Bookmark

Sign up or login to use the bookmarking feature.

32 Writing in Math

Page
231
from

Writing in Math Opening Page

Start-Up Activity

Philosopher Neal Postman knew how to help students (and everyone else) better understand mathematics. He claimed that students should study the story of mathematics. That is, instead of solving a series of problems day after day, it is important to read and write about different aspects of mathematics—their origins, value, applications, and so on—to gain more grounding in the discipline.

Writing about mathematics may be new to your students. If so, remind them that writing is thinking on paper. So when they write about mathematics, they are thinking more carefully about their analysis or computations and understanding them more fully. And in another way, they are adding their own little bit to the story of mathematics that Postman talks about.

As an activity, have students brainstorm ideas for the story of a math concept they are currently studying. 

Note: Math and/or English teachers can implement these guidelines.

Think About It

“Make your writing useful.”

—Will Zinsser

LAFS Covered in This Chapter

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

Page 232 from All Write

Writing Guidelines: Math Table

Be sure that students understand the guidelines for freewriting (free and rapid writing about a topic). Then model freewriting for students before students try it on their own. Base your freewriting on something that students have studied in their math class.—perhaps finding the diameter, radius, or circumference of different objects. (See pages 487–496 in All Write for other ideas.) Then review the remaining guidelines on page 232. Consider modeling the process for explaining/analyzing information in a math table based on the subject of your freewriting.

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

21st Century Skills:
English Language Arts:

Page 233 from All Write

Sample Math Table: Analyzing Numbers

Have a volunteer read the sample aloud. During your discussion of the text, have students explain the topic of this analysis, the information in the table, and the writer’s final observations.

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

21st Century Skills:
English Language Arts:

Page 234 from All Write

Writing Guidelines: Statistical Analysis

Discuss the example statistical table at the top of page 234. Next, have students brainstorm other possible topics. Examples: Baseball—strikeouts, batting averages, or winning at home versus winning on the road. Crime rates—cities with high crime rates, low crime rates, etc. Then review the remaining guidelines.

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

21st Century Skills:
English Language Arts:

Page 235 from All Write

Sample Analysis: Exploring the Numbers

Have a volunteer read the sample aloud. Then discuss the text using the side notes as a basic guide. Point out for students the basic arrangement of information in the model: introduction of the topic, first statistical table, analysis, second statistical table, analysis. (The number of tables presented depends on the topic.)

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

21st Century Skills:
English Language Arts:

Page 236 from All Write

Other Math Forms

Review with students other forms that they may use to write about topics related to mathematics. Then review the subject areas listed on the page. Each one could lead to a number of potential writing topics. Example:

  • Subject area: Data Graphing
  • Topic: Budget for a fund raiser
  • Possible topics: Item analysis of costs; estimated costs vs. actual costs; analysis of budget for a 5-year period

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

21st Century Skills:
English Language Arts: