SELF-EXPRESSIVE
VOCABULARY STORIES
Purpose
Mathematics is a discipline filled with theorems, laws,
proofs, and calculations, but rarely do teachers or students
tell good mathematics stories. This is unfortunate, since
our brains are hardwired to receive and make up stories.
The Vocabulary Stories tool is a way for students to explore
and make mathematics content their own by creating short
stories that use and explain mathematical vocabulary and
concepts.
Formative Assessment
Connection: Through
creative writing, students
demonstrate their
knowledge of key
vocabulary and their
understanding of
mathematics concepts.
Overview
Technology Connection:
Vocabulary Stories is an excellent way for students to
Students can use a variety
demonstrate their understanding of the specific meanings
of software programs to
and appropriate uses of mathematical terms. Through
draft, polish, and present
writing, students are given the opportunity to be creative
their work, as well as the
and use their imaginations to take greater control over
Internet to "publish" their
what they are learning in mathematics.
final
written work online.
Before writing, the teacher generates a list of mathematical terms that students will incorporate during the ————^—^——Vocabulary Stories activity. The teacher models the process
by choosing a few words from the list and spinning them into the beginnings of a
story. Students then work either on their own or in small storytelling groups to create their own mathematics tales. Students' stories can be fiction or nonfiction, and
can be written as drama, comedy, tragedy, science fiction, or in any genre they
choose. (It is always a good idea to expose students to various text structures and
story formats to help them organize their writing.) The key requirement, however, is
that the words that students use are in proper mathematical context and are not
simply mentioned.
Building Common Core Thinking
Vocabulary Stories personalizes students' learning by having them communicate
their mathematical reasoning creatively and use vocabulary meaningfully in developing a written product. Vocabulary Stories supports the following Standards for
Mathematical Practice (MP):
«» (MP 1) Sense: making sense of a problem and explaining the correspondences
between equations and the problem itself
«* (MP 2) Reason: reasoning abstractly
•I (MP 6) Precision: communicating creatively, yet precisely
«* (MP 7) Structure: looking for structures and making use of them
ELA Note: Vocabulary Stories can also help support the Common Core Anchor
Standards for Writing and Language related to informative/explanatory writing
(W.CCR.2), on-task writing (W.CCR.4), conventions of standard written English
(L.CCR.1, L.CCR.2), and use of vocabulary (L.CCR.6).
147
148
MATH TOOLS, GRADES 3-12
Steps
1. Generate a list of mathematical terms for students to use when writing.
2. Model a sample story or an excerpt that demonstrates how mathematical
terms are used in a narrative.
3. Encourage students to be creative and choose a genre or topic that is meaningful to them. Explain to students that their stories can be wacky or serious, but
their stories need to be coherent and use school-appropriate language.
4. Remind students that stories can be of any length (from one paragraph to two
pages), as long as all of the vocabulary words are used correctly and in proper
context.
Examples
In each of the following samples of student writing, the mathematics vocabulary
terms for the unit are listed as a table:
How I See Shapes
quadrilateral
triangle
rectangle
square
rhombus
parallelogram
pentagon
isosceles triangle
octagon
trapezoid
equilateral
hexagon
right triangle
circle
triangle
v\mj w\0w\s w\ to school I lite to loot, out the window and Find diFFerent Shapes.
On w\ corneri \ a. red STOP Siqn,
whiCh is an I octagon.
On the neV,t Street there is a. trapU •*
u
FiC light
w\ade
up
OF
a.
rectangle
with
one
red
N one qreen, Unix one uellow circle. The white
p
\ JiT)—
5
o.
j
j
speed livwit 5>iqv\s, are a]s,o reC-tdnale^. There is, a_ re<L triangle S,iqn where we qo FfOw\e
w\ain road ay\ a_ brown ^gua_re 5,\gn that tell us, that the naiwe of the -^ayx iS> brooLS,i<Le Pan..
ooe where the s>c.v\ool c_r05>s,walt. i?,. Our
Outride school is, OL Bellow ^enta_^on that $.how& oeoole
a. red odta_on ?> T)P s,iqn,
s,iq,j too.
besides the w\av\jj ^uadfilateral 5.ignS in Uore windows O.nd tra.FFiC_ Sian^-j I also see ywanij
other ShQoeS while I ride to school each day. There iS a. house beinq built on our Street^
av\ the oa.FterS have right triangles and isosceles triangles in thew\ There a.re equilateral
triangles
in
—
^— and
" tfOpezoids
- ^c
---the Supports
\
| OF the railroad bfidqe
u Over the river. Ylhen I wen.
tioned this a_SSiqnw\ent to WMJ ywOvw^ 1 said I was vwiSSing a. Few Shapes^ which She heloed ywe
Find, ohe pointed out a. fhQwbuS in the Sign on the -tewelrq store that advertised their diaI
O
I
I
!
w\ond sale. Oihe also helped w\ See how the dcawinqS OF Cubes in the tinderqarten class
windows Ore he^a.gOns iF ijou loot at the lines OF the cubes, /^nd,, Finally She helped w\ See
the oafalleloQfaviAS that are also hidden in the suoport structure OF the railroad bridge.
SELF-EXPRESSIVE
Math Versus Social Studies
sequence
finite
infinite
nth term
set
Fibonacci
Sequence
arithmetic
sequence
geometric
sequence
common
difference
common ratio
Cauchy
Sequence
Tkere ase a, lot of Sequences in Sckool. Tkere ase Sequences of- dates to remember in Social
r. Sequences in Social studies ase finite Since tked stast aJt one time, or plaxe ajnd, end. in
ajiotker.
Xn
maj-kemaj-ics)
tkere
Co*,
be
finite
Sequences
like
all
of
tke
inteaerS between Q ajnd. \Q "J^d. infinite Sequences like all of tke inteaerS areajter tkajn Q. Klken
workina witk Sequences', it is important fa know kow fa find, a, certain farm, of tke Sequence. TkiS
Specific farm, is called, tke ntk term.. Tkere ase also Special Sequences like tke "Fibonacci Sequence
ajnd, CoMjck^ Sequence. Tke Sequence of ifeasS for Hjorld. f(Jar XX would, be
CT
r
r
~ 'U
iy^/,2) 1943) l*?4*l) l'?//^> witk tkeSe(_xtfearS tnajkina
uf a. Set of numbers. Xf (_/
rfou. ase ajked. w.
Lx
is tke ntk farm, of tkis Sequence tkaJ- denotes tke i/eas tke United, StaJreS entered, tke
conflict)
(four ajtSwer skould. be tke tkird. farm.. Anali/7-ina tke farmj asid, lookina for paJtternS in tke
Sequence of a. Set of numbers Cajn aive uou, a, clear ajnSwer or skow ifou, wkere a. Sequence is aoina.
Since consecutive terms of tkis Sequence of- was i/eass kaure a, common difference,
tke Sequence
is ajn aritkmetic Sequence (aj opposed, to a, geometric sequence, in wkick consecutive terms would,
a, common
149