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Math
Math
is highly conceptual and process-oriented, requiring that students
are able to do more than copy and memorize facts. The goal is to
construct meaning by applying skills such as questioning, predicting,
examining, discussing, describing, and rationalizing. Reading and
writing play a critical role in these processes. For example, students
might be asked to explain, often in writing, mathematical procedures
to demonstrate their knowledge. In doing so, they help strengthen
their understanding of the underlying concepts. Students must also
make sense of the technical vocabulary, complex information, and
detailed directions contained in textbooks, articles, and documents
such as graphs and charts. Without the necessary support, many students
struggle to comprehend these specialized texts.
There
are a number of activities and strategies that math teachers can
use to help students enhance their literacy skills while building
their abilities in math. To help math teachers meaningfully integrate
literacy strategies into their content area teaching, we include
links to web sites that contain information about research-based
instructional strategies, lesson plans, activities, resources, and
teaching materials.
Literacy
Skills for the Math Classroom
The
following sites feature information and strategies for helping students
develop the reading and writing skills needed for success in the
math classroom.
Sites
That Matter
Connections
in Reading and Mathematics Instruction
This publication from the Center for the Education and Study of
Diverse Populations at New Mexico Highlands discusses how reading
skills help students learn the "big ideas" or the important
concepts in mathematics. The article outlines the connections between
reading and mathematics instruction and provides numerous ideas
for classroom activities.
www.cesdp.nmhu.edu/pubs/connections.pdf
Ask
the Experts
On the Reading is Fundamental web site, Dr. Lettie Albright answers
the question, "As a middle school math teacher I am wondering
what I can do to help some of my struggling readers feel less intimidated
by their math text book?"
www.rif.org/educators/advicetips/askexperts/albright.mspx
The Mathematics and Reading Connection. ERIC Digest.
This ERIC digest affirms that success in reading and mathematics
is based on process skills that incorporate the integration of contextual
information with prior knowledge to produce meaning. It categorizes
the necessary skills into four domains: construction, collaboration,
context, and communication, and gives suggestions for how to integrate
them into mathematics instruction.
www.ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed432439.html
Reforming
Mathematics Instruction for ESL Literacy Students. ERIC Digest.
The importance of mathematics in the language development of English
language learners is the focus of this ERIC digest. Included are
the standards from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(NCTM), instructional strategies for literacy students, and methods
for designing appropriate curricula.
www.ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed414769.html
Literacy
Techniques in Math Content
This list of strategies is from USC ReadersPlus, the University
of Southern California's version of the America Reads/America Counts
Program.
www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/jep/resources/literarytechniques.pdf
Word
Problem Solving Strategies
These strategies come from the mathstories.com web site. The goal
of this math web site is to help elementary and middle school children
boost their math problem solving and critical-thinking skills.
www.mathstories.com/strategies.htm
Writing
Math
This page from Drexel University's mathforum.org web site contains
a summary of the book, Writing Math by Joan Countryman, the head
of the Lincoln School in Providence, Rhode Island. Included are
several key insights about the connection of writing and the development
of skills in mathematics.
mathforum.org/~sarah/Discussion.Sessions/Countryman.html
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