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The area of mathematics does not function in isolation. The use of literacy skills in the form of the written word, oral communication and media allow for active problem solving within the context of the mathematics curriculum. Traveling teddy bears is a means by which students are actively engaged in their own learning. The reason for this is because the class set of teddy bears is traveling around the world and the various mathematical concepts are adapted within the class setting, to the information that arrives in the classroom, as a result of the teddy bear travels.
Before delving into the integration of literacy and math, the word, literacy, needs to be defined. There are 4 areas within the Language curriculum: Reading, Writing, Oral Language and Media. According to Dictionary.com, literacy makes direct reference to the state of being literate [having knowledge and skill] in the areas of reading and writing. Literacy also refer to ones knowledge in a particular area. For example: media literacy. The oral language form refers to a student's ability to communicate and express ideas and thoughts using the spoken word. These 4 areas, defined in the language curriculum, are easily integrated into the mathematics curriculum.
What further facilitates the combination of literacy and math is the incorporation of the information received from the traveling teddy bears: as the teddy bears experience the world, their traveling companions send back adventure stories to the classroom, or back to the student via email.
This is best illustrated using the following example. [Note: the teddy bear's name is real, the destinations are real and creative license has been used for illustrative purposes].
Iggy, the teddy bear was excited about his new journey. The traveling companion packed up his journal, bought him a warm sweater, and together with his travel bag, Iggy and the first traveling companion set off for California. There they enjoyed the sunsets and the beaches. After staying a couple of days, Iggy met a couple of other travelers who were going on a cruise to the Antarctic, so he was invited to tag along. What an adventure this was going to be for Iggy. One of their stops was in Buenos Aires, South America. Iggy could hardly contain his excitement when he had his picture taken with a number of dolls and toys that he befriended at one of the stores. Later, after having arrived in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world, Iggy had his photo taken on a mail box and with a member of the cruise ship. They cruised across Cape Horn, saw icebergs, traveled in a zodiac to see the whales, and landed on Antarctica to visit with Gentoo penguins, sea lions and other inhabitants. Iggy wanted to travel the penguin highways, but the traveling companions thought it best not to ride those slippery slopes.
Using the information in Iggy's story, possible math questions for the student to answer might look something like this. How long did it take for Iggy to travel from Point A to Point B? What was the distance traveled by Iggy the teddy bear? What temperatures did Iggy experience at his various destinations? [this might involve further research if the traveling companion did not record it in the teddy bear's journal] What are penguin highways and what is the average distance of a penguin highway? What is the distance between Ushuaia and Antarctica? How cold is the water where Iggy traveled? How does that compare with the temperatures experienced where you live? Gather data of dates, locations, times, and temperatures during Iggy's travels. Graph results using bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs. Do you notice patterns with your results?
During the course of answering the math related questions, the student would be using reading [reading the problem, research as required by the problem], writing [using the written word to record information], and oral language to communicate the results of the problem. As a possible extension to this math problem, a media presentation put together to communicate this information into a math story would round out the literacy and math connection.
Teddy bears and their travels not only benefit the students, but their ownership of the bears creates a sense of commitment to the project and willingness to want to work with information about their teddy bears. Teachers benefit because their students are motivated. Another benefit to teachers is the reduction in the number of evaluative devices required to assess the student: a multi-step mathematics problem integrates literacy concepts and math concepts thereby reducing the need for separate assessment vehicles. By following this approach, aspects of reading, writing, oral communication and media literacy can be evaluated at the same time assessment is being made of the math concepts being taught.
Mathematics is often viewed as a separate entity in the curriculum. By incorporating stories and adventures of teddy bear travels into the math curriculum, a number of benefits accrue: student communication of the results integrates the literacy component of the curriculum, it enhances and motivates student learning, and the integration reduces the number of assessment vehicles required by teachers in the evaluation of their students.
Check back for Traveling Teddy Bears Show Me The Math - Part 3 - Thinking and Math
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