Describes a math activity that uses mirrors to teach students about circles and angles. Following the activity, students are asked to write about their observations. (HTH)

Describes an activity in which fifth-grade students researched the lives of famous mathematicians, wrote autobiographies, and constructed a life line for each. (11 references) (MKR)

Presents three computer activities that can help students learn mathematics concepts and clarify their thinking: LOGO programming, creating presentations to teach the solution of certain mathematical problems to other students in the class, and writing in order to explain their mathematical thinking. The activities provide immediate feedback,…

Mathematical enrichment involving writing and drawing activities are proposed as powerful instructional tools. Examples for the secondary mathematics classroom included here utilize poetry writing, daffynitions, sketching numerical witticisms, creating rebus and jumble puzzles, and drawing cartoons with fraction captions. (JJK)

Integrating mathematics with other disciplines is an important issue for mathematics education. Writing is one such discipline that can be usefully integrated with mathematics instruction. This collection of essays on the use of writing to teach mathematics is an outgrowth of sessions of contributed papers presented at the 1988 and 1989 Annual…

Presents mathematics activities that give students in grades three through six practice in writing and problem solving by using the setting of a zoo or animal park. Includes reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

Presents an assessment activity to determine the ability of students to devise a plan for solving a problem and recording their work while solving the problem. Uses the theme of planning and organizing a birthday party. (MKR)

Describes how a children's book on counting was used in integrated mathematics-literature lessons in first-grade classrooms and how students created their own texts. (11 references) (MKR)

Presented are two ideas to improve instruction. The first celebrates the Christmas birthday of Isaac Newton with an essay assignment related to Newton and a party. The second suggests a more appropriate moment to introduce the technique of completing the square to promote greater flexibility in factoring problems. (MDH)

Presents a three-phase process that connects writing and cooperative problem solving to each other and to mathematical skills and concepts. The three phases are: (1) writing to communicate mathematics; (2) cooperative learning; and (3) problem solving. Provides examples illustrating each phase. (MDH)

Of all the reform recommendations being made by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, making mathematical connections is among the more difficult to achieve, yet is so helpful in motivating students in the early grades. Mathematical connections can relate mathematical topics to students' daily lives and to other mathematical topics but…

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

Learning activities to develop skills in various curriculum areas including language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science are presented, focusing on the theme of education in centuries past. Sample activities include contrasting the Spartan and Athenian educational systems and using Pestalozzi's charts for math functions. (DB)

Of all the reform recommendations being made by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, making mathematical connections is among the more difficult to achieve, especially at the high school level, where so much emphasis is placed on distinct content courses. Mathematical connections can relate mathematical topics to students' daily lives…

Mathematical fiction writing as a learning tool is discussed utilizing an actual example of a student's fictional text related to the field of geometry. Commentary about this example and how it relates to other areas of mathematics can provide teachers with insight into students' schema for organization and internalization of mathematical…