Academic Literacy: Verbal
Having students read and write are the basic staples to literacy. But this is only the surface. We need to make sure our students are actively discussing their thoughts with one another.
In order for students to formulate their thoughts into words that provide meaning to their peers, they need to have a firm handle on content and academic language. When students are talking to each other, they are forced to use the correct terminology, such as "integral," which helps them avoid using terms such as "the curly thing." When we are discussing with our peers, we are empowered to show what we know and we are challenged to use academic vocabulary.
Creating authentic dialogue in the classroom through the use of "Math Talk" is a great way to build students' academic vocabulary as well as their confidence. Ask students to explain their thinking to each other and the class. Encourage them to use vocabulary presented on a "Word Wall" and to use sentence stems (see some examples below!) from the "Math Talk" posters. Show students that they have important mathematical ideas to share with each other.
Ask students to answer their peers' questions, rather than having the teacher be the only source of knowledge. By turning the question of one student around on the other students in the class, we can encourage collaboration and formulation of student ideas into coherent sentences.
Making time to have students "critique" problems is a great way to get students truly thinking like mathematicians. Students not only read through dense layers of academic vocabulary and content, but then they are encouraged to discuss what errors may be present in the work. Identifying and correcting errors in other's work allows students to use a different lens when examining mathematical materials.
In order for students to formulate their thoughts into words that provide meaning to their peers, they need to have a firm handle on content and academic language. When students are talking to each other, they are forced to use the correct terminology, such as "integral," which helps them avoid using terms such as "the curly thing." When we are discussing with our peers, we are empowered to show what we know and we are challenged to use academic vocabulary.
Creating authentic dialogue in the classroom through the use of "Math Talk" is a great way to build students' academic vocabulary as well as their confidence. Ask students to explain their thinking to each other and the class. Encourage them to use vocabulary presented on a "Word Wall" and to use sentence stems (see some examples below!) from the "Math Talk" posters. Show students that they have important mathematical ideas to share with each other.
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Ask students to answer their peers' questions, rather than having the teacher be the only source of knowledge. By turning the question of one student around on the other students in the class, we can encourage collaboration and formulation of student ideas into coherent sentences.
Making time to have students "critique" problems is a great way to get students truly thinking like mathematicians. Students not only read through dense layers of academic vocabulary and content, but then they are encouraged to discuss what errors may be present in the work. Identifying and correcting errors in other's work allows students to use a different lens when examining mathematical materials.
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