Literacy First: Year 2Incorporating Reading Strategies in

the math classroom

Meghan Sharp & Melaine RickardTurrentine Middle School

March 2011

IntroductionsMeghan Sharp Melaine Rickard

18 years experienceCertification in science, ELA, & social studiesAIG certifiedNBCT in scienceWorking towards Masters in Science Ed.

10 years experienceCertification in math and social studiesAIG certifiedWorking towards NBCT in mathematics

What is Literacy First?Three year program purchased by the district

to improve reading levels of students who are multiple grade levels behind

Extensive training for content area teachers for one year and then we “fly solo” incorporating strategies into our disciplines

Monthly visits to evaluate progressStrategies used are proven to increase

student success rates

Focus Strategies

Visualization/Picture WalkWord SortsSQ3R/SQRP2

VisualizationTalk about what are the key words that help

you “see” textColorTextureShape Sizemovement

Read textCreate a sketch of what they see from the

text

Look at the pictures and tell me what math you “see”

Picture WalkSame skill as visualization but the opposite orderFind some interesting pictures that can have

mathematical implications.Students view each picture and write what math

they “see” in the picture.Great for an opening activity for a unit, bell ringer

activity, assessment piece, or student assignment.Low tech-print pictures or draw pictures and hang

around room for silent discussionHigh tech-make a graffiti wall in Smartboard

Word SortsUsed to help students identify patterns Used as pre assessment, drill and practice,

and assessment.Can be whole class using the Smart Board,

small group using cards, individual using cut/paste papers

Word SortTake the sort out in front of you and let’s try

itI use it for:

Rational and irrationalVocabularyEquations and answersGraph and the equation3 D shapes

SQ3RNon fiction text strategySurvey-look over the sectionQuestion-using the headings, write some

questions that the reader has and thinks are going to be answered in the text

Read-just do it!Record-write down any notes or answers to

the original questionsReview-review your notes, check to see if

questions were answers

Reading to learn mathematics text more efficiently to understand the information

better

SQRP2 (SQ3R for math)

SurveyRead any introductions, titles, subheadings,

captions, examples, vocabulary terms, and problems at the end of the chapter

Ask yourself:What is the title of this chapter?Are there any subheadings? What does it say I will learn?Is there any new vocabulary?Are there any key concepts?Are there any study tips, graphs, or charts?

QuestionsFormulate some questions you have about the

topic or any of the “stuff” you surveyedUse the basic signal words!

Examples: Who is this theorem/formula named after? What basic math skills do I need in order to apply

this new information? When am I ever going to use this? Where would I see this formula/theorem used? Why is this important? How do I do this?

ReadIn order to do this you should have already

looked up or learned the vocabulary learned any symbols formulated questions that you are going to

search for answers Make sure to write down any thing you find

that will help answer your questions that you formulated

ProblemsLook back at the sample problems in the sectionPut the sample problems in your own wordsDraw diagrams and add labelsAsk your self:

What concepts, formulas, and/or rules were applied?What method (s) were used to solve the problem? Why?What was the first step? Second step? Third step? Etc.Have any steps been combined?What differences or similarities are there between

examples in the sample problems and the practice problems?

PracticeTry some problems on your own!Use the notes you took when you worked on

problems Ask yourself:

What method, formula, or rules should I apply?What method should I use? Why?How do I begin?Can I do this problem another way? Should I?Can this answer be simplified?What other kind of problems have I seen that this

one is like?

They’re Going SteadyUse the SQRP2 strategy to evaluate the text

Walk around the room and post your brainpower!

Thank you for coming!Please visit my website for more information

or this presentation:http://

sharp-8th-grade-math.tum.abss.k12.nc.us

Or e mail questions:Meghan_sharp@abss.k12.nc.us