them. I see myself handing

out one piece a time to make sure that everyone gets the same amount.”

Making Connections

Strategy

Relating what you read to personal experiences

Connection to Mathematics

“This reminds me of a birthday party when my mom had to hand out pizza to people. It also

reminds me of another problem where I had divide up the fraction blocks.”

Predicting

Strategy

Using what you already know to anticipate what is coming next.

Connection to Mathematics

“I can estimate that each person will get more than one piece of pizza, since there are four

people there and eight pieces of pizza. I also know that 4 x 2=8, so maybe that can help me.”

Asking Questions

Strategy

Questioning the text and the author’s purpose to better understand the question.

Connection to Mathematics

“Are the pieces cut equally? Did each person want the same amount of pizza? Will everybody want

the most amount that they can get?”

Summarizing

Strategy

Identify key ideas and locate important information

Connection to Mathematics

“I think the problem is asking me to divide the whole pizza by the number of friends.”

Ideas for Implementation

• Have students glue a reading strategies reminder sheet in the front of their math notebooks.

• Encourage students to list the strategy that they used to solve word problems.

• Have students discuss and share the different strategies that they used with their classmates.

• Collaborate with a reading teacher to share ideas!

Turn and Talk

• How would this be useful for your students?

• Could you see yourself using this in your classroom? How?

• How would this help your students to be engaged in word problems?

My Interactive Math Word WallInstructional Resource• You will create a literacy-infused math resource.

• In your bins, you will find a journal, markers, stickers, glue, scissors and colored paper.

• We will be constructing a personal word wall for math vocabulary.

• As teachers present new vocabulary, students will write the word and definition in their notebook.

• The notebook will also contain space for visual representation cards.

What the Research Says About the Importance of Word Walls“The use of interactive word walls holds instructional potential for enhancing vocabulary learning as students engage in activities centered around the word wall. As visible and concrete tools to facilitate discussions and expand students’ use of targeted words, word walls are powerful tools for supporting word learning objectives.”

-Interactive Word Walls: More Than Just Reading the Writing on the Walls

What the Research Says About How Word Walls Help Students

“When sixth- and eighth-grade students were asked to describe how interactive word walls supported their learning, the

overwhelming majority of students not only said that they were better than traditional or standard word walls, but many identified

ways in which the word walls helped them. For example, one student stated that the word wall “helped me because whenever I forget I could just look back and it gave me good information.” Additionally, students stated that it “helps remind us of what we have learned.” One student also valued the visual support: The “word wall helps me by giving me a visual understanding.” One study reported that scores on high-stakes tests increased across all student groups when teachers used interactive word

walls...”

- Interactive Words Walls- Transforming Content Vocabulary Instruction

Check Out Some

Examples!

How to Implement This in Your Classroom

• Centers- Students can sort picture cards into categories.

• Students can use the notebook as personal study tool

• When used as a school wide literacy tool, the interactive math word wall can travel with students through grade levels. Students can record new vocabulary and review previous vocabulary.

Now, it is your turn to make

your own interactive word wall!

Turn and Talk

• How could you see yourself using this in your math instruction?

• How could you get your Professional Learning Community and Vertical Alignment committees involved in this project?

• How will this engage students in math vocabulary?

Wrap-Up and Book Share

• Around the room, you will see various picture books that correlate to math skills.

• In your information packet, there is a list of books that can be used to enhance your mathematics instruction.

• Please browse through the books. We hope you get some ideas for incorporating literacy into your math instruction.

• You will also find an exit ticket in your bin. Please feel free to leave questions or comments for us. Drop this in the bin on your way out.

Prezi Book List

Resources

Draper, R. (2002). A case for literacy instruction in the reform-oriented math classroom. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 45(6)

Glenberg, A., Willford, J., Gibson, B., Zhu, X., & Zhu, X. (2011). Improving reading to improve math. Scientific Studies of Reading

Harmon, J., Wood, K., Hedrick, W., Vintinner, J., & Willeford, T. (2009). Interactive word walls:more than just writing on the walls. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literature, 52(5), 398-408. Retrieved from http://www.syracusecityschools.com/tfiles/folder718

Jackson, J., Tripp, S., & Cox, K. (2011). Interactive word walls: Transforming content vocabulary instruction.Science Scope, 45-49. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/jdhaley/Downloads/Interactive Word Walls Science Scope.J.Jackson.pdf