MAKING A CONNECTION

MATH AND LITERACY

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE MATHEMATICALLY LITERATE?

• Mathematical literacy is being able to do, understand, and apply mathematics, not only in the classroom, but in everyday lives.• Students must develop skills to think, read,

communicate and perform in many academic contexts. Therefore, educators must consider how students learn to read, write, think, speak and listen in their discipline.• Researchers agree that, like reading, improving

students’ writing skills improves their capacity to learn (National Institute for Literacy, 2007).

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544239.pdf

“Writing in mathematics gives me a window into my students’ thoughts that I don’t normally get when they just compute problems. It shows me their roadblocks, and it also gives me, as a teacher, a road map.”

-Maggie Johnston 9th grade mathematics teacher, Denver, Colorado

“Using Writing in Mathematics to Deepen Student Learning” by Vicki Urquhart

• David Pugalee (2005), who researches the relationship between language and mathematics learning, asserts that writing supports reasoning and problem solving and helps students internalize the characteristics of effective communication. He suggests that teachers read student writing for evidence of logical conclusions, justification of answers and processes, and the use of facts to explain their thinking.

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544239.pdf

WHY ARE WE WRITING IN MATH CLASS?

Benefit #1 Benefit #2

Benefit #3 Benefit #4

“Students write to keep ongoing records about what they’re doing and learning.”

“Students write in order to solve math problems.”

“Students write to explain mathematical ideas.”

“Students write to describe learning processes.”

WRITING TO EXPLAIN AND DESCRIBE

Content prompts deal with mathematical concepts and relationships.

Examples :• Define parallel in your own

words.• How would you describe a

number line?• Write a paragraph about

the data displayed in the graph.

• What properties do triangles have?

• Tell everything you remember about the key points in today’s lesson.

Reflective writing prompts provide students a vehicle for describing their learning processes.

Ideas:

• What about providing students writing prompts at the beginning of a unit that gives them the opportunity to “voice” what they think/know already about a problem that has been posted?

• Students can describe how they feel about the problem and why.

INTEGRATING WRITING INTO THE MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM

• Writing can provide valuable insight for teachers into their students’ mastery of math concepts.

• Writing often reveals gaps in learning and misconceptions which can help inform teachers for instructional planning and intervention strategies.

• Communicating about mathematics through writing helps strengthen student learning which can build conceptual understanding.

• Students are able to clarify their thinking about a math topic through writing.

• Integrating writing into the curriculum can be easy with a little planning.

http://www.readwritethink.org

• Classroom Resources• Professional Development• Parent & Afterschool

Resources

Secondary Grade Levels

IDEAS FOR MATHEMATICS ACTIVITIES

Math Journals

Explain a formula.

Write about a time you were confused in math and tell about what you did.

Write everything you know about __________. (Can do this at the beginning of new material or as a recap of what’s been taught.)

Present a graph from the newspaper, magazine, online resource and have students write everything they can understand from the data in the graph.

Write/Draw as many examples of a ratio (or something else) that you can think of in 5 min.

Use all of the vocabulary words from a unit and write a paragraph/story using them correctly.

MORE…IDEAS FOR INTEGRATING MATHEMATICS

AND LITERACY

Poetry – Writing and sharing poems is a popular way for many students no matter the age level to share ideas about math concepts, ideas, and experiences.

Haiku – 3 lines – 5 syllable, 7 syllable, syllable format is

simple.

Triangular PrismFive faces, all flat

Your straight edges count to nineTriangles — a must!

Advice Columns – Students write fictitious advice columns as you might find in a news column, but specific to mathematics. Use math re-lated names, like “Dear Algy (algebra or algorithm) and “Dear Dr. Pi”.

WHY LITERATURE IN MATH?

• Generates interest in a math concept• Motivates students to think and reason

mathematically• Helps students make connections between

math concepts and their personal lives• Accommodates different learning modalities• Promotes critical thinking• Engages learners in problem solving

experiences• Illustrates interdisciplinary connections to

mathematics

CURRENT THEORY

• Literature provides a framework to help students learn math in a way that is non - threatening and familiar.

