Page 27 - Mathematics GRADE 9, DE-STREAMED (MTH1W)

Connecting
Experiences that allow all students to make connections – to understand, for example, how knowledge, concepts, and skills from one strand of mathematics are related to those from another – will support students in grasping general mathematical principles. Through making connections, students learn that mathematics is more than a series of isolated skills and concepts and that they can use their learning in one area of mathematics to understand another, and to understand other disciplines. Recognizing
the relationships between representations, concepts, and procedures also supports the development of deeper mathematical understanding. In addition, making connections between the mathematics they learn at school and its significance in their everyday lives supports students in deepening their understanding of mathematics and allows them to understand how useful and relevant it is in the world beyond the classroom.
Communicating
Communication is an essential process in learning mathematics. Students communicate for various purposes and for different audiences, such as the teacher, a peer, a group of students, the whole class, a community member or group, or their family. They may use oral, visual, written, or gestural communication. Students also acquire the language of mathematics and develop their communication skills, which includes expressing, understanding, and using appropriate mathematical terminology, symbols, conventions, and models, through meaningful interactions with each other.
For example, teachers can ask students to:
• illustrate their mathematical understanding in various ways, such as with diagrams and representations;
• share and clarify their ideas, understandings, and solutions;
• create and defend mathematical arguments;
• provide meaningful descriptive feedback to peers;
• pose and ask relevant questions.
Communication also involves active listening and responding mindfully with an awareness of socio- cultural contexts. Using Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy, teachers provide opportunities for all students to contribute to discussions about mathematics in the classroom. Effective classroom communication requires a supportive and inclusive environment in which all members of the class are invited to participate and are valued when they speak and when they question, react to, and elaborate on the statements of their peers and the teacher.
Representing
Students represent mathematical ideas and relationships and model situations using tools,
pictures, diagrams, graphs, tables, numbers, words, and symbols. Some students may also be able to use
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