Page 48 - Mathematics GRADE 9, DE-STREAMED (MTH1W)

• draw on their additional language(s) (e.g., some newcomer students may use technology to access mathematical terminology and ways of solving problems in their first language), prior learning experiences, and background knowledge in mathematics;
• learn new mathematical concepts in authentic, meaningful, and familiar contexts;
• engage in open and parallel tasks to allow for multiple entry points for learning;
• work in a variety of settings that support co-learning and multiple opportunities for practice (e.g.,
with partners or in small groups with same-language peers, as part of cooperative or
collaborative learning, in group conferences);
• access the language of instruction during oral, written, and multimodal instruction and
assessment, during questioning, and when encountering texts, learning tasks, and other activities
in mathematics;
• use oral language in different strategically planned activities, such as “think-pair-share”, “turn-
and-talk”, and “adding on”, to express their ideas and engage in mathematical discourse;
• develop both everyday and academic vocabulary, including specialized mathematics vocabulary in
context, through rephrasing and recasting by the teacher and through using student-developed
bilingual word banks or glossaries;
• practise using sentence frames adapted to their English-language proficiency levels to describe
concepts, provide reasoning, hypothesize, make judgements, and explain their thinking;
• use a variety of concrete and/or digital learning tools to demonstrate their learning in
mathematics in multiple ways (e.g., orally, visually, kinesthetically), through a range of representations (e.g., portfolios, displays, discussions, models), and in multiple languages (e.g., multilingual word walls and anchor charts);
• have their learning assessed in terms of the processes they use in multiple languages, both during the learning and through teachers’ observations and conversations.
Strategies used to differentiate instruction and assessment for English language learners in the mathematics classroom also benefit many other learners in the classroom, since programming is focused on leveraging all students’ strengths, meeting learners where they are in their learning, being aware of language demands in mathematics, and making learning visible. For example, different cultural approaches to solve mathematical problems can help students make connections to the Ontario curriculum and provide classmates with alternative ways of solving problems.
English language learners in English Literacy Development (ELD) programs require accelerated support to develop both their literacy skills and their numeracy skills. These students have significant gaps in their education because of limited or interrupted opportunities for or access to schooling. In order to build a solid foundation of mathematics, they are learning key mathematical concepts missed in prior years. At the same time, they are learning the academic language of mathematics in English while not having acquired developmentally appropriate literacy skills in their first language. Programming for these students is therefore highly differentiated and intensive. These students often require focused support over a longer period than students in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. The use of students’ oral competence in languages other than English is a non-negotiable scaffold. The strategies described above, such as the use of visuals, the development of everyday and academic vocabulary, the
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