Secondary Math – Incorporating Writing Across the Curriculum

Monday August 25, 20144pm to 7pm

RRW Career and Technical Center

Presenters:

Missy Fortune – Logan High School(Info About You)

Leah Clay – Logan Middle School(Info About Me)

Get Your Juices Flowing

Top Ten List

TheCommon Core

State Standards On Literacy

All teachers are responsible for LITERACY (a.k.a. Writing Across the Curriculum)

All teachers are responsible for teaching Academic Vocabulary All teachers must be familiar with and use the CCSS rubrics for literacy All teachers will use and enrich their curriculum with Informational Texts All teachers will document their literacy support in their lesson plans All teacher evaluations will be based on student performance

Responsibility

New Teacher Evaluation Criteria

What is Literacy?

Literacy

Reading Writing Listening Speaking Observing

“LITERACY IS…the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute, and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in society as a whole.”

But Literacy is also… The ability to interpret graphics and visuals

The ability to speak properly in multiple situations and communicate ideas effectively

The ability to comprehend what is heard

The ability to navigate through a technological world

The ability to write effectively in multiple genres

Literacy in the 21st Century “Literacy in the 21st Century will mean the

ability to find information, decode it, critically evaluate it, organize it into personal digital libraries, and find meaningful ways to share it with others. Information is raw material — students will need to learn to build with it.”

From: The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

Reading Statistics

Total percent of U.S. population that has specific reading disorders 15%

Total percentage of American adults who can’t understand the labels on their prescriptions 46%

Total percent of young people who claim they read more than 10 books a year 56%

Total percentage of U.S. adults who are unable to read an 8th grade level book 50%

Total amount of words read annually by a person who reads 15 minutes a day 1 million

Total percent of U.S. high school graduates who will never read a book after high school 33%

Total percentage of college students who will never read another book after they graduate 42%

Total percentage of adults that have not been in a book store in the past 5 years 70%

Total percentage of books started that aren’t read to completion 57%

Total percent of U.S. students that are dyslexic 15%Total percentage of NASA employees that are dyslexicThey are deliberately sought after because they have superb problem solving skills and excellent 3D and spatial awareness.

50%

http://www.readfaster.com/education_stats.asp#readingstatistics Research Date: 4.28.2013

Literacy Statistics and Juvenile Court

85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.

Penal institution records show that inmates have a 16% chance of returning to prison if they receive literacy help, as opposed to 70% who receive no help. This equates to taxpayer costs of $25,000 per year per inmate and nearly double that amount for juvenile offenders.

Illiteracy and crime are closely related. The Department of Justice states, "The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure." Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level. http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html

What are Academic Literacy Demands?

Across all content areas students should be able to…– Read– Write– Listen/view– Discuss/present– Think critically and creatively– Use language and vocabulary to read and comprehend text to

support the learning of content

Structured Note-Taking For All Students

The Cornell Way

The Curve of ForgettingThe Curve of Forgetting

describes how we retain or get rid of information that we take in. It's based on a one-hour lecture.

On Day 1, you go in knowing nothing, or 0%. At the end of the lecture you know 100% of what you know, however well you know it (where the curve rises to its highest point).

The Curve of Forgetting• By Day 2, if you have done

nothing with the information you learned in that lecture, didn't think about it again, read it again, etc. you will have lost 50%-80% of what you learned. Our brains are constantly recording information on a temporary basis. Because the information isn't necessary, and it doesn't come up again, our brains dump it all off, along with what was learned in the lecture that you actually do want to hold on to!

• By Day 7, we remember even less, and by Day 30 we retain only about 2%-3% of the original hour! This may account for feeling as if you've never seen this before in your life when you're studying for exams - you may need to actually re-learn it from scratch.

The Curve of Forgetting• Good news - You can change the

shape of the curve! A big signal to your brain to hold onto a specific chunk of information is if that information comes up again. When the same thing is repeated, your brain says, "Oh-there it is again, I better keep that." When you are exposed to the same information repeatedly, it takes less and less time to "activate" the information in your long term memory and it becomes easier for you to retrieve the information when you need it.

• Here's the case for making time to review material: Within 24 hours of getting the information - spend 10 minutes reviewing and you will raise the curve almost to 100% again. A week later (Day 7), it only takes 5 minutes to "reactivate" the same material, and again raise the curve. By Day 30, your brain will only need 24 minutes to give you the feedback, "Yup, I know that. Got it.”

The Curve of Forgetting• Depending on the course load, the general recommendation

is to spend about 30 minutes every weekday, and 1.5 - 2 hours every weekend in review activity. – Perhaps you only have time to review 4 or 5 days of the week, and the

curve stays at about the mid range. That's OK, it's a lot better than the 2%-3% you would have retained if you hadn’t reviewed at all.

• Many students are amazed at the difference reviewing regularly makes in how much they understand and how well they retain material. It's worth experimenting for a couple weeks, just to see what a difference it makes!

Why Take Cornell Notes?Cornell Notes are an excellent tool to take focused notes, use inquiry

to highlight the main ideas, and to summarize knowledge learned. The idea is to emphasize not just taking notes, but also the importance of

refining and using the notes as a study aid.They were developed at Cornell University in the 1950s by a

frustrated professor who wanted to help his students learn to retain information better.

They have become a cornerstone of the AVID program because of their usefulness in all content areas and for all students.

