Balance Isn't Just Good for Literacy Instruction

Photo by Volker Stetter

We've arrived at the end of our series on creating more meaningful math experiences for learners. We hope you have found it greater than the sum of its parts, and that each blog has given you something to think about, something to try as the school year unfolds. Over the last month, we kicked things off, and then Pam offered tips for launching a year of meaningful math. Shanna next proposed suggestions for balancing process and product, and most recently, John shared hints for making the most of planning time—all with the intent to make connections between math and literacy.

Now, in this final blog, we show how you might go about bringing components of balanced literacy to mathematics. When we use these beloved components in math, we infuse best practices. Everyone benefits from being a part of a math community where students learn the building blocks of math, engage in real world math, and are independently consumed in doing the work of mathematicians. These balanced best practices make math more meaningful. We are better able to support and strengthen the mindset, motivation, and skill-set of all mathematicians.

Click image below for a detailed view.

As educators, we live in a world where everyday conversation is laden with lingo to describe the “latest and greatest” instructional approaches. Although different content areas often have their own dialects, when it comes down to best practices like modeling, discussion, and inquiry—we are all speaking the same language. The values inherent in this universal language reflect core beliefs and instructional frameworks that transcend subject area.

In this blog series, we tried to deconstruct these ideas; connecting the dots between best practices in literacy and math instruction. By borrowing what we know works in literacy, excitement and investment in learning can now extend throughout the day.

We wish you all the best in bringing best practices to math and would love to hear how it is going: tweet pics and celebrations, tagging @drgravitygllc

And if you would like to hear more about how each of these components looks in math, by all means, let us know!