Making the Writing Connection in Math Journals

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Making the Writing Connection in Math Journals

• Russell Larson
• Elementary Math Coordinator

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Journaling your thoughts and notes
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Continuum of learning.

• Rate yourself from 1 (low) to 10 (high)
• I can think of ways that I can use math
  journaling to support
• Problem solving
• Multiple representations
• Student communication
• Making math connections to other contents
• Reasoning and proof

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Quote

• He who Elaborates, Learns!
• Leo Vigostsky

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Brainstorm

• What are the benefits that journaling can bring
  to the .
• Student
• Teacher
• Parent

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GOALS

• To provide a model for incorporating writing
  into a math class with
• specific suggestions for managing and creating
  journals
• explore different types of writing
• develop rubrics for assessing journals
• providing students with feedback on their writing

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How to set up a math journal !

• What areas to go on tabs?
• Warm Ups
• Vocabulary
• Reflection
• Strategies
• Math Charts
• Response
• Problem Solving

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What can you do in a journal?

• Warm ups
• Long Term Projects
• Models/Foldables
• Lab Activities
• Reflection
• Problem Solving
• What do I know/What have I learned

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3 steps to writing in math

• Start off gently, open ended math prompts
• Introduce familiar math concepts and vocabulary
• Advanced math concepts connected to lesson

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Teaching Strategies For Incorporating Writing
Into Math Class (1)

• Starting Out Gently with Affective, Open-Ended
  Prompts
• Writing about thinking is challenging. For this
  reason, it's best not to start out having
  students write about unfamiliar mathematical
  ideas. First get them used to writing in a math
  class with general concepts.
• Sample Direction 1 Reflect on your
  participation in class today and complete the
  following statements
• I learned that I...
• I was surprised that I...
• I noticed that I...
• I discovered that I...
• I was pleased that I...  
• Sample Direction 2 Describe how you feel about
  solving _________ problem.

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Teaching Strategies For Incorporating Writing
Into Math Class (2)

• Next Step Getting Students to Write about
  Familiar Mathematical Ideas
• Once your students have become accustomed to
  writing about their attitudes and feelings toward
  mathematics in their journals, they are ready to
  write about simple, familiar math concepts.
• Sample Directions
• Explain in your own words what subtraction means.
  
• Explain what is most important to understand
  about fractions.

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Teaching Strategies For Incorporating Writing
Into Math Class (3)

• Moving On Writing About More Advanced Math
  Concepts
• When you feel your students are ready, ask them
  to write about more complex mathematical ideas,
  including concepts being taught at their current
  grade level.
• 1. Encourage your students to use drawings and
  graphs to explain their thinking.
• 2. As student writing progresses, ask students to
  write about their small group work.

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Non-Linguistic Representation (1)

• Think of a number (less than 6)
• Add 3
• Double it
• Subtract 4
• Divide by 2
• Subtract YOUR original number
• Your answer is 1
• WHY??

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How did I solve this???
Think of a number. The number is my bag.
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How did I solve this???
Add 3. The 3 dots represent the additional 3.
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How did I solve this???
Double it. Another row of pictures.
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How did I solve this???
Slashes subtracts 4 from total.
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How did I solve this???
Middle line shows dividing into 2 parts.
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How did I solve this???
Subtract original number, the bag.
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How did I solve this???
Subtract original number, the bag.
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Another example (2)

• One sixth of Joes MMs are blue
• 40 are red
• Remaining 52 MMs are yellow
• How many are blue?

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What would that look like?
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What would that look like?


40 of 120 48
1/6 of 120 20
20 48 52 120
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2 x 2 Writing Grids !
Fraction Denominator
Numerator Whole
Students write a total of 6 sentences from the
grid. 2 words from the row (2 sentences) 2
words from the column (2 sentences) 2 words on
the diagonal (2 sentences)
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Math Investigations is perfect for making the
writing connections in math!

• Start with concepts that students are comfortable
  with. Mathematical Thinking
• Differentiate with problem solving
• Model with students using graphic organizers and
  illustrations to prove their answers (chart and
  identify)
• Share/collaborate with small groups about
  problems/solutions

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Review.

