Using Math to Teach EnglishRationaleRationale (cont.)Basic Numbers & MathBasic Math activityMath Games and other fun stuff for students & parentsPersonal/Family FinanceMacroeconomicsBasic Business MathInventory word problemMileage Expense ReportPayroll – reading the pay stub plusStatisticsJust Ask JeevesCreate a graph in ExcelDemographicsActivities with InfopleaseAnother great stats siteMore Math web linksMeasurementsSportsUsing Math to Teach EnglishArmen. HovhannesCity College of San [email protected] www.ccsf.edu/shovanesCATESOLApril 2006RationaleRelevance: Math is related to everything in life. The so-called “new new” math, or “whole math”, especially emphasizes this. Math is about problem solving in real-world situations.Economics/Finance – Personal/Family/Business/MacroeconomicsParenting – Assisting kids with homeworkBrainstorm others here:Rationale (cont.)Many students have strong mathematical intelligence.math intelligence is an untapped resource in the ESL classroomMany adult students have a lot of math schema in their L1Math is an international language that communicates meaning. Many immigrant students in community college have academic/career goals in fields involving math/science/business.Math is largely missing from most ESL courses/curricula/materialsBasic Numbers & MathBasic math operations vocabulary and expressionsAddition, subtraction, multiplication, divisionHow to say “plus”, “minus”, “equals”, etc.How to pose the questions, i.e., “How much is ...?”Percents and fractionsDecimals and commasNote that the use of the point as decimal marker varies in different countries. Make sure S’s are clear on the use of the point and the comma in the US.How to say large numbersHow to say numbers with decimalsGo beyond just reciting/repeating the numbers. Spice up your curriculum with some math basics in EnglishBasic Math activityMath DictationIn the classroom, use calculatorsOr, use Excel in the computer lab.Math Games and other fun stuff for students & parentsGames with math and numbersMath Bingos Beat the calculatorNumber guessing games “I’m thinking of a number...”Web sites – just a couple of examplesFigure thisAt Home with MathEducation Place Brain TeasersPersonal/Family FinanceThis is a real favorite with students. I’ve done it in various ways. Here’s one: Introduce concept and terminology of budgeting. Students brainstorm expense categories. (Food, Rent, Transportation, etc.) This is excellent for generating vocabulary.  They can use real, estimated, or fantasy (ex. My Dream Budget) figures. They enter their information in a worksheet. (Here is an example.)They make a Pie Chart of their expenses. This is an example of the same student’s expense chart.MacroeconomicsBudgeting for the larger communityHow would you spend $100 billion?Basic Business MathInventoryExpense logPayroll and taxesWhat’s the sales tax?Inventory word problemThe worksheet might look something like this.You work in the bookstore. You have to do an inventory of some new books. You count the books and find that you have 85 copies of Side by Side2, 120 copies of Focus on Grammar, and 165 copies of Going Places Book 1. Side by Side costs 21.95 each. Focus on Grammar costs 25.49. Going Places costs 19.35. 1.What is the total cost of all the books? ____________2.How many total books are there? _____________Mileage Expense ReportPayroll – reading the pay stub plusJ&J Construction Period: 2/1/2004 Employee Name Jay Adams Employee ID 1 Tax Status 1 Hours Worked 35Hourly Rate $10.00 Overtime Rate $15.00 Sick Hours 1Social Security Tax $32.13 Federal Income Tax $127.50 Vacation Hours 0Medicare Tax $7.40 State Tax $11.73 Overtime Hours 10Insurance Deduction $40.00 Union Dues $20.00 Gross Pay $510.00Total Taxes and Regular Deductions $238.76 Total Taxes and Deductions $238.76 Net Pay $271.25StatisticsClass surveysJust Ask JeevesThough Jeeves, himself, has retired, you can still use ask.com to find information by writing regular English questions. Students get to practice writing wh-questions.Create a graph in ExcelStudents compile their data from the Ask.com exercise into a chart. They also do a writing activity, describing the data using comparatives/superlatives.DemographicsInfoplease.com/countriesActivities with InfopleaseAnother great stats sitewww.nationmaster.comThese stats are great for guessing games!More Math web linksHelping your Children learn Mathhttp://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/index.html Good examples of math activities common in “whole math” curricula. The Math Forum @ Drexel Universityhttp://mathforum.org/ Good resource on everything in math ed for teachers, students, parents, and everyone else.MeasurementsArea, Distance, Temperature, Speed, othersVolumes, weights, sizeSportsSports StatsWho’s the most underpaid player in MLB today? (according to some commentator guy I just heard on TV) but then this is just an example of what you can do: You hear this stuff all the time, so the more current, the better. Questions relating to sports salaries are of interest even to the non-sports