As young children develop their capacity for understanding and interpreting the world around them, language in its varying forms, becomes a vital cognitive link in enabling them to articulate their natural sense of number and other mathematical concepts.
The skills of speaking, listening, increasing vocabulary knowledge, reading and writing are as essential to learning Mathematics as they are to learning English and it is widely acknowledged that “causes of student error in mathematics often relates to the word components rather than the application of mathematical computation” (The New South Wales Board Of Studies Mathematics K-6 syllabus,2002 p12)
This workshop facilitated by Ann Baxter from the University of Wollongong, explores concept and ideas around teachers’ planning to incorporate specific literacy strategies into their mathematics lessons to enhance student confidence and competence in the mathematics classroom.