A Foxy Loxy and a Lallapalagram - Article

This was a very interesting articles pertaining to how there is a different language in the mathematical world, to the world of other subjects. Many of the students discussed in this article did not have English as a first language, many of them were learning it as a second or third language. So when the teachers would ask for specific information about a particular shape some students would answer in their native language. Students were able to say what a shape was, but were not able to speak about what the shape was mathematically called. For example, students knew square, but when the teacher turned it and held it by a corner, the students called it a diamond. Students were also not able to comprehend what was being explained to them when the teacher was explaining details to them.

I found it extremely interesting in the way that the students explanation of information to the teacher. They would state the different principles that a rectangle had, and the teacher would try and have them elaborate on what they stated. This way the students understood that they needed to use mathematical terms that were descriptive of what was being learned. For example students needed to explain what 'straight' meant and how they could expand on what they are trying to say.

Wilson, J. (2010). A foxy loxy and a lallapalagram. Teaching children mathematics 16(8), 492-499.