Mathematics and the Portuguese language: A proposal for reading and interpreting mathematical problems

It is known that there is a significant number of students who have difficulties in solving mathematical problems. This can be explained by many factors, but what often happens is that the biggest challenge lies in reading and interpreting the proposed situation. Based on this, a mini course was designed and implemented which, combining the subjects of Mathematics and Portuguese Language, was dedicated to working with reading and understanding mathematical texts, mainly on issues involving logical reasoning, in order to develop reading and interpretation skills. text to help solve problems. Questions involving logical reasoning are not always part of the curriculum of mathematics or Portuguese language subjects, however, they are broad questions that enable debates and analyzes from different aspects, work with specific reading and interpretation skills and can also be related to the reality of the world. student. In mathematics, activities that present texts involve the relationship between two languages: words and mathematical symbols and, currently, it is common to find contextualized questions, with longer statements that require attention, concentration and the development of problem-solving skills. Therefore, the proposal that integrates the two areas assumed an important role in the training of high school students. The mini course was offered after students' regular classes, with 20 places available, in two meetings in which challenging questions, texts and discussions, riddles and, at the end, a questionnaire for evaluation were addressed. When working with the problem-solving methodology through texts and logical reasoning questions, it was noticed that the students developed some reading and interpretation skills, which facilitated the resolution of mathematical problems.