An eyeopening look at how teachers can use literacy strategies to help students better understand mathematics.

Provides teachers with classroom-proven ways to prepare students to be successful math learners by teaching the vocabulary and comprehension skills needed to understand mathematics.

What makes mathematics so confusing to students? To succeed in the study of arithmetic, geometry, or algebra, students must learn what is effectively a second language of mathematical terms and symbols. In Literacy Strategies for Improving Mathematics Instruction, Joan M. Kenney and her coauthors describe common ways in which students misinterpret the language of mathematics, and show teachers what they can do to ensure that their students become fluent in that language. The authors synthesize the research on what it takes to decode mathematical text, explain how teachers can use guided discourse and graphic representations to help students develop mathematical literacy skills, offer guidance on using action research to enhance mathematics instruction, and discuss the importance of student-centered learning and concept-building skills in the classroom. Real-life vignettes of student struggles illuminate the profound effect of literacy problems on student achievement in mathematics. This book will help teachers better understand their students' difficulties with mathematics and take the steps necessary to alleviate them. Abundantly researched and filled with helpful strategies and resources, it is an invaluable resource for mathematics teachers at all levels.

Many K–6 teachers--and students--still think of mathematics as a totally separate subject from literacy. Yet incorporating math content into the language arts block helps students gain skills for reading many kinds of texts. And bringing reading, writing, and talking into the math classroom supports the development of conceptual knowledge and problem solving, in addition to computational skills. This invaluable book thoroughly explains integrated instruction and gives teachers the tools to make it a reality. Grounded in current best practices for both language arts and math, the book includes planning advice, learning activities, assessment strategies, reproducibles, and resources, plus a wealth of examples from actual classrooms.

Do word problems and math vocabulary confuse students in your mathematics classes? Do simple keywords like "value" and "portion" seem to mislead them? Many words that students already know can have a different meaning in mathematics. To grasp that difference, students need to connect English literacy skills to math. Successful students speak, read, write, and listen to each other so they can understand, retain, and apply mathematics concepts. This book explains how to use 10 classroom-ready literacy strategies in concert with your mathematics instruction. You’ll learn how to develop students who are able to explain to themselves - and communicate to others - what problems mean and how to attack them. Embedding these strategies in your instruction will help your students gain the literacy skills required to achieve the eight Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. You’ll discover the best answer to their question, "When am I ever going to use this?" The 10 Strategies: 1. Teaching mathematical words explicitly 2. Teaching academic words implicitly 3. Reinforcing reading comprehension skills that apply to mathematics 4. Teaching mathematics with metaphor and gesture 5. Unlocking the meaning of word problems 6. Teaching note-taking skills for mathematics 7. Using language-based formative assessment in mathematics 8. Connecting memorization to meaning in mathematics 9. Incorporating writing-to-learn activities in mathematics 10. Preparing students for algebraic thinking

Apply familiar reading comprehension strategies and relevant research to mathematics instruction to aid in building students' comprehension in mathematics. This resource demonstrates how to facilitate student learning to build schema and make connections among concepts. In addition, it provides clear strategies to help students ask good questions, visualize mathematics, and synthesize their understanding. This resource is aligned to College and Career Readiness Standards.