Literacy in the content areas

Lesson Plans & Literacy Components in the Math Curriculum

In the days of old, mathematics was viewed as a separate skill that was separate from other disciplines. Teaching math concentrated on the memorization of certain facts. However, we now know that mathematics is conceptual and process-oriented. It requires skills such as questioning, predicting, discussing and describing (Literacymatters, 2007). Math requires a sense of vocabulary and other skills that are closely tied to literacy. Students that struggle with literacy also struggle with math. Likewise, math can be used to strengthen literacy and to support other subjects such as social studies and science. We now view math as an integral subject that serves as a bridge to other disciplines (Bintz, et al., 2006). The following will examine five lessons plans in terms of ability to integrate math and literacy skills.

Lesson Plan #1: Teach Your Friends Polynomials

Aim of the Lesson:

This lesson uses literacy skills to create a Powerpoint presentation that will teach their peers how to add, subtract, multiply, divide and factor polynomials. The students work in groups to complete the final project in a 4-week time period.

Literacy Elements Incorporated:

The students must have the necessary skills to search for and read in formation found on the Internet to be included in their presentation. The students must be able to organize text and present it in a concise, coherent fashion. The students must have sufficient keyboarding and software skills to be able to make the final presentation.

Teaching others is a great way to master skills. This lesson allows students to become the teacher. They must master the skills in order to be able to teach them. The students create a tutorial for their classmates, which forces them to research and learn the material thoroughly before preparing the presentation.

How, when why, where and for whom they were used:

The focus of this lesson is for grades 9-10. Literacy skills are an important part of this project. They must not only be able to present technical information, they must be able to present it in a manner that is on a level that their classmates can understand. A student that lacks the necessary literacy skills would not be likely to be able to complete this assignment on their own. They must be able to research and present information found on the Internet. Literacy skills are used to help the student achieve a greater understanding of the mathematical concepts. Literacy skills are used as a tool for teaching mathematical concepts in this lesson.

Compare quality from beginning to end:

This lesson is an excellent example that uses literacy skills throughout the lesson to teach a mathematical concept. The quality of using literacy skills is consistently strong throughout the project. The students must develop some practice questions to measure their classmate's skills. This technique also serves as a means to measure the literacy and math skills of the presenter. This lesson is an excellent example of the integration the math and literacy skills throughout the lesson plan.

Lesson Plan #2: Graphing Population Studies

Aim of the Lesson:

This lesson asks students to conduct a population density study of the U.S. And compare it to the population densities of other countries.

Literacy Elements Incorporated:

This lesson uses comparison/contrast as a key element of the lesson. The students must also be able to read and search for information on the Internet. They must be able to summarize and organize information. They must be able to present the information that they found in a concise format that is easy to understand.

How, when why, where and for whom they were used:

This lesson is designed for students in grades 6,7, and 8. Students must use the literacy skills mentioned throughout the entire lesson as they research and prepare to present their information to the class. In this lesson, literacy skills are an integral part of the mathematical concept. They are used as a tool to integrate and present the mathematical concepts. This lesson demonstrates how mathematical and literacy skills are interrelated. Literacy components are an essential part of the presentation and research phases of the project. Literacy skills help demonstrate to the student the connection between research skills and math skills.

Compare quality from beginning to end:

This lesson has excellent integration of literacy and mathematical concepts. Students must integrate literacy and math skills in the conduct of their research and in the final presentation. The quality of this lesson is consistent from the beginning to the end of the project.

Lesson Plan #3: Adding Fun Game

Aim of the Lesson:

In this lesson, the students learn to decode using a chart where certain letters have an assigned number value. The students must solve the mathematical problem by decoding the word.

Literacy Elements Incorporated:

This lesson incorporates the concept that letters have a certain value. This can be tied to phonics, as the students develop the concept that a letter has a certain sound. Students use literacy skills to decode math problems and create number sentences.

How, when why, where and for whom they were used:

This lesson is designed for 3rd graders. One of the key difficulties with this age group is that consistency with skills is varied. Some students are more proficient than others at this stage. This makes it difficult to integrate literacy skills into the lesson plan. It is difficult to find a level that matches the skill level of the students.

Compare quality from beginning to end:

This lesson has many extension activities that can be used to develop both word and mathematical skills. For instance, the plan suggests asking questions such as, "Whose name is most valuable?" It also suggests that the students be asked to see who can come up with the most valuable words. This lesson integrated the literacy concepts throughout the entirety of the lesson plan.

Lesson Plan #4: Word Problems and Technology

Aim of the Lesson:

Students use KidPix deluxe to create their own word problems and answers.

Literacy Elements Incorporated:

Although students at this level do not have highly developed literacy skills, the lesson integrates several important literacy skills. The students must use scientific inquiry, pose questions and seek answers in this lesson. This lesson focuses on literacy concepts, rather than proficiency in word-related concepts. This lesson reinforces vocabulary as well.

How, when why, where and for whom they were used:

This lesson is designed for first and second graders. This group does not have highly developed literacy skills at this point in time. Therefore, it does not achieve the level of integration of the previous three lessons discussed.

Compare quality from beginning to end:

Literacy skills are essential in the ability to solve word problems. Students on this level may not be advanced enough in their literacy skills to be able to complete this assignment with little help. Literacy skills need to be developed prior to this lesson in order for the lesson to be successful in reaching its intended aims. This lesson uses literacy skills, but children that lack the appropriate literacy skills will not be able to complete it successfully. Rather than building confidence in literacy skills, this lesson could backfire for those students that lack the ability to complete it successfully.