Teaching Math to English Learners

As a teacher it was hard enough for me to teach math to young students, let alone teaching math to students at the lower levels of proficiency in English. As I became more skilled in teaching math, I learned that I was just teaching math in a "memorization" type of way and the main issue as to why students were unable to attain long-term mastery of mathematical concepts was because I was not teaching them conceptually in an in-depth manner.

Teachers must remember that English learners who are acquiring a second language have a double burden: they must keep up with grade level content at the same time that they are acquiring a second language. Not only do students need practice with mathematical skills, they also must learn the mathematical vocabulary and grammatical/language structures of the mathematics content area.

One way that teachers can expose students to mathematical vocabulary is through the use of songs, poems and chants. Teachers can create their own basic chants and rhymes with well-known, traditional songs for children. For teachers who might not be musically or poetically inclined, there are also a variety of books that have songs, poems, and chants for students about mathematical concepts, such as:

• Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems
• Circle Time Poetry Math
• Math Poetry: Linking Language and Math in a Fresh Way

Students who have authentic, meaningful practice with mathematical vocabulary and concepts through the fun use of chants, songs, and poems will be more inclined to store mathematical vocabulary and concepts in their long-term memory.

An additional way to develop language and math in a simultaneous way is to integrate literature and non-fiction books that contain mathematical vocabulary, concepts or real-life use of math. In the upcoming months, we will be creating a '"teaching math to English learners" section to the main ELDStrategies.com website where we will review many literature and non-fiction books that are recommended for using with English learners. In the meantime, you can also find some recommended titles in the ELD Strategies store by clicking here.

You can find additional resources for teaching mathematics to English learners from kindergarten through high school, as well as poems and some recommended children books in the ELD Strategies store.

Happy New Year!
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