Math and Writing Connections

Brenda Hill
Dec 01, 2008

Many times, as educators, we fail to see the correlation between writing and math. Often we departmentalize math and writing without thinking of ways to integrate the two subjects. It is more difficult to make writing assignments in math, especially longer, more formal assignments, that students may take through the writing process.  However, it is possible and extremely advantageous to have students write in math.  As Doug Reeves states, "When students write to inform the results are two-fold.  First, students process information in a much clearer way, and second, teachers have the opportunity to gain rich and complex diagnostic information about students. There is a significant impact on student test scores across all disciplines when students write to inform."
 
Most writing in math will occur at the beginning, during, or at the end of an acquisition lesson. These "writing to learn" assignments are brief and informal.  Math examples of "writing to learn" include:
 
Activating (Beginning of Lesson) - Frayer Diagram or Word Map for key math vocabulary words/concepts

Teaching (During the Lesson)

Summary Point Writing - Students stop and "summarize" in 1-2 statements about learning up to a certain point in the lesson.  Example: Fractions are parts of a whole. They can be written in many different ways.

Think-Ink-Share - Students think about a key vocabulary word or concept and write a statement or brief paragraph about it.  Example:  Explain the steps in long division. Write them down; turn, and share with your partner.

Summarizing (End of Lesson)
Ticket - Out - The- Door -  Answer lesson essential question

The Most Important Thing - The most important thing to remember about decimals is ___.

Letter to the Absent Student - Students write a letter to an absent student explaining steps in solving a problem or key points of a concept. (Write a letter explaining the relationship between multiplication and division.)

Journal Writing is a great way to have students write about math at the beginning, during, or at the end of a lesson.

There are times students can "write to inform" (longer, more formal assignments) in math. For example, a compare and contrast organizer may be completed during the lesson on fractions and decimals. This organizer can then be used as writing prompt for a compare and contrast essay.
 
Even though most writing will be done in other subjects, writing can be effectively embedded throughout math lessons. As one teacher shared, "When I first had my students write in math, it was a very painful process for them and me. Most days they hated me, and some days I wasn't so crazy about them, either.  They had never been asked to think about math in this way.  However, on the end of the year test my students made significant gains in math."  

Writing assignments in math may be more difficult to plan, but the results are well worth the extra time spent in preparation and planning.

More ideas for incorporating writing into every classroom can be found in the Learning-Focused Literacy Collection.