Journal Article - Turning the Mathematics Classroom into an Intellectual Playground Using Poetry

To start, this article, written by John E. Hammett III, I thought was a perfect choice for relating to our process standard of connections. The article implies the importance of connections right in the title, by implying the connection of mathematics and poetry. The author begins by introducing the appropirate poetry, and more importantly how it can be used inside the mathematics classroom (specifying that the most appropriate classrooms to use this form of connections in are at the middle school level). The author moves on to provide an array of varying examples of successful integration of poetry inside the mathematics classroom, offering up examples of historical mathematical poems, and various poetic mathematical illustrations created by students. Hammett closes by suggesting opitonal instructional methods for the classroom implelmentation of this particular idea, and even offers two seperate examples of mathematics poem problems.

As outlined in my previoius posting, the NCTM has identified three major ideas in their process standards - connections section. While I will not reiterate all three concepts, I would like to reiterate the one that I feel applies best to this particular article. That being, students should be able to use connections to apply mathematical ideas in other subject and life skills areas outside of the mathematics classroom. By suggesting that studnets can use poetry to help them connect with and solve mathematical problems and concepts, Hammett is proving to be a direct advocate of this particular idea. His examples of poem problems show the benefits of moving math somewhere outside of the math classroom, and allowing students to take a subject or concept that they may struggle with or simple find to be unappealing, and connect it to antoher subject area in which they may excell or enjoy. This will mutually benefit both the student and the teacher, as the student will be able to make legitimate outside connections with mathematics to further their understanding of the concepts. This in turn will aid the teacher in teaching these same concepts.