SELECTED WRITING BEHAVIORS OF 5TH GRADERS AS THEY COMPOSED ORIGINAL MATHEMATICS STORY PROBLEMS

This five-month study examined the writing behavior of 8 fifth-grade s tudents as they composed original mathematics story problems. An analy sis of observations indicated that students developed three strategies for writing story problems. First, students usually engaged in questi on-directed behavior during problem writing. After they identified the general problem topic, students generated the culminating question th at they then used to guide composition of the problem text. At other t imes, students used a free association strategy: They generated their information by making associations with the general topic, wrote the p roblem text, and then identified the culminating question. Finally, al l students developed techniques to make their problems more difficult. Overall, the analysis of students, problem writing behavior contribut es to an understanding of the story-problem writing process. The study further suggests that students may be able to collaborate effectively with teachers in writing the mathematics curriculum.