Literacy and Mathematics How can Literacy Specialists support Math instruction?

State of Mathematics Strategies for Whole Group Instruction Strategies for Small Group Instruction Specific Content Instruction Instructional Supports

Problems Related to Reading in Math Classes Research shows that math texts contain more concepts per sentence and paragraph than any other type of text. Math texts are written in a very compact style; each sentence contains a lot of information, with little redundancy. The text can contain words as well as numeric and non-numeric symbols to decode.

Problems Related to Reading in Math Classes A page may be laid out in such a way that the eye must travel in a different pattern than the traditional left-to-right one of most reading. There may also be graphics that must be understood for the text to make sense; these may sometimes include information that is intended to add to the comprehension of a problem but instead may be distracting. Many texts are written above the grade level for which they are intended.

The Math and Reading/Writing Connection “Mathematics is first and foremost a form of reasoning...mathematics consists of thinking in a logical manner, formulating and testing conjectures, making sense of things, and forming and justifying judgements, inferences, and conclusions” (Battista, 1999)

What is the role of a Literacy Specialist? Assist in helping struggling readers in both fiction and nonfiction. Work with students on decoding skills, fluency, and reading comprehension. Assist in all three tiers of reading instruction. Co-teach with classroom teachers on reading strategies.

Why the link between literacy and mathematics? Students need to build the same capacity in mathematical thinking as currently exists in thinking about reading/writing.

How can Literacy Specialists support Math instruction? Apply Reading Skills: Book Walks to preview sections Vocabulary Acquisition Decoding Mathematical Language Oral Language Development (Think Alouds) Help students access prior learning and make connections between the different components of a math text.

Pieces of the Puzzle

Reading Math Texts Classroom teachers may read math texts similar to ELA texts. Connections made between the different components of the math text might not be made.

Reading Math Texts Build students reading independence through guided reading: Book Walks Connect to prior learning Preview vocabulary Refer to instructional strategies

Decoding Word Problems Through strategic reading, have students interpret and infer what the words mean. Help students read for purpose. Read the entire problem. Paraphrase the text. Identify the vocabulary words in the text. Refer to text structure similar to a TDA...all information is placed in relationship to what is known. Use think alouds to infer the meaning of small words in math. Use bar modeling to visualize the information.

Decoding Word Problems All together, there are _____ passengers on a cruise ship. _____ passengers are children. The rest of the passengers are adults. How many more adults than children are on the cruise ship? First, show word problems with no quantities. Create the answer statement. “There are ______ more adults than children on the cruise ship.” What do we know? What do you wonder? “What is a passenger?” “Who are the passengers” “Do we know how many passengers there are?” “What does the word ‘more’ mean?” “Do we know how many children or adults there are?” “What do we know about the children and adults?”

Decoding Word Problems All together, there are _____ passengers on a cruise ship. _____ passengers are children. The rest of the passengers are adults. How many more adults than children are on the cruise ship? Visualize the problem. adults Why is the adult bar larger than the children’s? Total passengers ? children ? How many more adults than children are on the cruise ship?

Decoding Word Problems All together, there are _____ passengers on a cruise ship. _____ passengers are children. The rest of the passengers are adults. How many more adults than children are on the cruise ship? Have students explain or write out the math processes before writing them down. Focus on vocabulary. “The number of adults and children add up to the number of passengers.” “There are more adults than children.” “I first have to find out how many adults there are by finding the difference between the total number of passengers and the number of children.” “To find how many more adults there are, I have to find the difference between the number of adults and the number of children.”

Decoding Word Problems All together, there are 5,099 passengers on a cruise ship. 1,825 passengers are children. How many more adults than children are on the cruise ship? Include the numbers, let the students solve the problem, and answer the question using the answer statement given earlier. 5,099 - 1,825 = 3,274 3,274 - 1,825 = 1,449 There are 1,449 more adults than children on the cruise ship. adults Total passengers = 5,099 children 1,825 ?

Total Number of Passengers For the Algebra Folks All together, there are 5,099 passengers made up of adults and children on a cruise ship. There are 1,449 more adults that children. How many adults and children are on the cruise ship? 5,099 – 1,449 = 3,650 3,650/2 = 1,825 1,825 + 1,449 = 3,274 There are 1,825 children on the cruise ship. There are 3,274 adults on the cruise ship. children x Total passengers = 5,099 adults x 1,449 Number of Children + Number of Adults = Total Number of Passengers x x + 1449 5099

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