Literacy Activities in Math

The logical and most obvious connection between math and "literacy" is in word problems, and word problems are where most people seem to fail in math, probably as a result of the extent literacy is required to solve such a problem. In my lessons, I would attempt to remedy this, taking it a step at a time. We would start with a generic, easy word problem, and then instead of being asked to solve the problem, students would have to give answers to questions about the problem. For example, the first step might be to figure out only what is being asked for in the problem, and only after discussing this would we move on to extracting necessary information, setting up equations, or solving for a number.

I like a lot of the strategies for incorporating literacy in the book; I think there are quite a few that would be useful in a math classroom. The strategies such as the "Admit Slips" are nice, because they allow students to comment or question on a regular basis without having to do so in front of the class or to come to an office outside of class. I can see that in a math class, it could be a good heads-up when there is a formula or process that needs to be discussed further.