Fluency and Literacy in a Middle-School Math

Fluency and Literacy in a Middle-School Math Classroom

Eyes roll at the sight of dreaded word problems. "I hate word problems," says the student. A familiar scenario for a middle school math teacher. Initially, such a math teacher might assume that the complaining student has difficulty translating words into mathematical concepts -- in other words, that the student does not understand the concept behind the math, but merely how to manipulate numbers, in imitation of the teacher, on sigh. While this may be the case, Richard Allington also raises the provocative concept of reading fluency as an additional problem in the math classroom -- the student may understand the math, but feel so uncomfortable with the concepts he or she finds the additional manipulations required by the word problem to be tedious and time consuming. In other words, he or she has a low level of fluency, even though he or she may have an adequate level of understanding and ability. Additionally, he or she might be also having problems quickly reading the words themselves, or have a low level of verbal fluency.

Reading fluency is critical for students to excel in all aspects of classroom performance, not merely those within the framework of English literature and composition. Fluency itself is a mathematical notion, dealing with reading rate. Allington states that it is important to consider reading speed when assigning books for students, so they do not become frustrated and give up when confronted with too short of a deadline for too lengthy a text. Even if capable of understanding the material, students may find difficulty enjoying the assignment if they are not sufficiently fluent readers and feel pressed for time.

The solution to the problem of fluency in all disciplines lies in matching assignments with student's levels of ability and assigning them speed appropriate material. Allington stresses increasing reading volume overall in the classroom to increase student's reading fluencies. Frequency of use and comfort and familiarity builds fluency. This principle of reading can likewise be extrapolated to the middle school mathematics classroom. Rather than relegate math to one aspect of classroom knowledge, math can be present in all areas of classroom life, even on a simple level, as mere exposure and volume of mathematical analysis to the tasks of daily life can be helpful.

For instance, students can engage in role playing -- such as having a pretend 'store' in the classroom, after winning 'dollars' for succeeding in various endeavors. They can buy small trinkets in the store, forcing them to calculate cost and pricing. A teacher can even bring math to problems gym class. Students running around a track can mimic the familiar 'when do the two points meet' word problems popular in student textbooks. The impact of math on social studies, from calculating how long it took to travel to America for Columbus at a rate of average miles per day, to following the stock market, can also increase fluency. Even if the math in these other subject areas is not complex, familiarity breeds comfort -- and confidence.