• Benefits to students, teachers, parents
• 3 steps
• Start off gently, open ended math prompts
• Introduce familiar math concepts and vocabulary
• Advanced math concepts connected to lesson
• Math Investigations
• Start with concepts that students are comfortable
  with. Mathematical Thinking
• Model with students using graphic organizers and
  illustrations to prove their answers
• Share/collaborate with small groups about
  problems/solutions

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How and When to use Math Journaling

• When new material has been introduced
• Explain in your own words the meaning of _____.
• When the class looks disengaged or confused
• Write down 2 questions you have about the lesson
  we are doing or working on.
• When collaboration with classmates is appropriate
• Have all the students involved with solving
  problems and explaining the process.
• When teaching the value of evaluating work is
  important
• Review the last entries to your journal and make
  connections and relationships between the
  lessons.

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Students respond best when the prompt is clear
and can be approached in different ways.

• Pinpoint a confusing or misunderstood math
  concept
• Does 0.2 and 0.02 mean the same thing? Explain
• Can the problem be solved using different
  strategies?
• When comparing fractions within a word problem
• Compare different answers from the same problem
• Who is correct? Explain why and where the error
  is.

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Assessment/Grading Concerns

• Use a rubric

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Assessment/Grading Concerns
Identify Types of Writers

• Novice
• Student seems to make some sort of attempt, but
  unable to proceed toward a solution
• Apprentice
• Student abandons their plan for unknown reasons
• Practitioner
• Student is able to clarify solution in a
  diagram/visual with labeled parts or narrative
  approach
• Expert
• Student creates accurate and appropriate
  representations and can justify the approach

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Helpful tips for managing Math Journals

• Inexpensive spirals, composition books, or paper
  stapled together
• Keep journals in class, collect them each day
  that they are used
• They can be decorative or just for writing, you
  decide
• Identify math journal entries, maybe just number
  by dates
• How will you distribute and collect the journals,
  make it easy on you and the students
• Use a timer for journal assignments, total and
  sustained writing

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District Data connected to writing

• Editing is NOT the issue
• Students who write a 3 or 4 have 100 mastery on
  4th/7th grade writing TAKS
• Students who write a 2 have about a 70 passing
  rate, but their editing is 90 passing
• Students who write a 0 or 1 are not passing the
  writing, but do ok on editing

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Encourage students as they write

• Be patient. It will take time for them to become
  comfortable with writing
• Remind them there are no wrong answers
• Dont allow them to stop writing
• What other questions do you have
• Copy things they are already written, or you
  supply
• Choose a journal entry to revise
• Provide feedback
• Stars
• Stickers
• Smiley faces
• Ect
• Communicate the purpose for writing in math class
• Use student samples to help them refine their
  writing

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Effective Questions that lead to better
Mathematical Thinking/Writing

• How would you describe the problem in your own
  words?
• Would it help to create a diagram, table,
  picture?
• How does this relate to?
• Can you give me an example of.?
• How did you get your answer?
• Can you describe your method to others?

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Connection to ELPS(Best Practices)

• English Language Proficiency Standards
• Writing you write about a math concept in your
  journal
• Reading let a partner read what you wrote so
  they can see what you wrote
• Speaking have a partner read their journal
  topic to a classmate
• Listening you would listen to what someone else
  wrote in their journal

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Lets PracticeShow-Explain

• Rainbow Robots washed windows on the Frost Tower.
  Bertha, the big red robot, washed one half of all
  the windows on the building. Then Sammy, the
  smaller green robot, washed two thirds of the
  windows that were left. Tina, the tiny yellow
  robot, washed the last 10 windows. How many total
  windows were washed by the Rainbow Robots?

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Connections..

• Get up
• Find a person in a different grade level/team
• Share your finding
• 4 steps
• Writing, Reading, Speaking, Listening

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CONNECTIONS TO STUDENT LEARNING.
Finally, you can see that there are 60 windows
in the Frost Building.
Therefore, Berthas part represents 30 windows
Tinas Part
Sammys Part
So, if Tinas part represents 10 windows
Then, Sammys part represents 20 windows
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How to keep them writing
Rubix Qs
Which did? What can? Where did? What is? Where
can? Which can?
How might? How will? How would?
How is? How can? Why is? Who did? Why can?
Which will? What would? What might? When might?
What will?
Why would? Who would? Who might? Who will?
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Reflection

• What can I do this year, to get math journaling
  going?
• What support do I need to sustain math journaling?

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Writing in math .. leads to writing across the
curriculum and deeper understanding of the
material and retention of concepts