Pulling Teeth and Getting Blood from Turnips

The task before me is like pulling teeth and getting blood from turnips! OK--well maybe it's not quite that bad. I have been working today with students on writing answers to math problems; not just the kind of math problem where you give the answer in one or two words, but those that say "Show your work." and "Explain your thinking." These are the kind of problems we frequently find on standardized tests.

We start by making an effort to understand the problem. This usually means reading it over a couple of times at least. We then define the specific question(s) that we must have an answer to. We look at what information is already given to us in the problem and decide what operations/methods will be used to solve the problem. All this is mapped out on scratch paper, not yet ready for the final draft.

If we get to the point where we get a correct answer, we feel pretty good about ourselves and are tempted to communicate that particular answer with just two or three words. But there I am with my turnip juicer and tooth pullers insisting that everyone must now write in great detail how they arrived at their answer. Then we look back to make sure it isn't just details and explanation, but that a clear statement answers the direct questions that were asked.

Many students find this to be a hard process. Writing and language tasks may not come easily to them. In their minds, they consider tasks like this to be appropriate for language arts classes, but not math. They want to give up. And there I am with my dental tools and juicer as well as any incentives I can come up with.

Slowly but surely, I start to see some improvement. I have modeled how to answer these questions what seems like a bazillion times. And I see my students beginning to write just one more detail or begin to show their work. The process of organizing their thoughts into words to explain how a problem is solved is starting to show through.

Model, think aloud, model some more. Practice, practice, practice. I hope and pray that it works!