✖️ Math Discourse ♾

Bridging Content & Language

Matthew Ennis

Ellison Parks

The Challenge

(Describe the WHY behind this work)

What challenge or need were you addressing as a Learning Site/Learning Cohort?

• Math Discourse
• How do we support students to synthesize their thinking through mathematical discourse

What specific piece of that challenge were you addressing in your specific context? What made this topic relevant to you?

• New to SEI Inclusion classroom setting
• Transitioning back to Grade 3
• Multilingual classroom
• Developing instructional routines that are accessible to all

What I Tried

I took these steps..

-Linking some of the work that has been happening in literature & social studies to the math concept

-Developed instructional routines for complex math concepts to support executive functioning and increase access to mathematical conversations

I expected that…

• It would take a while for the question routine to be internalized by students
• The students would be able to easily transition to writing sentences using our subordinating conjunctions about math concepts

Conjunction Practice

Agree - because, so

Disagree - Although, but, even though

Area Question Routine

Check it out for yourself

• -Is this an array?
• -How many rows?
• -How many columns?
• -How can we find the area?

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And what actually happened was…

• Students almost seamlessly started to incorporate those conjunctions into their daily language during number talks, etc. This language helped us have strong debates in math class.
• Students were able to identify the area of rectilinear shapes much easier than in previous years. [I hope it is because of the question routine]

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Early Impact

(What I have been noticing…)

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• Agency
• Group Work in math has gotten stronger with students asking more and deeper questions. They are also able to explain their thinking more productively.
• Access
• There has been an increase in how many students are volunteering their thinking during our math block

What I Learned

(Key Ingredients: What I believe makes this work?)

• Reflection time during our sessions with other members
• Bite Sized - Easy to implement and monitor
• Connected to something that was already happening in the classroom

I want to continue: Experiment with:

• Thinking about how I can make language more accessible to students
• Infusing writing thoughtfully into all subject areas
• Math Debates

• Different instructional routines that are focused on math language
• Develop some more question routines especially when thinking about supporting students in smaller groups