Vocabulary in Math Class

Vocabulary in the Math Class

Written by Marsi Quarin-Wright This information is based on the following website.  Please refer to this reading for more information: https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5108&context=hse_all

 

Digit, value, regroup…Oh my!  How do we remember to ask students for the sum, difference, product rather than asking for the answer?

 Using the number:  6 234 753?  What is the value of 6? What digit does the 7 represent?
How can we remember to use this language in our lessons?

Three Tiers of Words

Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown and Linda Kucan (2002, 2008) have outlined a useful model for conceptualizing categories of words readers encounter in texts and for understanding the instructional and learning challenges that words in each category present.

Tier One words are the words of everyday speech usually learned in the early grades, albeit not at the same rate by all children. They are not considered a challenge to the average native speaker, though English language learners of any age will have to attend carefully to them. While Tier One words are important, they are not the focus of this discussion.

Tier Two words (what the Standards refer to as general academic words) are far more likely to appear in written texts than in speech. They appear in all sorts of texts: informational texts (words such as relative, vary, formulate, specificity and accumulate), technical texts (calibrate, internalize, periphery), and literary texts (misfortune, dignified, falter, unabashedly). Tier Two words often represent subtle of precise ways to say relatively simple things –saunter, instead of walk, for example. Because Tier Two words are found across many types of texts, they are highly generalized

Tier Three words (what standards refer to as domain-specific words) are specific to a domain or field of study (lava, carburetor, legislature, circumference, aorta) and key to understanding a new concept within a text. Because of their specificity and close ties to content knowledge, Tier Three words are far more common in informational texts than in literature. Recognized as new and “hard” words for most readers (particularly student readers), they are often explicitly defined by the author of the text, repeatedly used and otherwise heavily scaffolded (eg. Made part of a glossary).

Helpful Tips:

Þ   If we think of the Tier Two words as words we see in the curriculum (represent, make statements of comparisons, symbolically represent)
 Þ    If we think of Tier Three words as  academic language related to a field of study (for math: product, quotient, sum, difference)

Tier 3 Words

Words with duplicate meaning in math.

I found this interesting that some math words have duplicate meanings and do our students know the math term?What other terms are there that have more than one meaning?

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Word                Common Definition                   Mathematical Definition 

          key                   a tool with which the                  something that gives an 

                                   bolt of a lock is turned                explanation or provides a

                                                                                       solution

_____________________________________________________________

         order                to command to do something      to put into sequence

______________________________________________________________

         another way    a different course of action         a way of equal value

______________________________________________________________

         table                a piece of furniture with              a visual display of 

                                  four legs                                      information

_______________________________________________________________

Tier 2 Words

The following is a list of words that fit into the tier 2 category. The more we can use these words in our classrooms, the more our students will know and in turn use them as well. 

The Twelve Powerful Words and Their Definitions

Word                                         Definition

analyse                            to break apart

compare                                ways they are the same

contrast                                 ways they are different

describe                                 tell about

formulate                              create

evaluate                                 judge

explain                                   tell how

infer                                        read between the lines

predict                                   what will happen next

summarize                           give a short version

support                                  back up with details

trace                                       list in steps

Putting it all together: 

Þ    And we can purposefully plan for math vocabulary in our lessons by using a simple table (see below)
 Þ    Then post these words/anchor charts for kids to reference as they work and for teachers to reference as they deliver a lesson 

Tier 3 Word	Meaning	When to Teach
Table	Visual display of info	Review
value	position of a digit in a number determines its value	Pre-teach
sum	Answer to addition Note: use instead of equals or “is” 7+5 is….	During Use find the sum
Tier 2	Focus on using Predict