This 100-page book describes writing as an opportunity for middle and high school students to construct their own knowledge of mathematics. It gives examples of writing activities that teachers of mathematics can use to improve students' mathematical reasoning and understanding.

This book is intended to be a resource to help teachers incorporate writing into their mathematics classes. Since the examples of student work come from middle and high school, this book is most useful for teachers of mathematics at these levels. It is designed for a continuum of teachers, from those who have never included writing as part of their teaching, to those who already emphasize writing in mathematics. Portions of this book may also be used to garner support from administrators, parents and students for using this strategy to help students learn mathematics.

The book contains a variety of specific writing ideas and strategies which teachers can apply immediately, as well as a thoughtful rationale and a collection of student work samples to support each suggestion or strategy. The writing is clear and free of jargon. The author emphasizes the connection between writing and understanding-hence, the title of the book.

Writing to Learn Mathematics is organized into eight brief chapters. After the first chapter, which provides a rationale for writing in mathematics classes and an excellent section comparing the process of mathematics to the process of writing, the book is organized according to writing activities. The "Getting Started" chapter discusses free-writing, learning logs, and other informal, short writing tasks. Other chapters discuss mathematical autobiographies, journals, word problems and more formal writing, such as term papers. The summaries and main points are often set apart textually with bullets, making them easy to locate and understand.

Overall, this book would be a very useful resource for middle and high school teachers who would like to include more writing within their mathematics curriculum.

Writing to Learn Mathematics could be used in professional development in a variety of ways. It could be read by individual teachers or used in a study group, where teachers could support one another in implementing Countryman's ideas. A professional development provider could also incorporate many of the techniques into a program designed to help teachers improve their understanding of mathematics content and teaching strategies.

A comprehensive bibliography at the end of the book provides a starting place for the reader who is interested in learning more about writing in general or the integration of writing and mathematics. However, readers should note that because this book was published in 1992, they might wish to supplement the bibliography with more recent publications.