Time to Get Lit in Math

by Hannah Fortune

Classroom burn out is a real thing.

As a math teacher I work with students to teach them to be solution drive. I am solution drive so why not teach that to your students? In that, I also have to work with reading comprehension within the classroom as students are faced with more rigorous reading content in the math and science classrooms. It can be extremely frustrating and overwhelming at times to know that a student in a 3rd and up classroom can not read well, therefore you as an educator realize the hindrance it can potentially cause a student.

I am also facing it myself at times. However, when you decide to take ownership of your career, this is how you can help reduce your burn out, if not get rid of it. Why, because, choosing to break the mold and bend the rules is always more fun.

What could help solve this? Most teachers will say, a literacy station. I’ve heard teachers for years talk about putting a literacy station in the math classroom, but what does that mean and what does that look like? Literacy is reading but are the students actually going to read the books? Where is the accountability in that? Cross-curricular matters, but how you apply cross-curricular in the classroom makes the difference. With Amira you will have students read aloud, record their reading, and provide reports to help continue to drive instruction not just in the reading classroom but the math classroom. It also provides just that extra piece of data to supply committees with.

I invite you to look into Amira Learning. It is a reading program with an avatar that serves like a teacher. It will record students while they read and will create a running record. I got the grandiose idea to write a grant for the program to add into my math classroom. We know cross-curricular works, and we know most students are not able to practice reading aloud at home to build fluency so why not steal intentional time in the math and/or science classroom and help support students with their reading? This will not only support the RLA classroom, but all subject areas as well. The better the student’s fluency the better they will become at writing and reading comprehension. Once that foundation is more stable then the other subjects start to fall into place.

I am always looking to change and better my learning environment for not just myself but my students. If I am excited and passionate, they will be too. You never know, Amira Learning might be the breath of fresh air that you need and I hope it has given you more thought on how to better benefit your learners in a cross curricular way to enhance your subject matter’s instruction, like math and science.

If you are looking for something to put into your math class to help support word problem comprehension, look at Amira Learning.