Incorporating Mathematical Elements Into Literary Study by Sara Lehn

The "M" in STEAM

saragittelman — 2025-07-31 20:28:43 UTC

As an English teacher, math isn't something I spend too much time on. However, within my English class environment, here are a few ideas for how it might be considered:

Math is a quantitative tool for analysis. It provides a way to weight and measure consistency or frequency, allowing for more specific claims rather than an overall impression. For example, we can quantify the specific patterns of usage of certain literary elements within a text rather than just saying that there is "a lot."
Math can provide a lens through which to create structural pattern recognition, especially in a study of poetry. I often tell students that metrical scansion, or the process of breaking down the meter and structure of a poem, is the "math of English class."

M for IntiMidation

saragittelman — 2025-07-31 20:32:19 UTC

I have never had a particularly orderly or quantitative mind. As a reader and thinker, I tend to take a more cerebral and interpretive approach, and I prefer questions that don't have definitive answers. All of this means that math was never an area of interest for me, nor was it a particularly strong subject when I was in school. While I do teach some structural elements in English class, such as poetic meter, I prefer broader, more conceptual questions.

3 Math Ideas for Senior English

saragittelman — 2025-07-31 20:40:49 UTC

Data Analysis and Visualization: This would be a lesson I might incorporate into my AP Literature class. Students would look at two or more texts and compare the use of a specific literary element in those texts. They can use digital tools or manual counting and then create a spreadsheet or graph representing the use of their specific literary elements. This would be a great way to provide a structured and focused close-reading exercise.
Patterns in Poetry: Students would study a well-structured poem like a sonnet and use the metrical structure and patterns to map the sonnet. They would complete a metrical scansion of the poem and then calculate the percentage of the poem that adheres strictly to the "rules" for a traditional sonnet structure or graph their findings.
Mapping the Unconventional: Students would analyze a piece of unconventionally structured text. This would work nicely when we study Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, which develops something of a spiral-shaped structure. Students would track specific elements of the text, like character movement, physical setting, etc., and then consider how that fits a geometric shape like a spiral or set of concentric circles.

What are other teachers doing?

saragittelman — 2025-07-31 20:45:49 UTC

Many English teachers incorporate math elements into their study of poetry, including counting syllables, stanzas, or lines per stanza.
For those of my colleagues who teach more nonfiction texts, especially in preparation for the 11th grade English Regents, they may incorporate nonfiction pieces on math-related topics when teaching rhetorical analysis and development of argument. Many of these nonfiction articles include charts, graphs, and statistics.

Other Resources

saragittelman — 2025-07-31 20:51:26 UTC

While not specifically intended for ELA, this website has some great ideas for cross-curricular projects. I particularly like the idea of using geometry to design a fictional world based on the setting of a book: https://mamateaches.com/math-project-ideas-for-high-school/
Although intended for slightly younger students (K-8), this resource has some really interesting ideas for incorporating math into literary study: https://www.nctm.org/publications/exploringmath/