Topic: Solving Math Problems

10-second review: Methods for solving math problems: drawing diagrams; working backward; simplifying the problem.

Source: G Polya, How to Solve It, Princeton, NJ: Princeton U. Press, 1973. In M Munakata. Mathematics Teacher (February 2005), 387. Publication of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).

Comment: Math teachers were always telling me (K-12 language arts supervisor) that they and their students do not read math textbooks. They only use them as a source for problems. English teachers might try out these METHODS for reading math problems.

The directed reading assignment with reading problems in math might be something like this: background information on the nature of the problem; pre-teach unfamiliar vocabulary, usually words that mean something different in math from general usage; establish purpose (What are you looking for?) and then use the methods listed above to help solve the problem. Students might then create their own problems like the one they just solved. Just a thought! RayS.