Integrating Mathematics and Literacy Standards and Practices in the

Kindergarten Classroom

Lori Dolezal, Elementary Literacy Assessment CoordinatorTracy Watterson, Elementary Mathematics Assessment Coordinator

Introductions

Explore methods for integrating math standards and practices with literacy

standards and practices through interactive read alouds and math tasks.

Parallel Practices

Mathematical Practices• Make sense of problems and

persevere in solving them.• Reason abstractly and quantitatively.• Construct viable arguments and

critique the reasoning of others.• Model with mathematics.• Use appropriate tools strategically.• Attend to precision.• Look for and make use of structure.• Look for and express regularity in

repeated reasoning.

Capacities of Literate Individuals• Demonstrate Independence• Comprehend and Critique• Value Evidence• Use Technology• Understand Perspectives and

Cultures• Respond to Purpose, Audience,

and Task• Build Content Knowledge

Pair up

Questions

• What did you notice when comparing the practices and capacities?

• Which practices are you currently using?

• Which practices do you hope to use in the future?

Differences and similarities between reading and math

What must occur for students to be fluent in ELA? In math?(Small group discussion)

Using Literature to Teach Mathematical Concepts

What are some ELA features of the book that deserve attention during the read aloud?What are the features of the book that help teach the math concepts?(Small group discussion)

MATH TASKS

A mathematical performance task has been defined as a set of problems or a single complex problem that focuses students’ attention on a particular mathematical idea (Stein, Grover, & Henningsen, 1996).

The Mathematics Performance Task

Benefits of Mathematical Performance Tasks

Through mathematical performance tasks, students:

pose and solve problems,make conjectures,build knowledge and confidence,make connections, andcollaborate with others using mathematics

in real-world, intriguing contexts.

Components of a Successful Mathematical Performance Task

Revolves around an interesting problem

Is directed at essential mathematical content

Requires examination and perseverance

Begs for discussion

Builds student understanding

Warrants reflection and extension opportunities

Engages students in mathematical thinking

INTERACTIVE READ-ALOUDS

The Interactive Read-Aloud

“A teaching context in which students

are actively listening and responding to

an oral reading of a text.”

-Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G. The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-2. A Guide to Teaching, page 163.

Benefits of Read-Alouds

Through interactive read alouds, student are exposed to:– Comprehension Strategies (through modeling

and instruction)– Rich Vocabulary– Fluency (through teacher modeling)– Written Expression– Complex Text (for building background

knowledge)

For a successful interactive read aloud, teachers:

choose appropriate text. preview and practice the text. establish a clear purpose. model fluent oral reading. are animated and use expression. stop periodically and question students about text

specifics. make connections to independent reading and writing.

Source: Fisher, Flood, Lapp, and Frey (2004)

Components of a Successful Read-Aloud

• Relevant Standards and Objectives• Appropriate Text• Attention to Vocabulary• Activating Prior Knowledge• Modeling • Guided Questions and Discussion• Follow Up

Success depends on thorough planning!

Standards and ObjectivesCCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.5 Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.1 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is...).

Standards and Objectives

• CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.1 Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings1, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.

• CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.2 Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.

• CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.A.2 Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1).

• CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.4c Understand that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger.

• CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.5 Count to answer “how many?” questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1–20, count out that many objects.

The Text

Fish Eyes: A Book You CanCount On by Lois Ehlert

Introduces students to counting and basic addition.Illustrations from FISH EYES by Lois Ehlert. Copyright © 1990 by Lois Ehlert. Used by permission of

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Attention to Vocabulary

• Scales• Fins• Fantailed

What type of instruction will you use to convey meaning?

Activate Prior Knowledge

• Activate students prior knowledge about: book and print, rhyme, describing words, predictions, text features (Read the page!), starting at a number and adding on one more, look for patterns and structure.

Modeling

Return to the text using think aloud and questioning to demonstrate reading strategies and explore rhyme, text features and vocabulary.

Return to the text to explore operations, algebraic thinking, counting and cardinality, using questions and thinking aloud.

Guided Questions and DiscussionEngage students in discussion through thoughtful questioning:• Ask questions to guide the

discussion and highlight strategies that good readers use.

• Plan guiding questions ahead of time.

• Keep questions connected to the text and the learning objectives.

• Ask students to provide evidence of their thinking.

Dynamic Transactions

• Reading should be interactive so take cues from your students and tailor your questions and discussions according to their needs and responses.

Fish Eyes Interactive Read-Aloud Script:

Text Feature: Note the dialogue happening in grey print. It is separate from the narrative in white print. We are going to take this journey with this fish. It is important that we attend to this text feature; features add information…

Sample Text and Follow Up Math Task

Follow Up Math Task

CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.1 Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings1, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations. CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.2 Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Task Description

• Students participate in shared reading experience with word problems or math stories.

• They represent the stories using objects (e.g., gold fish crackers) and equations.

References and ResourcesBurns, Marilyn, “Building a Teaching Bridge from Reading to Math”, Leadership Compass, Winter 2005, Volume 3, Number 2.

Ehlert, L. (1990). Fish Eyes. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Fisher, D., Flood, J., Lapp, D., and Frey, N. (2004). Interactive read alouds: Is there a common set of implementation practices? The Reading Teacher, 58(1), 8-17.

Foster, Shannon, “The Day Math and Reading Got Hitched”, Teaching Children Mathematics, NCTN, November 2007, pp. 196-201.

Wallace, Faith H., Clark, Karen K., and Cherry, Mary L., “How Come? What If? So What? Reading in the Mathematics Classroom”, Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, September 2006, NCTM, pp. 108-115.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers (2010). Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts/Literacy. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington D.C. http://www.corestandards.org/