Math Book-Writing Project

After completing a graphic organizer for their research, students worked in pairs to write a six-chapter book. They included the job description, math connection, education required, and compensation. In addition, students had to list any famous people with the job and create a glossary and citations page.

For differentiation, advanced projects had a seventh chapter that students determined and researched. This project definitely required technology as their books were typed into Microsoft Word, and then exported to a PDF for sharing.

Some jobs that students covered included: stockbroker, architect, attorney, physician, aerospace engineer, robotics engineer, epidemiologist, teacher, loan officer, nuclear engineer, national security analyst, and computer engineer. Below you can see all of the hard work they did!

1. Define the roles of each partner
This year I had students work in partners, partly because the school year was almost over and partly because I did not want to grade 40 books. That worked well, though in the future I would want to define the roles of each person for each chapter of the book. For example, one may type while the other edits and revises the typed or drafted chapter.

2. Add more time to complete the book
This year, we only had 2 to 3 weeks to research and publish the book. That timeline was too aggressive, especially because it was only done during my math class. Next year, I want to devote 4 to 6 weeks to get a quality project.

3. Collaborate with other teachers
Next year I hope to collaborate with the ELA teacher so together we can assign the project. This will require grade-level planning well in advance to make sure our schedules can accommodate the tasks that this project will require. In addition, I will reach out to the technology special teacher so students can use their special time to work on the project. 

4. Add videos to the mix of research
One thing I realized is that while my students are really bright, their limited life experiences made it difficult to fully comprehend a job description just by reading about it. I supplemented their learning with YouTube videos that explained what each job entailed. This was extra work on my part, but it really helped them understand the job and its responsibilities. Next year, I will find these videos BEFORE they start writing, so that they are writing with understanding. (Note: I would not suggest allowing elementary students to find their own videos because there is a lot of content out there that may not be suitable.)