Friday, April 19, 2013

Writing in Math


Writing in Math


When writing, students must reason through communicating the relationships the have constructed with their peers. Classroom discussion is essential in a safe learning environment where all students can voice their opinion of agreeing or disagreeing with their classmates and teacher. In this unit, students have several opportunities to write about the relationships they have constructed and take notes on the strategies used by their peers. Here are examples found within this unit of study for investigation multi-digit multiplication.

* Formative Assessment- Writing is a great tool for formative assessment because it gives teachers a clear indication of student understanding.
“Choose two problems from today’s number talk, and explain, in words, how you solved it.”
“Use a strategy of your choice today to explain how to calculate the number of tiles needed for any size store.”

*Note Taking- Writing for the purpose of note taking is an essential skill. During math congress, students begin discussing the information important enough to record in their math journals.
“Students participating in congress will take notes of their classmates presentations in their math journal.”

*Communication with peers- Writing is necessary to communicate with peers or fellow mathematicians. Students begin reviewing the work of their peers and writing feedback to communicate clearly with these students. Class discussions are essential to help students determine appropriate feedback. “Could you label these numbers to help me better understand what they represent?” is a drastically different from students writing, “Great job” or “I don’t understand.”

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