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Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and
extend access to Middle School Journal
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MSJ
hanging society and expanding technol arts then use that enthusiasm and creativity to further
increasing demands, most school dis and enhances both language arts and mathematical
tricts have not increased the length of problem-solving instruction. The language arts activities
the school day nor the number of days in the school serve as a springboard for problem solving. The mathe
year. This creates quite a dilemma for teachers: Given matical problem-solving activities build upon and rein
the same number of student contact hours each week,
While those same teachers are struggling with how story for additional information that is necessary to
to teach all of the necessary content, they also are strug solve the problem. In addition, this coordination of lan
gling with another dilemmateaching mathematics. guage arts and mathematics helps to open students'
Some middle school teachers even admit that they do eyes to the world of mathematical thinking that sur
not like math or that they are "no good at math." Yet, rounds everyday storybook characters, thereby making
many of them are required to teach middle level math mathematics seem more relevant to their lives.
ematics skills. To make matters worse, one of the most
dreaded parts of the middle school mathematics cur National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the
riculum is problem solving. Those two little words National Council of Teachers of English both support
problem solvingstrike terror in the hearts of many stu language-intensive mathematics instruction. According
dents and adults. Unfortunately for students, a teacher's to Charlesworth & Lind (1995), "the whole language
distaste for mathematics is frequently, and perhaps philosophy and the whole language approach to com
unknowingly, transferred to the students, thereby com munication are major elements in the integrated math
pleting the viscous cycle.
experience pure delight in reading and language arts lessons, several factors must be taken into considera
activities. By integrating language arts and mathematical tion when planning the lessons. One of the factors cru
problem solving, we believe we can successfully harness cial to a successful lesson is the selection of an appro
a teacher's enthusiasm for and creativity in the language priate literature book. Appropriate literature books
Nancy Armstrong Melser is an assistant professor of elementary education at Ball State University, Muncie,
Indiana.
Annette Ricks Leitze is an associate professor of mathematical sciences at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.
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big bad pig to a big good pig and all four characters live
instruction.
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1987a, p. T-33)?
1987b, p. T-33)?
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. Notice sim
left. Next the white wolf washed one half of the win
dows that were left. Finally, the pig washed the last
house. Colleen had six jars of jams and jellies left for
1987a, p. T-35)?
1987a, p. T-35)?
the food pack down from the tree where they had
hung it, and ate one half of the food that was left.
4. Once the three wolves and the big good pig had
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Figure 1
Figure 2
for the students. The next step is to read the book alo
day so that you may teach the language arts lesson and
Anderson and Lapp (1992), there are four ways that chil
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Figure 3
New story
3 Pigs
3 Wolves
Bad wolf
Bad pig
story? How did this compare with the final setting? For
(Figure 1).
As the students create the web of actions and feel
wolves feel when the first house was blown away? How
did the pig feel about the same situation? What did the
wolves value in the story? Was this the same thing that
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Figure 4
Problem-solving lesson
Before
+ 60 = 120.
During
While students are working on their solutions, your
say they are finished, you will want to be sure they have
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Figure 5
Closing Thoughts
Connecting language arts and mathematics can be
References
Anderson, P. S., & Lapp, D. (1992). Language skills in elementary
education. (5th ed.). New York: Macmillan.
After
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