Literacy+in+Further+Maths

Presented by Leah Whiffin & Geoff Simmonds from BSSC Studies have shown that improved literacy skills enhance learning across the curriculum. Our department has also noticed that students often misinterpret questions because they do not understand the meaning of mathematical terms. This year our department made a conscious effort to increase the vocabulary of students with a variety of activities. In this workshop we will reveal methods that have been successful in our classes.
 * Literacy in Further Maths **


 * Talked about how students need to see a word at least 12 times before they are familiar with it.[[image:matrix_bingo.jpg width="240" height="307" align="right"]]
 * Referenced to Marzano's 6 steps to effective vocabulary instruction
 * Recommended the website http://www.visualthesaurus.com/ to assist students to see links between words.


 * **Talked about basic strategies:**
 * underline words in questions
 * highlight words


 * **Teaching matrices:**
 * After completing initial exercises, they do a "Link Up" activity where they are given a list of terms and a list of definitions and they have to link them up. In the next lesson they give their students a "Quizlet" activity. (http://quizlet.com/) Quizlet allows you to generate an online quiz that students can access.
 * Students could create a glossary in their summary books and cross reference the words to relevant examples using page numbers.
 * To break up a double period they play "Matrix bingo" . The bingo cards are 3x3 and have terms and symbols. The teacher reads out definitions.

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