Picture Books Math Reduced Anxiety

“STUDENTS FOR WHOM MATH IS THEIR FIRST LOVE LEARN TO LOOK AT BOOKS IN A NEW WAY; STUDENTS WHO LOVE TO READ – BUT FOR WHOM MATH IS NOT “THEIR THING” – ARE HELPED TO EXPERIENCE THE WONDER OF MATHEMATICS IN THE SAME WAY THEY ALREADY ENJOY THE WONDER OF BOOKS.”

Click icon to add picture

WWW.MATHSOLUTIONS.COM

MATH SOLUTIONS PUBLICATIONS SERIES

Lesson Plan with Resourceshttp://illuminations.nctm.org/Lesson.aspx?id=2497

StudentActivity Sheet

Acceptable Equations:

g = number of grains received on a dayn = number of dayst = total grains received through “n” days

g = 2 ⁿˉ¹ t = 2 ⁿˉ¹

Model Eliciting

Activities

MEAS

MEAs are a collection of realistic problem-solving activities aligned to multiple subject-

area standards.

Are you familiar with these “ready–to–use” activities?

MODEL ELICITING ACTIVITIES

• MEAs are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in these realistic activities.

• MEAs resemble engineering problems because students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs and clearly documenting their thought process.

• MEA components on CPALMS include lesson plans with learning objectives, wide range of lesson resources, assessments and differentiation pieces.

INTEGRATED STEM LESSONS AS MODEL ELICITING ACTIVITIES

stemlesson.org mea.cpalms.org

http://www.cpalms.org/Public/

Click on Resourcesto access “MEAs”.

MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator.

MEAs have been used successfully as teaching tools in a range of subject areas and grade levels.

Students gain a deeper understanding of the content as specified in the aligned standards and increase their ability to effectively apply their knowledge of the content to solve an open-ended problem.

Besides gaining content knowledge, MEAs foster the development of 21st century skills like communication, teamwork, technical analysis, and problem solving. Individual MEAs typically align to standards in multiple subject areas.

• 6th Grade - The Best Domestic Car

MAFS.6.RP.1.1

MAFS.6.RP.1.2

• 7th Grade - Run For Your Life

MAFS.7.NS.1.1

MAFS.7.NS.1.3

8th Grade - Pack It Up

MAFS.8.G.3.9

MEA LESSON TITLES

Middle School

mea.cpalms.org

• Got You Covered

MAFS.912.S-IC.2.6

• CollegeReview.com

MAFS.912.A-CED.1.1MAFS.912.S-ID.1.1MAFS.912.S-ID.2.5MAFS.912.S-IC.1.2MAFS.912.S-IC.2.6

• Shopping for a Home Mortgage LoanMA.912.F.3.9MA.912.F.3.10MA.912.F.3.11MA.912.F.3.12MA.912.F.3.13MA.912.F.3.14MA.912.F.3.17MAFS.912.N-Q.1.3

MEA LESSON TITLES

High School

mea.cpalms.org

Grades 9-12

• Which Brand of Chocolate Chip Cookie Would You Buy?MAFS.912.S-IC.2.6 MAFS.912.N-Q.1.1

•

Plants versus PollutantsMAFS.912.F-BF.1.1MAFS.912.F-BF.1.2

ENGAGING WITH MEAS

Middle School

High School

• Template and Mathematical Literacy Teaching Tasks

Introducing a math concept or practicing a math skill by using fun, interactive Children’s Picture books can help reduce math anxiety and make the “math experience” more enjoyable for your students!

IN SUMMARY

RESOURCEShttp://mathsolutions.com/qa-effective-math-instruction-using-childrens-literature/

http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/math/math.html

http://www.mathcats.com/grownupcats/ideabankmathandliterature.html

http://www.davidson.k12.nc.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=47899

http://www.nctm.org/resources/content.aspx?id=2880

http://www.livingmath.net/ReaderLists/tabid/268/language/en-US/Default.aspx

http://www.chatham.edu/pti/curriculum/units/2009/Schmitt.pdf

http://ohiorc.org/for/math/bookshelf/

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544239.pdf

http://www.readwritethink.org