Writing About HS Geometry an Introduction

Writing is one of the parts of language that secondary mathematicians are still developing. For some students, ESL/ELL for example, what they know about mathematics may exceed their ability to communicate it through the written word. Students learn to write by writing. Writing needs to be original thought, not just copying something that someone else wrote. Therefore, it is imperative that opportunities are provided often for students to engage in writing about mathematics.

As the teacher, providing an environment that is rich in mathematical language is a priority. Students’ writing should make sense and be complete. This will develop over time for secondary mathematicians as they have more opportunities to write about their experiences. Writing About offers a collaborative opportunity for small groups of students to work individually first to write about a concept and then to come together and putting their individual work into a paragraph about the topic. A word cloud is given as a prompt for words and ideas.

Facilitation notes are provided as well as student activity sheet. This is a good activity for struggling students and ESL/ELL who may need some support in writing.