Writing in Math
“But, this is math. We don’t write in math class!”
Have you ever heard this from a student? Have you ever encountered resistance when attempting to integrate language arts into your regular math instruction?
It is perfectly normal for students to compartmentalize their learning, organize their work by content, and into categories that make the most sense. Writing in math? That just doesn’t compute,” they think to themselves. Yet, given this opportunity, students would find an outlet for exploring their thoughts, cementing their understanding, and extending the activity provided.
To be sure, it will look quite different from the essay they write for a creative prompt or the letter they write to a friend. In fact, it is more a record of thinking, a way to monitor their thoughts as they struggle to make sense of the concepts you present. Writing in math can look like a journal in which they ask a question they wish to be answered, create a bank of words they want to make their own, or present a solution in a multistep list. It can also look like a student made book of word problems where they write each scenario and offer strategies that might help. It can even look like a treasury of knowledge, a math encyclopedia of sorts, in which groups submit sections explaining concepts, algorithms, or terms that “every fourth grader should know”.
Are you wondering where to start? Inspired but at a loss for ideas? Check out this table of “must haves” and begin your integration today.
- Kelly Harmon