Three advantages of CN: It is a method for mastering information, not just recording facts. It is efficient. Each step prepares the way for the next part of the learning process.

Why Take Cornell Notes?

• Long story short:When you write down even brief notes about what you are

hearing/ experiencing, you keep 60% of what you hear/learn.

When you take thorough, organized notes and review them, you keep 90-100% of what you hear/learn.

• Cornell Notes is a process to cover all of these steps.

How To Take Cornell NotesThere are four parts to the CORNELL WAY:1. Note-taking: capturing complete notes in any

situation2. Note-making: creating meaning and revising the

notes taken3. Note-interacting: using the notes as a learning

tool to increase achievement4. Note-reflecting: reflecting on learning and utilizing

feedback to improve future note-taking effort

1. Note-taking

O - Organize Notes• Right side• See your packet for

student tips on HOW to take notes.• This is also a skill they

need to be taught.

2. Note-making

R – Review & Revise•Tip – ask students to use a different colored pen

3. Note-interacting

L – Link Learning•Create a summary•Goes at the END of the notes (not one for each page of notes)•See your packet for a summary-writing template to help teach this skill.

4. Note-reflectingW – Written Feedback•Teacher provides written feedback•It takes time to assess notes, but the rubrics provided allow you to assess one step at a time. You can even provide students a simple checklist to assess themselves. •Otherwise, how will students know how to improve?

Sample Cornell Notes

• Think about it: If it’s content worth writing down, isn’t it also worth processing, critical thinking, and reflecting?

Sample Templates

• Include Samples from Dropbox here!• http://www.anoka.k12.mn.us/education/page

/download.php?fileinfo=bXVsdGlwbHlpbmdfZnJhY3Rpb25zLnBkZjo6Oi93d3c2L3NjaG9vbHMvbW4vYW5va2EvaW1hZ2VzL2F0dGFjaC8yODA1NjcvMjM0MDI4XzI4MDU2N19hdHRhY2hfODgzMS5wZGY=

How to Use in Classroom• Formative and Summative Assessment• Formative/Definition: Writing-to-Learn • A writing-to-learn strategy is one that teachers employ throughout

and/or at the end of a lesson to engage students and develop big ideas and concepts. Writing-to-learn fosters critical thinking and learning. It is writing that uses impromptu, short/informal writing tasks designed by the teacher and included throughout the lesson to help students think through key concepts and ideas. Attention is focused on ideas rather than correctness of style, grammar or spelling. It is less structured than disciplinary writing.

• This approach frequently uses journals, logs, micro themes, responses to written or oral questions, summaries, free writing, notes, and other writing assignments that align to learning ideas and concepts.

• Summative/Definition: Writing-to-Demonstrate-Knowledge • A writing-to- demonstrate- knowledge assignment is one that teachers

employ when they assign reports, essays, persuasive writing letters and papers, and research papers. When writing to demonstrate knowledge, students show what they have learned by synthesizing information and explaining their understanding of concepts and ideas. Students write for an audience with a specific purpose. Products may apply knowledge in new ways or use academic structures for research and/or formal writing.

• Examples include essays that deal with specific questions or problems, letters, projects, and more formal assignments or papers prepared over weeks or over a course. Students adhere to format and style guidelines or standards typical of professional papers, such as reports, article reviews, and research papers. These should be checked before being submitted by the student for correctness of spelling, grammar, and transition word usage.

• Formative Uses of Writing Across the Curriculum in the Mathematics Classroom

Lists

Symbols with Meanings

• Michigan Writing Across the Curriculum p. 26

Test Corrections

• Michigan Writing Across the Curriculum p. 26

Vocabulary Development

Literacy in Math• Mathematical literacy is the inclination to see math as accessible, sensible,• useful and worthwhile to meet a person's life needs. It should be• demonstrated by communicating, reasoning, analyzing, and formulating and• solving problems. The guiding principles of mathematical literacy are:• · Coherent, integrated and functional understanding of concepts,• operations and relations• · The ability to carry out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently and• appropriately• · The capacity for logical thought, reflection, explanation and• justification• · The ability to use mathematics to meet a person's life needs• · To see mathematics as an integral part of a global society.(http://studyingmathlearning.weebly.com/uploads/6/3/2/6/6326856/mathscfinaldoc.pdf)Developing Mathematical Literacy: Improving Mathematics Achievement in Livingston and Washtenaw Counties

Vocabulary Encounters• Since most of my

students live in severe poverty they have extreme lack in vocabulary development.

• The AoW is the #1 source of vocabulary study in my classroom now, as students self-identify the words they don’t know

Annotate for vocabulary issues: Level 1 – Words the student

has never heard before & never knew existed

Level 2 – the student has heard the word, but likely could not use it correctly.

Level 3 – The student has heard the word and COULD probably use it, but needs some support

Level 4 – The student knows and uses the word with no problem.

• Each student does their own assessment of the words in the story / article.

• Use Post It notes to create a visual representation.

• Summative Uses of Writing Across the Curriculum in the Mathematics Classroom

Self-Created Dictionary

• http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson20/wordjournal.pdf

Argumentation – Proofs

• Michigan Writing Across the Curriculum p. 31

Wrap Up

• Questions, Concerns, Comments for the Greater Good?

• Math Student Self-Evaluation

– Use as exit slip• Re-work Michigan Writing Across the

Curriculum p. 9