Writing in Mathematics

Summary: Students will

write daily during math
time.

Objective: To help
Writing in Mathematics students understand key
terms and concepts
While it is extremely important that our students within the content areas.
can accurately perform calculations it is equally
important that they understand what they are Target Age: Writing
doing it and can articulate it in their own words. activities can be adapted
For example: Many or our student can add an to fit the target skills for
equation with ease, but cannot properly explain a specific age group.
what addition is in their own words or what the
Time: 5-10 minutes.
equal sign means. The vocabulary of
mathematics cannot be deduced using context Materials needed: Math
clues. It is basically a foreign language. Students Journal for each child.
need to really use each key word extensively
before they “own” the word and the concept
associated with it.

Providing your students with a daily opportunity

to write during math time can drastically increase
their understanding of mathematics. To start,
hand out a notebook for each student. Explain to
them that this will be their math journal and they
will do their math thinking in here. Allow them to
decorate it if time permits.

Writing in Mathematics Page 1

 Strategies:

Strategy: Connect It!

Ask students to write a list or a paragraph explaining ways the math

concept being learned applies to real-life. With younger students you may
want to generate ideas as a class first and make a class list before asking
them to write independently.

Example: Please write a paragraph explaining all the ways your family uses
addition in an average week.

Strategy: How are we related?

Ask students to explain how the focus concept is alike or different from
another concept they have learned.

Example: Please draw a Venn Diagram in your math journal and use it to
show how multiplication and division are alike and how they differ.

Strategy: Solve It!

Ask students to write a word problem using the focus math concept. They
may then trade with a partner and solve each other’s problems.

Example: Today we have learned about subtraction. Please write a clever

word problem where subtraction must be used in order to solve it.

Strategy: Rate It!

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Ask students to write down the focus skill for the day in their journal. They
are then to draw between one and four stars next to it based on how well
they feel they understand it. Ask them to write down any questions they still
have or specific things they don’t understand underneath their stars. You
can use this list to guide further instruction.

Example: We worked on long division today. Please write that word down in
your journals and rate how well you feel you understand it using between 1
and 4 stars. Now write a list of questions you still have about long division
or explain what specific part of the process you do not understand.

Strategy: Spider Web

Ask students to write down the focus skill in the middle of the journal page.
They are then to make a word web listing all the words they can think of
that relate to the skill.

Example: Please write the word circle in the center of your journal. Now
create a word web using all the words you can think of that relate to the
word circle (diameter, radius, round, etc.)

Strategy: KWL - "what we know", "what we want to know",

and "what we learned".

Ask students to draw a KWL chart on their paper. They are to label it with
the concept you will be teaching that day. They are then to write down what
they already know about the concept and what they would like to know. At
the completion of the day’s lesson ask them to finish it by writing down
what they learned. If there are any questions still unaddressed allow
students to share them.

Example: Today we are going to learn about time. Please write that at the
top of your paper. Now draw a KWL chart and tell me what you know about
time and what you hope to learn about time today. At the end of the lesson
we will take a few minutes so you can fill in your L and tell me what you
learned.

Writing in Mathematics Page 3

Strategy: Draw it!

Have your students draw a picture showing the concept you used in math
today. They are then to label the picture appropriately.

Example: We discussed perimeter today. Draw something in your math

journal that has a perimeter and label it appropriately.

Strategy: Define it!

Have your students write the name of the concept they learned about today
and write their own definition of it.

Example: Please write a definition of the word equals in your math journal.

At the end of journaling allow a few students to share their entries with the
class if time allows. This often sparks meaningful math dialogue among the
students and promotes a better understanding of the concept.

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