Local teachers have been working with their colleagues and math coach for years on ensuring that oral discourse during their mathematics classes has them acting as a facilitator and allowing students themselves to make sense of the mathematics. Specifically, their discussions are aimed at having students reason mathematically because discourse and…

Communication is a critical skill for students to possess in preparation for college and their future careers. One way for students to communicate their ideas in all content areas is through writing. The English language arts portion of the Common Core State Standards (CCSSI 2010a) specifically states that students need to understand perspectives…

Communication has long been emphasized in standards-based instruction (NCTM 1991; 2000), yet little distinction has been made between oral and written forms. Nonetheless, both the mathematics and the English language arts Common Core State Standards (CCSS) documents continue to hint at the importance of writing mathematically (CCSSI 2010). The…

Students may excel in computation, but their ability to apply their skills will suffer if they do not understand the math vocabulary used in instructions and story problems. This action research project examines two methods for strengthening students' ability to communicate mathematically: (1) Journal writing and peer discussion; and (2) The…

Beginning in third grade, Pennsylvania students are required to take the Pennsylvania State Standardized Assessment (PSSA), which presents multiple-choice mathematics questions and open-ended mathematics problems. Consistent with the Communication Standard of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, while solving the open-ended problems,…

A Professional Development Schools partnership between the University of Maryland and other elementary schools in the district worked together to explore, discuss and reflect on the challenges of helping students to write about mathematics. Finding ways to help students effectively communicate their mathematical thinking is a challenge for…

Discusses the use of math storybooks, including the stories written by students with their parents to get parents actively involved in their children's mathematics learning and to make mathematics more relevant to students' lives. (ASK)

Demonstrates how students' writings can be used to inform instruction and serve as the foundation for a teacher's portfolio on improving classroom practice. (MKR)

Discusses different approaches to using student journals in mathematics, including showing a heuristic and practicing skills, creating routine and nonroutine problems using real-life situations, documenting and analyzing mathematical thinking, and following up. (10 references) (MKR)

Discusses the use of vignettes (experiences expressed in narrative or dialog form) to merge assessment with teaching. The rule vignette and the two-answer vignette are discussed. (MKR)

Gives suggestions for incorporating journal writing into mathematics classrooms and provides examples of prompts and questions to help students write. (MKR)

Describes the use of writing assignments for preservice teachers to help them reflect on the teaching and learning process in their internship classrooms. (MKR)

Describes the use of Margaret Wise Brown's "The Important Book" to involve students in writing about defining qualities and attributes of geometric shapes. (MKR)