Teaching Reading in Mathematics (2000). Barton, M. L. & Heidema, C. Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, Aurora, CO. (58 pages). The book may be ordered from Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (303-337-0900) or www.mcrel.org.

The authors' purposes are to help teachers understand the complex skills needed by students in reading mathematics textbooks and to provide teachers strategies for developing the needed reading skills in math. The information is designed primarily for use by preservice and inservice teachers in the area of mathematics. This book supplements the Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: If Not Me, Then Who? (TRCA Teacher's Manual).

The book is divided into five main sections. In the first section, the authors discuss how the reader interacts with the classroom climate and text features in constructing an understanding of the mathematical concepts. This section provides some detail to examine how sentence structure, vocabulary usage, types of writing used in the organization of the text, and organizational patterns followed for problem solving affect the reader's comprehension of the topic. In the second section, the authors discuss the application of strategic processing skills needed by the readers to plan, monitor, and evaluate their comprehension of the text. Barton and Heidema provide specific examples of how strategies used in other content areas can be applied to mathematics and recommend procedures teachers can use to promote these metacognitive processes. The third section, regarding strategic teaching, details a general instructional framework that can be used by teachers to select and present critical content in mathematics. The fourth section reminds the reader of the six assumptions educational learning theory holds about learning and refers the reader to TRCA Teacher's Manual for further discussion of the topic. The fifth section provides 25 specific reading strategies that can be used explicitly in mathematics classrooms. The authors organized the strategies around the common goals of developing vocabulary, reading informational text, and reflecting on learning. In addition, the authors provided numerous examples of the strategies applied to mathematics and refer the reader to the TRCA Teacher's Manual for further discussion of details for the strategy. At the end of the book, the authors include a bibliography that teachers may wish to use as a reference for further study.

Barton and Heidema present a concise version of how to teach reading comprehension for mathematics textbooks. In their book, they described mathematics texts as typically written in a "very terse or compact style." The reader will find that their book follows a similar style. The authors present a wealth of information in a few pages. Their writing style is direct, systematic, and geared for easy application to the math classroom if the reader has a background of the knowledge presented in the TRCA Teacher's Manual. To assist teachers in connecting to their classroom practices, the authors provide a wide right margin which teachers may use for jotting notes. This book could be especially useful to teams of teachers who are attempting to improve the reading comprehension of their students within the context of the mathematics classroom.

This book may also provide some guidance for those charged with selecting new mathematic textbooks. By comparing and contrasting the reader-friendly features of possible textbooks and the application of the strategies evident in the teacher's manuals, teachers and administrators may make more informed decisions regarding their textbooks purchases. These decisions can ultimately affect the ease with which their students acquire mathematical knowledge.