Integrating Mathematics and Literacy
Reporting on a Playground Design (Virtual Tour)
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 2: Consolidation / FluencyStage 3: Literacy for Growth
Ages:
8-12
Grade Range:
3rd 4th 5th 6thFood Groups:
Primary:
Real Writing: Text Structures
Transcript
The students have been studying area and perimeter in math. As one of the tasks that we did, I asked them to design a playground or a dream house that would include a variety of rectangles, and then they would find the area and perimeter based on those rectangles. In their dream house or playground, we set out what the requirements would be as well as the criteria. So, what they needed to include, would be a requirement, and the criteria would be how we would know what level that that dream house or design would get.
They would then with their chart, look at their design and complete a chart that would include the different measurements for area and perimeter as well as the length of each feature that they included in their design. After they designed their dream house and then wrote their chart up, they then used our report writing anchor chart that's located above our writing wall, and wrote a report, and also looked at the organization for writing a report and they did that on their design. So the report would have included a catchy introduction, and then some details about their design, including the different features that they had in their design. And then it would also then include a summary statement at the end
Activity Objective
The goal of Integrating Mathematics and Literacy: Reporting on a Playground Design (Virtual Tour) is to encourage students to write for an authentic purpose and to teach the structure of report writing.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- Model how to write a report through a shared writing activity. When modeling how to write a report emphasize the importance of including catchy words by thinking aloud. Clearly show the beginning, middle and end of the report by using 3 different colors.
- Integrating math and literacy fosters student motivation and engagement.
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Visual Thinking Strategies: Exploring Artwork to Enhance Critical Thinking and Expression
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Who Wears These Shoes?: Making Inferences to Promote Comprehension
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Reader's Notebook: Motivating Students to Read, Write, and Reflect
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Reader's Notebook: Promoting the Use of Comprehension Strategies through Letter Writing (Virtual Tour)
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Sentence Sort: Organizing a Paragraph (Virtual Tour)
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