Assessing English Learners’ Mathematical Reading Skills
Description
Teaching mathematics to English learners involves more than just mastering solving a problem, but developing a deep understanding and meaning for problem-posing math questions. This module highlights how a teacher can create an assessment activity that captures a students’ mathematical reading skills for elementary and high school grades using a “three-reads” strategy approach. Finally, examples of math reading rubrics will be explored to select appropriate criteria measures.
Teaching mathematics to English learners involves more than just mastering solving a problem, but developing a deep understanding and meaning for problem-posing math questions. This module highlights how a teacher can create an assessment activity that captures a students’ mathematical reading skills for elementary and high school grades using a “three-reads” strategy approach. Finally, examples of math reading rubrics will be explored to select appropriate criteria measures.
Topics
Competencies
Knowledge
Mindset
Common Core reform policies have purposefully reformed math standards to address the literacy components needed to help students communicate mathematical ideas and problem solving skills. Many math teachers struggle with how to teach literacy, specifically reading strategies to their students, and importantly how to target appropriate reading language levels for their ELs. Therefore, teachers are shifting their attitudes to view themselves as literacy instructors and need to develop on-going practices that assess reading comprehension for all learners.
- Distinguish between math content and reading rubrics.
- Discuss why it’s important to assess math reading comprehension for different text genres from tables, graphs, and story problems.
- Modify a three-reads assessment activity for different language levels and grade levels.
Competencies
Knowledge
- Discuss the significance for reading mathematically from Common Core Standards.
- Distinguish between a language arts and mathematical reading assessments.
Identify what effective readers do across early, emergent, transition, and self-extending stages.
Review WIDA’s academic language features with respect to reading.
- Select appropriate reading rubric criteria for early/emergent and transition/self-extending readers.
- Model how to design a three-read assessment activity using a mathematical example for K-8 and 9-12 grades.
Mindset
Common Core reform policies have purposefully reformed math standards to address the literacy components needed to help students communicate mathematical ideas and problem solving skills. Many math teachers struggle with how to teach literacy, specifically reading strategies to their students, and importantly how to target appropriate reading language levels for their ELs. Therefore, teachers are shifting their attitudes to view themselves as literacy instructors and need to develop on-going practices that assess reading comprehension for all learners.