Academics · Subject Resources

Math words,
in your own words.

Math has a language, and many mistakes are vocabulary mistakes: numerator for denominator, mean for median. Make a card for each new word with the book’s definition, your own version, examples and non-examples. The glossary tells you when your own words are just the book’s words again, when a card has no non-example and which words to look at again, and prints a study sheet.

Add a termWhat you get

Glossary

The worked example is made up: denominator for grades 3 to 5, slope for algebra with a copied definition, and median with a mean as the non-example. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Academics · Subject ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A card per term: strand, grade band and unit; the definition and your own words; a symbol; examples and non-examples with reasons; related words, a word it is confused with and how sure you are. Measures how much your own words copy the definition, flags missing non-examples and low confidence, and prints a study sheet per card or the whole glossary in a table.
Who it is for
Students in grades 3 to 12 learning new math vocabulary, and the parents, tutors and teachers who help them.
Format
Browser glossary with a saved card per term. Prints a study sheet, the full card, the whole glossary in a table or a blank card; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Subject Resources space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add a word when it shows up in class.
  2. Copy the definition, then write your own.
  3. Add an example and a non-example.
  4. Name the word it is easy to mix up.
  5. Print the sheet before a test.

Add a term

Why math vocabulary matters

Six steps for learning a math word1Hear it explainedA description and an examplefrom the teacher or book2Restate itIn your own words, not thebook’s3Draw itA picture, symbol or diagramof your own4Use itExamples, non-examples andproblems that need the word5Talk about itExplain it to a classmate andlisten to theirs6Come back to itReview the card a few dayslater, then againSix steps for learning a math word1Hear it explainedA description and an example from theteacher or book2Restate itIn your own words, not the book’s3Draw itA picture, symbol or diagram of your own4Use itExamples, non-examples and problems thatneed the word5Talk about itExplain it to a classmate and listen totheirs6Come back to itReview the card a few days later, thenagain
Restating in your own words is the step that shows whether you understand it.

Words carry the idea

A student who reads “find the median” and computes the mean has done the arithmetic right and the problem wrong. Many word problems and test items depend on precise terms.

The card layout

The four boxes, definition, characteristics in your words, examples and non-examples, are the Frayer model, used in classrooms since 1969. Non-examples are the box students skip and the one that sharpens the idea most.

Space it out

Coming back to a card after a few days, then after a week, helps more than reading it many times in one night. The confidence scale tells you which cards to come back to first.

Sources

  1. Frayer, D. A., Frederick, W. C., & Klausmeier, H. J. (1969). A Schema for Testing the Level of Concept Mastery. Wisconsin Research and Development Center for Cognitive Learning.
  2. Marzano, R. J. (2004). Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement. ASCD (the six-step process for vocabulary).
  3. Riccomini, P. J., Smith, G. W., Hughes, E. M., & Fries, K. M. (2015). The language of mathematics: The importance of teaching and learning mathematical vocabulary. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 31(3), 235–252.
  4. Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380.

The worked example is made up. Definitions vary a little between textbooks; use the one your class uses. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.