Mathematical Literacy: Helping Students Make Meaning in the Middle Grades

Language and communication are important to mathematics just as they are to the other content areas. Mathematical Literacy is a powerful resource that introduces you to a wide spectrum of strategies and approaches for building students facility in mathematical communication. Mathematical Literacy demonstrates how immersion in the language of math supports improved learning through traditional communication skills such as:

• reading
• writing
• speaking
• listening

as well as math-specific communication skills, including:

• symbolizing
• graphing
• creating diagrams
• using tables.

It provides everything you need to increase the presence of mathematical language in your classroom, guiding you through the ample research base and theoretical underpinnings supporting its ideas, demonstrating implementation through detailed classroom vignettes, and presenting ready-to-use tools and activities that connect theory directly to practice. Whether you are an individual preservice or practicing teacher, part of a teacher book-study group, or creating whole-staff professional learning, Mathematical Literacy promotes professional learning with questions interspersed throughout that encourage reflection and prompt you to action. It offers many paths for teachers to take as they help students to improve their use of mathematical language and grow as mathematicians. Help every student become fluent readers, speakers, and writers of mathematics. Read Mathematical Literacy and give young adolescents new ways to explain their reasoning, make connections, debate their thinking with peers, and share their strugglesin short to understand mathematics deeply.