Math Lesson

Use the following template as a guide for conducting your tutoring sessions.

Student (Pseudonym): Student Date: 3/8/13

Target Area: Fluency and Comprehension in Mathematics

Rationale for Target Area (Data Collected): To better understand the purpose of word problems.

Intervention: Modeling reading for a purpose.

Resources/Materials: Attached and Below

Lesson Sequence (Describe how intervention will be implemented): This lesson uses the four modalities of reading (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) on a math word problem to bridge the gap between reading and math. After a read-aloud from the book Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, the student creates his own word problems with answers. Students solve each other's problems. As they reread the word problems, fluency and comprehension increase. Finally, students use the skills they've learned creating word problems to complete a crossword puzzle. As students read the math concept words presented in the puzzle and write the correct answers, their reading and writing math vocabulary skills increase.

Modeling is an important form of classroom support for literacy learning. When the teacher reads the story to students using questioning techniques, the teacher engages students and conveys a purpose for reading. Explicit modeling is achieved as the teacher shows students a way to approach the task of writing their own word problem.

Integrating language arts and math incorporates reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills as students listen to the word problems during the read-aloud, share their knowledge, provide feedback to their classmates, and write their own word problems for classmates to share.

The rereading strategy helps students improve fluency as they share their knowledge and provide feedback to their peers.

As students listen to the story Math Curse they will use it as a springboard for writing their own word problems. Writing their own word problems based on the problems in Math Curse can be motivating for the student as well as an excellent way for the teacher to integrate math vocabulary and reading.