This document discusses strategies for integrating reading comprehension strategies into math instruction. It describes how comprehension difficulties exist in both reading and math, and how strategies like making connections, visualizing, using number stories, predicting, and inferring can be explicitly taught in math. Specific strategies are defined, like anticipation guides and the KWL chart. Examples are provided for how to use these strategies to improve comprehension in math for students in first grade.

1. MATH
It Should Really
Just Make
Sense!
Integrating Comprehension Strategies into
Mathematics Instruction-Part I
February 2013 Grantsburg School District
Billie Rengo-Literacy Coach

2. COMPREHENSION
 Comprehension
difficulties exist both in
reading and in math.
 Students might appear
to understand
mathematical
operations.
 Memorization vs.
understanding
 All of our
comprehension
strategies we use in (Hyde, 2008) (Sammons, 2010)
reading can explicitly be
taught in math

3. MAKING CONNECTIONS
 KWL
 Anticipation guides
 Frayer model
 Math-to-self
connections
 Math-to-math
connections
 Math-to-world
connections Image credit: makingconnectionsgroup.blogspot.com
(Sammons, 2010)

6. Anticipation
guides, described
by Laney
Sammons in
“Guided Math: A
Framework for
Mathematics
Education,” help
you assess
student prior
knowledge and
design instruction.
(Sammons, 2010)

7. Visualizing
 Visualize to
understand the
problem
 Visualize to represent
the problem
mathematically
 Every mathematical
symbol should be Image credit: teacherweb.com
connected to a
concrete
representation
(Hyde, 2008)

8. Number Story
Example
When the Grantsburg
Pirates come out onto
the court at the
beginning of a game, the
starting five are
announced. Each player
slaps a high five to each
other player. What is the
total number of high
fives slapped by the
starting five players? Image credit: www.presspubs.com
You count one high five
when two players slap
high fives with each
other. (Hyde, 2008)

9. K (What do I know?) W (What do I want to C (Are there any
find out?) special conditions?)
(Hyde, 2008)

10. Image credit:
An example of a number maplelawndental.com
story involving inferring
Mrs. Melin’s daughter Alivia just got
her first tooth. Mrs. Melin is so glad
that she bursts into tears at the very
thought of it! In the last complete
week, she used up 6 little packets of
tissues per day. Each packet had 12
tissues in it.
Before solving the problem, create a
question to end the story…
(Hyde, 2008)

11. K (What do I know?) W (What do I want to C (Are there any
find out?) special conditions?)
(Hyde, 2008)

12. PREDICTING
 Math is the science of
patterns
 37, 47, 57, ___, ___,
87, ___, ___
 ____ + ____=____
 Our goal is to teach
students to identify and
complete patterns
 Predictions should be
based on evidence

13. PREDICTING IN PROBABILITY…
 Scenario:
 Divide the class up into groups of 3-4
students
 Each student has a role (supplier,
grabber, recorder, and reporter) Image credit: mathcoachblog.wordpress.com
 Each group is given an index card with a
letter S-Z (which is taped to the table)
 Suppliers come up and get a bag with a
letter.
 The teacher says “Inside your bag are
10 cubes, some red, some blue, some
yellow.” (He/she then pulls out one of
each color and drops it back in the bag).
“You are not to look in the bag. Instead,
you must take out 1 cube, record its
color, and drop it back in the bag. Do
this 25 times. Then analyze your data
and predict how many of each color are
in the bag.”
 The group analyzes the results together
and the reporter shares the group’s
thinking with the class.
(Hyde, 2008)

14. INFERRING
In problem solving, teach students to re-
examine their K-W-C to identify inferences (go
through it line by line)
Inferences can cause inaccuracies
(ex. A car travels at an average of 45 mph.
A student might infer that it went 45 mph.)
(Hyde, 2008)

15. PROBLEMS FOR 1ST GRADE
Examples of problems that require inferring…
1. Kathy has 17 juicy jelly beans and Lenny has 8. How many more juicy
jelly beans does Kathy have than Lenny?
2. Sally has 12 cookies and Kevin has 9. How many fewer does Kevin
have than Sally?
3. Mary has 6 Britney Spears CDs. Alice has 3 more than Mary does.
How many CDs does Alice have?
4. Henry has 4 Rambo DVDs. He has 2 fewer than Alan does. How many
Rambo DVDs does Alan have?
5. Daly has 7 florescent gel-pens. He has 3 more than Laura does. How
many florescent gel-pens does Laura have?
6. Danny has 8 markers. Larry has 4 fewer than Danny does. How many
markers does Larry have?
(Hyde, 2008)

16. REFERENCES
 Hyde, A. A. (2008). Comprehending math, adapting reading
strategies to teach mathematics, k-6. Greenwood International.
 Sammons, L. (2010). Guided math: a framework for mathematics
instruction. Huntington Beach, CA: Shell Education.