Math in English Class?

by Stephanie Krajicek

As an English teacher, I often hear my students grumble about how they won’t use “this stuff” outside of my class. It’s a continual struggle to make real-world connections and help my students find value in what I teach.  I have found this is especially difficult to do when knowledge is so compartmentalized by high school curricula.  A few years ago, I was struggling with a particularly difficult group of freshmen that just couldn’t understand why we make kids go to school (We were preparing for up-coming I-STEP testing – not their most favorite way to spend class time.)  “It’s not like we ever need to know this stuff,” they griped.

This, I decided, was a golden opportunity for a teaching moment.  Why not discuss why school is important and how our society deals with education?  My students definitely had opinions about public education as it exists in the United States.  They just weren’t what I was expecting. When I brought up the privilege of free, public education, my students responded, “It’s not like [education] is really free.  We have to pay for books.”  They also voiced their discontent with being “forced” to go to school until they turned 16.  I was floored.  My students reminded me of a very important distinction between us – I liked school as a kid.  I liked it so much, I became a teacher so I could stay in school for the rest of forever. 

To try to reach my students and convince them that school isn’t just a place to torture kids, I had the class read an article addressing proficiency levels that I found a few years ago.  I hoped it might change their minds.  In addition to acknowledging the students’ perspectives, I decided to bring math into the English classroom.  (How better to show them that what I teach them has far reaching implications and real-world applications?)  We read and analyzed the article’s argument, interpreted the accompanying graph, and created our own graphs with the data provided. The resulting discussion was heated and provocative.  Students had a lot to say.  We spent an entire class period on this activity.

Taking the time to bring math skills into my classroom created an opportunity for my students to showcase strengths they might not normally use in English class.  It also forced my reluctant readers to really delve into the article. Interpreting and creating new graphs helped my students understand more than the argument in the article.  It helped them to be critical of statistics. Writing about their interpretation of the graphs helped create discussion and clarify their own opinions. 

The end result:  cross-curricular writing and learning was a success in my classroom.  My students even decided (albeit, begrudgingly) that school is worthwhile. 

The Number Crunch
Lesson Plan created by Stephanie Krajicek
to accompany the article “Math in English Class?”
http://thewritingsite.org/articles/vol2num2c.asp
download in print-friendly format (pdf)

Objectives & Overview

In this lesson, students share interpretations of a graph showing success / failure rates on math and language arts proficiency tests. They then work in groups to analyze the statistics and present their interpretations to the class.

Students will:

• Read and interpret persuasive arguments presented in the article “Can’t Read, Can’t Count.”
• Interpret and share interpretations of a statistical graph.
• Create a graph depicting the information presented in the article “Can’t Read, Can’t Count.”
• Write about their interpretations.

Materials & Resources
Graph paper
Colored pencils / markers
Calculators (optional)
Copies of “Can’t Read, Can’t Count” “Harpers’ Index”

Doyle, R. (2001, October). Can’t read, can’t count. Scientific American, vol?, 24.
(2001, September). Harpers’ index.  Harper’s Magazine, vol?,
(2001, September). Title. Harpers’ Magazine, vol?, 80.

Warm-up:

Journal writing: Why do we make kids go to school?

Activity: 

Read Scientific American article “Can’t Read, Can’t Write”

Discussion:

1. Which group of students has the highest number / percent that scored below proficiency levels in math? in reading?
2. Why do you think that is?
3. What do these statistics tell us about schools?
4. Why is it important to know the sample size?
5. Group-work:  have students extrapolate and graph actual numbers for percentages using different sample sizes.  Students should be prepared to explain what they did to arrive at their final graph.  Have groups compare their graphs.  Which graph looks worse?  Which is a better graph to compare seniors? Why?

Make a graph of proficiency levels from “Modern-Day Survival Skills”

1. What information should be included in the graph? 
2. How should this information be portrayed?  Are there different ways to graph the information?  Is there a method that seems better? Why?
3. Where do you fall?
4. What should we focus our attention on as a nation / educational community?

Evaluation / Assessment:

Students will be evaluated based on participation in the opening exercise, thoughtful participation in the group work, and thorough presentation of their interpretation.

Homework / Wrap up:

Choose one or both of these activities.

