Let’s face it... School improvement goals almost invariably have something to do with reading and writing. Keep in mind that school improvement provides school-wide goals. All departments are expected to contribute to improvements in literacy, not just English and social studies. But math? Can reading and writing really be incorporated into math in a meaningful way? I say yes.
As we ready our students for the SBAC tests and for life after high school, we need to be thinking about how to prepare them to be successful in a variety of situations. There are two critical skills that we must focus on in secondary math education: 1) technical writing and 2) reading for information/understanding.
I had an interesting experience with technical writing already this school year. In my geometry classes, I did a mini-unit on proof writing. When students were told that we would be writing paragraph proofs, you should have seen the looks of dismay on their faces! Paragraphs... in math? Is that even possible? When the students saw that writing a paragraph proof simply meant putting their two column proof into complete sentences with some transitions, they were relieved to find that this was not a difficult task. They also learned that formal writing could include mathematical symbols. Students need exposure to this type of writing, especially if they are to enter a technical field.
Additionally, I think we need to remember that writing does not necessarily mean assigning papers or essays. If a student is asked to explain their process in solving a problem or to justify an answer using data, this counts as writing! If they are expressing themselves in written language, we are accomplishing the goal to incorporate writing. However, how does one grade a piece of writing without ELA training? At my present district, we have developed a rubric to score a student’s writing based on “readability.” This means checking that, overall, correct grammar is used. It means checking to see if the writing flows well using necessary transitions. And in addition to a readability grade, students can still be scored based on the mathematical content of their writing!
Reading is also necessary and appropriate in the math curriculum. When students leave high school, they need to be skilled in reading for information. They need to make inferences from a text. They need to make sense of mathematical language. Thus, having students read for understanding is an excellent exercise for them. Look for a section in the textbook or for a quality article and have the students work through it at their own pace. Better yet, perform a close read with the whole class (students read the text multiple times, with a new focus each time).
Reading and writing do not have to be an extra burden or another thing to just check off the list. Think about how you can incorporate reading and writing in a meaningful way in your math classes. You owe it to your students!
As we ready our students for the SBAC tests and for life after high school, we need to be thinking about how to prepare them to be successful in a variety of situations. There are two critical skills that we must focus on in secondary math education: 1) technical writing and 2) reading for information/understanding.
I had an interesting experience with technical writing already this school year. In my geometry classes, I did a mini-unit on proof writing. When students were told that we would be writing paragraph proofs, you should have seen the looks of dismay on their faces! Paragraphs... in math? Is that even possible? When the students saw that writing a paragraph proof simply meant putting their two column proof into complete sentences with some transitions, they were relieved to find that this was not a difficult task. They also learned that formal writing could include mathematical symbols. Students need exposure to this type of writing, especially if they are to enter a technical field.
Additionally, I think we need to remember that writing does not necessarily mean assigning papers or essays. If a student is asked to explain their process in solving a problem or to justify an answer using data, this counts as writing! If they are expressing themselves in written language, we are accomplishing the goal to incorporate writing. However, how does one grade a piece of writing without ELA training? At my present district, we have developed a rubric to score a student’s writing based on “readability.” This means checking that, overall, correct grammar is used. It means checking to see if the writing flows well using necessary transitions. And in addition to a readability grade, students can still be scored based on the mathematical content of their writing!
Reading is also necessary and appropriate in the math curriculum. When students leave high school, they need to be skilled in reading for information. They need to make inferences from a text. They need to make sense of mathematical language. Thus, having students read for understanding is an excellent exercise for them. Look for a section in the textbook or for a quality article and have the students work through it at their own pace. Better yet, perform a close read with the whole class (students read the text multiple times, with a new focus each time).
Reading and writing do not have to be an extra burden or another thing to just check off the list. Think about how you can incorporate reading and writing in a meaningful way in your math classes. You owe it to your students!
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