Archive for August 2016
Levels of Word Knowledge
“The sequence of learning the meaning of words does not reside in innate human development; that is, our brains are not wired to acquire words in any given sequence. The order of learning words resides in children’s environments and experiences.” – Building Words for Life There is great importance in the meaningful and direct instruction of…
Read MoreComprehension Connection – Strategy Connection
“Both reading and math require purposeful thinking for the construction of meaning.” – Laney Sammons In Building Mathematical Comprehension, Laney Sammons addresses the need for increasing math understanding at all levels and provides us with the tools to build mathematical literacy in our classrooms. She shares the research of Keene and Zimmerman and their model for teaching…
Read MoreBeginning, During, & After Strategies
“In the explicit teaching of comprehension strategies, you must help learners know when to use specific strategies.” – Laney Sammons Building reading comprehension is an ongoing process and the same is true when building understanding in mathematics. The research in Building Mathematical Comprehension shows that there are a variety of strategies that are used, beginning, during, and…
Read MoreLaying the Foundation for Critical Thinking in Math
“Environments rich in mathematical opportunities for children are essential if we want our children to develop a thorough understanding of mathematics.” -Laney Sammons Evidence has shown that our nation has been struggling with mathematical literacy. We have many children who just don’t “get it” and it is time to make a change in the instructional…
Read MoreCommunication is at the Heart of Mathematical Literacy
Mathematical literacy has become a serious problem in the United States. Computation, drill and practice have often been the means to a less than stellar mathematical end. Mathematician Keith Devlin says, “The problem many people have with school arithmetic is that they never get to the meaning stage; it remains forever an abstract game of…
Read MoreEstablishing an Environment for Mathematics
Look around most elementary classrooms, and you’ll see evidence that language arts learning is taking place. The question then becomes do you see evidence that mathematics is just as important. Probably not. Most classroom environments are literacy rich and mathematics poor. A mathematics rich classroom is a place where students are surrounded by math…a place…
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