Read the exam questions from 1895 and 2000.  Make a chart comparing the requirements from 1895 and 2000.

• Which curriculum seems more rigorous? 
• Which assessment better proves what a student knows?  Why?
• Do you think that you could pass either test?  Why?
• How does this information relate to our discussion?

Choose two related statements from Harper’s Index and write two paragraphs that:

• explain how the statements relate to the current discussion;
• state what the implications are;
• give your opinion of the statement

Extension Activities:

Create your own poll.  Interview classmates, graph the results and write an explanation of your methods and results.

Go to the Department of Education’s Fast Facts web site.  Choose a topic to explore.  Write your interpretation of the data.  Make sure to give reasons for your interpretations as well as your opinion.  http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/FAQTopics.asp?type=1

Go to this web site (http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/index.asp?flash=false) and take the “Mathematicians are People 2” quiz.  Research your mathematician.  Create a poster that gives biographical facts and how his / her contributions to mathematics are used today.

Standards:

English Language Arts Standards

Standard 4:

Students discuss ideas for writing with other writers. They write coherent and focused essays that show a well-defined point of view and tightly reasoned argument. Students progress through the stages of the writing process (prewriting, writing, editing, and revising).

Standard 5:

Writing Applications (Different Types of Writing and Their Characteristics) Students combine the rhetorical strategies of narration, exposition, persuasion, and description in texts (research reports of 1,000 to 1,500 words or more). Students begin to write documents related to career development. Student writing demonstrates a command of Standard English and the research, organizational, and drafting strategies outlined in Standard 4 — Writing Processes and Features. Writing demonstrates an awareness of the audience (intended reader) and purpose for writing.

9.5.3

Write expository compositions, including analytical essays, summaries, descriptive pieces, or literary analyses that: gather evidence in support of a thesis (position on the topic), including information on all relevant perspectives.
communicate information and ideas from primary and secondary sources accurately and coherently.
make distinctions between the relative value and significance of specific data, facts, and ideas.
use a variety of reference sources, including word, pictorial, audio, and Internet sources, to locate information in support of topic.
include visual aids by using technology to organize and record information on charts, data tables, maps, and graphs.

9.5.6

Write technical documents, such as a manual on rules of behavior for conflict resolution, procedures for conducting a meeting, or minutes of a meeting that:
report information and express ideas logically and correctly.
offer detailed and accurate specifications.
include scenarios, definitions, and examples to aid comprehension.
anticipate readers’ problems, mistakes, and misunderstandings.

Mathematics Standards

Standard 9 — Mathematical Reasoning and Problem Solving

In a general sense, mathematics is problem solving. In all of their mathematics, students use problem-solving skills: they choose how to approach a problem, they explain their reasoning, and they check their results. At this level, students apply these skills to justifying the steps in simplifying functions and solving equations and to deciding whether algebraic statements are true. They also learn about inductive and deductive reasoning and how to use counterexamples to show that a general statement is false.

Communication

The ability to read, write, listen, ask questions, think, and communicate about math will develop and deepen students’ understanding of mathematical concepts. Students should read text, data, tables, and graphs with comprehension and understanding. Their writing should be detailed and coherent, and they should use correct mathematical vocabulary. Students should write to explain answers, justify mathematical reasoning, and describe problem-solving strategies.

Connections

Connecting mathematical concepts includes linking new ideas to related ideas learned previously, helping students to see mathematics as a unified body of knowledge whose concepts build upon each other. Major emphasis should be given to ideas and concepts across mathematical content areas that help students see that mathematics is a web of closely connected ideas (algebra, geometry, the entire number system). Mathematics is also the common language of many other disciplines (science, technology, finance, social science, geography) and students should learn mathematical concepts used in those disciplines. Finally, students should connect their mathematical learning to appropriate real-world contexts.

Stephanie Krajicek

Stephanie Krajicek is a certified secondary English and French teacher who has been teaching in Indiana public schools for five years and is a facilitator for the Buddy project and a trainer for the Buddy Technology Learning Center (BTLC).

This featured article appeared in Volume 2, Number 2 issue of the Write Connections quarterly newsletter. View other archived newsletters , a topical organization of all newsletters, or sign-up to receive notification when the next newsletters are ready to download.