Math+and+Literacy

Many believe that Math and Literacy are seperated but there is actually a stronger connection then one may think. I would agree that math is mostly numbers and you have to plug them into a formula but students have to have the vocabulary of certain concepts in order to understand the problem. Students also have to be literate in math in order to read the text book and understand how, when, and why certain formulas are used. One way teachers can incorporate math and literacy into a lesson is to have students write an explanation of how an answer was achieved which makes the student use mathematic vocabulary and in the end deepens their understanding of the underlying concepts. http://www.rif.org/educators/advicetips/askexperts/albright.mspx Is a site called Reading is Fundamental and is describes ways for teachers to incorporate math and literacy. Feel free to read and comment or give ideas of your own on how to bring together the two subjects in a classroom. (Marcos) You are right on the mark when it comes to Math and Literacy. As a Middle School math teacher, I was astonished when I realized that some of my better math students' hit the wall when the mathematics required reading and comprehension. They could always do the math, but sometimes they could not figure out what the problem was posing. Many of my students do not like to write. In fact they don't even want to copy the question. A daily journal kept by each student, should be encouraged in each nights homework assignment. The journal should include a summary of what the student had learned in class that day, and a running list homework questions. For double periods of math, which are an unholy 90 minutes, 45 are devoted to students writing the information necessary for the next days lesson and reading silently while collecting questions for the next lesson. I always find it helpful and beneficial to have the student read the material beforehand to better grasp the material when presented in the lesson.

I agree that math and literacy are directly linked. It's all about an ability to process information. Especially on lengthy word problems, when students need to be able to read something several times, both as a whole and individual parts, in order to come up with a solution. (B. Kiernan)

I also teach middle school math, and it wasn't until recently that I was introduced to the theory that students must be taught "technical literacy" much the same way they are taught poetry. I felt the same way when I first started teaching that my "honors" kids could do any problem I put in front of them, but were clueless when they had to read and understand a word problem, or God forbid, EXPLAIN what they did in writing (or even speaking!) My building has begun a literacy initiative where we concrate not just on "literacy" but teaching kids HOW to read, write and understand literacy in the math classroom. (Ryan Speer)