Opposites Attract: Reading & Math
What do reading and math have to do with each other? Quite a lot. While the skills may seem very different, most real-life situations use a mix of both.
A great way to pull math and reading skills together is through maps, charts, and diagrams. Some tests, like The Iowa Tests®, have a whole subtest on just maps, charts, and diagram skills, while others, like the Stanford tests, tend to place these skills within other subjects like math or science.
Maps use reading to locate information, such as the correct state, city locations, and highways. They also use math to calculate distance between exits, length of the state, list elevations, populations, etc. And, of course, maps relate to geography, which relates very well to history.
Charts help students learn how to collect data. The students learn which data to put on the chart and which to leave out. Using symbols like a half-sun for warm days and a whole sun for hot days reinforces basic visual skills, especially with colors (blue for cold, orange for warm, red for hot).
Diagrams show patterns, cause and effect, and relationships, causing students to make sense out of all the data they have collected. A diagram can show a process in order of the steps (like a recipe). It can show connections between groups (e.g. drawing lines where people and favorite foods match, for example).
Our textbooks have plenty of charts and diagrams, but consider helping your student create some of his own too. Record folders are a handy tool for building a chart of test scores (and a good place for filing them). Try finding patterns and drawing conclusions with the test scores—often subjects that seem unrelated will list a similar skill, such as “analysis” or “organization.”
The goal is a strategy for solving problems. And school (and life, too!) is full of opportunities to solve problems:
Writing a research paper
- What information will you need?
- Where will you find it?
- How will you arrange it?
- What conclusions can you draw?
Doing a science project for a local fair
- What would you like to know more about?
- What detail can you prove or disprove?
- How will you test it?
- How will you measure results?
Planning a trip
- Where do you want to go?
- How much will it cost (gas, food, tickets, etc)?
- How long will it take to get there?
- What route will you take and what will the journey be like?
Students may complain that they will “never use that in real life” but you know they will. So use that. Look for examples in the curriculum that show “real life” scenarios. And turn real situations, such as a trip to the grocery store or a chore chart, into real learning.
Here are some of our favorite resources: