Customer Reviews

Algebra Out Loud: Learning Mathematics Through Reading and Writing Activities

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a student working on my bachelor's to teach high school math. I bought this book as a resource for my reading class. It is so awesome I even included it in my term paper. It has examples of all the things and more that we were taught in that class. This book changed my attitude toward teaching reading and writing strategies in a high school math class. These techniques help struggling readers while at the same time they enhance more successful learners. This is also a must have book for middle school math teachers.

How refreshing! I ordered this book at least a year ago, and it sat on my shelf until a few days ago. Big mistake on my part-I could've used most of the activities sooner! I normally read through this type of resouce and flag the handful of pages deemed useful for improving classrom instruction. Immediately, I found myself flagging almost every other page. This book is LOADED with meaningful and easy to implement ideas to assist in improving literacy, vocabulary and communication in secondary mathematics classrooms. Even though mathematics is the subject of focus, I would HIGHLY rec. this to any teacher as the activities could be easily adapted based upon grade level and/or subject.

The author, Pat Mower, has written a helpful resource filled with many ideas to incorporate reading and writing activities in Algebra courses. The activities are suitable for secondary and college level classrooms. Generously, the author extends permission for individual classroom teachers to reproduce math activities.

I especially like the three subheadings included for each activity:
1. What? Description
2. Why? Objectives
3. How? Example

Prior to reading this book, I had used some of the activities in my classroom with good success. For example, the Muddiest Point gave students the opportunity to write on an index card what objectives were still confusing to them at the end of a lesson. As a result, I was able to review those topics in my next lesson. In Algebra Out Loud, the author has provided a worksheet for students to use instead of index cards. Secondly, I have required students to write an explanation on how to solve a particular type of problem without worrying about grammar and so on. The One-Minute Summary gives details for this activity.
In summary, teachers and professors will find an abundance of examples and lessons to improve their students reading habits and understanding of math. Also, I believe students' retention of math concepts will increase due to the engaging nature of the activities.

I recommend you take a look inside the book to view the table of contents.

What a disappointment. As an experienced teacher, I should've been more careful. There are NO examples, no new stories, nothing original or new. The same graphic organizers we have all seen. Save your money and buy something else. From now on, I think I will preview at the bookstore before I purchase through internet.

There were some good ideas. It was not as useful as I had hoped.