Integrating writing across reading and math curricula

¶ … curriculum is not a new one, but it can be difficult to accomplish, and there are several reasons for this. One of the most serious of these reasons is that of time constraints. Writing takes time from the school day where other things could be worked on, and schools are often tight on the time that they have available for certain tasks anyway (Bursuck & Munk, 2002). This is especially true of schools where standardized testing is required, because these schools often 'teach to the test' instead of teaching students what they actually need to be learning. With this is mind it is clear that students need to spend more time writing (Bursuck & Munk, 2002). The question is how to require them to do that without losing out on other areas of learning that they must remain involved in, and this is a serious question with no easy answers for many educators in today's schools.

The good news is that there are options for this problem, and they involve working with the very same subject areas that have been previously believed to be problematic when it comes to taking up too much time and therefore preventing children from writing. In other words, if you cannot spend a lot of time writing because of reading and math, and you have to spend time writing about reading and math. It is essentially a relation to that old adage of killing two birds with one stone. When you cannot work around something to do something else you have to work within the confines of what you are given and work with the options that you have (Braun, 2004). Being innovative and creative are also both very important, because many teachers lack those things today (Norris & Ortega, 2001). When they lack them, their students often lack them, too, because they are not encouraged. By incorporating writing into the reading and math curriculum, students can be encouraged to think outside of the box and this will make all of their school activities more enjoyable as well as helping ensure that they learn more than they otherwise would have if they were required to stay within the standard boundaries (Norris & Ortega, 2001).

Reading and Writing

The implementation of writing into the reading curriculum is one of the easiest to accomplish, because reading naturally lends itself to writing (Bursuck & Munk, 2002). Answering the questions at the end of the chapter or writing a short book report have traditionally been the most common ways of incorporating writing, and these should definitely still be used. However, there are other ways to look at the issue and bring writing in without making too much work for the students (Bursuck & Munk, 2002). Group projects are generally one way to do this. There is not a lot of time for these kinds of projects, but some of the reading time can be utilized by putting students into groups, having them read something short - like a story or an article - and then requiring them to create a document that either asks questions that were not solved by reading the original document or states how the original document should be changed.

Essentially, they would be not only writing during reading time, but they would also be thinking about what they read and analyzing it in a way that they would not have otherwise done, which will help them with their reading, their writing, and their analytical skills, all at one time. This is not the only analytical writing exercise they could be offered, however, as instructors who want to ensure that students learn not only to write but to think about what they are writing could assign short writing projects as homework. Rather than have a student reading a large number of pages, give them something short to read and then require that they write about it. Setting a minimum word count will ensure that they have made an actual effort and have read the material, and questions that should be answered in the writing will also help to ensure those things, but allowing the student to express himself or herself and the opinions that he or she holds can get that student thinking. When a student feels as though his or her opinions matter, that student is much more likely to be willing to express them - and to also think about what they really are.

Math and Writing

The math curriculum is one of the most difficult areas in which to incorporate any kind of writing (Braun, 2004). Because math is so analytic and deals with numbers and facts and statistics, trying to have a writing exercise during that time can leave teachers at a loss for what to do (Braun, 2004). One of the easiest things that a teacher can do to try to get writing into the math curriculum is the creation of word problems. This lets students use both their math and their writing skills and also requires them to think about what they are writing. It allows their creativity to come through and enables them to use some unorthodox thinking in a way that will help them in the future. Word problems are very important for solving real-world problems that they will encounter as adults, so they must be able to see these kinds of problems as both mathematical and realistic, as well. These can be created as homework and then compiled as a test or quiz to be given to the entire class, allowing other students to critique the writing without fear of embarrassment.

If word problems are not enough, there are also story problems. These are along the same lines as word problems but they are longer and more complex. There may be more than one mathematical issue that needs to be solved in this kind of story, and it can be worked on by a group. This allows children to work with others who they can bounce ideas off of and also to be part of a group that creates something unique and interesting. The way to get children writing or working on any kind of subject that they might not have had much interest in before is to show them how it can be interesting and enjoyable. If all of the fun and creativity is removed from learning, there is very little indication that children are going to keep working hard to continue to learn. A lot of children are afraid of writing because they do not feel as though they are any good at it. However, if it can be incorporated into areas like math, they may see it as math instead of writing and some of the pressure to 'be a good writer' will be removed.

Conclusion

As can be seen by what has been discussed in the previous pages, there are many different things that teachers can do in order to encourage different types of learning and in order to bring writing back into the curriculum. Some of these are very easy and some of these are much more difficult, but they are all viable options that can be used with elementary-school-aged children. These are not complex techniques that only high-school students and beyond should be dealing with. They are also not difficult for teachers to explain to their students, or for the students or parents to understand. In addition, they do not provide that much extra work for the teacher in the form of grading or for the student who has homework in other subjects, as well. Many students today are loaded down with homework, and the quality of what they are learning from this is often in question.

When writing is incorporated into the curriculum it can make the subjects more fun, make some of the homework and other assignments actually easier rather than more difficult, and awaken the interest of the students so that they will have a desire to learn more about the subjects they are studying. That interest in learning has been slipping away from the schools today, and it is time that it returns. It can be brought back, but it is not always easy to do so, and finding what works can be a trial and error process of time that educators do not have. The incorporation of writing into all aspects of the curriculum is one of the easy ways to correct that problem and give more students a better chance at a higher-quality education.