“If I teach Reading in Math Class, will the Reading Teachers teach Math in Reading Class?”

Laurian Phillips
Jun 09, 2008

Not only have I heard this comment from countless numbers of math teachers, but I myself felt that same way at one time.  It is tough enough to teach all of the content that we are teaching without having to teach something we don't even feel qualified to teach on top of everything else. 

But I also knew that if my students didn't understand and comprehend what they read in mathematics, they could not solve problems.  So how could I approach this and remain relatively sane? 

I began by researching the topic of reading in the content areas and specifically reading in mathematics.  One thing that gave me more assurance was that I don't actually have to teach reading.  I help students become better readers by helping them understand the mathematics they read.  Also encouraging to me was that there are specific strategies out there to help me teach students to become better readers in mathematics.  Math is so different from other subjects because as noted by Niemi (2003), "reading mathematics requires different skills than other content areas. One needs to decode and comprehend symbols and graphics. To further confuse students, information is presented in a variety of ways: left to right, right to left (number lines), top to bottom (tables) or diagonally (graphs). Given these challenges, it is no wonder that many students cannot successfully read mathematics text."

Niemi recommends using graphic organizers such as webs, concept maps, and compare/contrast diagrams to help students make sense of the mathematics.  Vocabulary strategies should be a focus of any math class.  Learning-Focused has many solutions and workshops to help teachers plan for vocabulary instruction.

An anticipation guide is a great activator for a selection that is more difficult.  Questions can be created that help identify students' prior knowledge, as well as common misconceptions and other key points in the selection.

An article entitled, "Making Math Make Sense" by Doug Buehl suggests having students prepare a bookmark with tips for reading mathematics to place in their math book. Students can refer to the bookmark when they are having trouble reading in math.

Resources:
Barton, M.L.& Heidem, C. (2002) Teaching Reading in Mathematics (2nd ed). Aurora, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.
Barton, M.L., Heidema, C.  & Jordan, D.  "Teaching Reading in Mathematics and Science". Educational Leadership. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.  60(3), 24 - 28.
Buehl, Doug. "Making Math Make Sense". The Reading Room. October 1998
Niemi, Rhonda.  "Reading in Math Class??"  Kentucky Council of Teachers of Mathematics Newsletter, April 2003.