Writing+to+Learn

**Solving Equalities with Variables on Each Side.** I will be teaching a class on lesson 7-1: Solving Equalities with Variables on Each Side. First I would go through the lesson and teach the students how to solve these equations. I would use the introductory lesson in the book as a guideline and use the examples given, along with a few of my own. __ ** First WAC ** __ After I finish teaching the subject, I would have students take out their Math Journals and summarize, in their own words, the key definitions and points of the lesson. I would want students to learn how to pull out the useful information and weed through the superfluous information.

For this particular lesson I would hope they at least pull out these two essential points: I would then call on a few students randomly to have them tell the class what they found to be the most important information. The students will be able to see how others are pulling out the pertinent information. When students are first learning how to summarize, I would also have summarized the lesson myself, so I can model to the students how I think they should be doing this. After we go over the summarizing, I would then assign the students specific problems in the lesson to perform in class. For their homework, I would give them a few writing prompts that they can choose to write about in their journals which we would discuss the next day. These are some prompts I would use: 1. “What did I find the most difficult part of the lesson today? What questions do I want to ask the teacher tomorrow? 2. “If my friend was absent from class today, how would I explain to her through, words and examples, what we covered in class today?” 3. Solve this problem and write out in detail what you did for each step and what properties you used and why: 2x - 6 = 7x + 24
 * One must use the Subtraction and Addition Property of Equality to write an equivalent equation with the variables on one side.
 * They should write out a sample (i.e. 2x + 3 = 5x), and solve it. Then show how they would check the answer they found.
 * Second WAC**

__ How these strategies help students: __
 * Summarizing: ** Summarizing the information in their own words helps students understand what they know and what they don't know. If they are having trouble summarizing something because they don’t understand the concept, they then know they need to reread the information. This helps put the reader in charge of their own learning.


 * Journaling: ** Journaling is a great way to help students gain confidence in their writing. They are learning how to take concepts and turn them into their own words and reflect upon them. Also, math involves many chronological steps, so students learn how to organize their thoughts and order them in sequence. Journaling also helps the student evaluate his or her understanding of the topic. The individual has to think about what he or she learned in order to communicate it in writing. By doing this, one gains insight into his or her own understanding of the problem solving process. Math is then no longer a task of simply following the steps. A student now has to use critical thinking into why one using a certain method to solve a problem.