Post 6

Children's Story Books and Math, Does it Add Up?

 A new trend in teaching math is linked to reading children's story books.  Teachers have been using childrens literature in the classroom to enhance the learning and enjoyment of many subjects for years.  But few teachers have incorporated it into their math curriculum.  

Today's teachers are seeing the value of sparking a child's mathematical imagination through literature.  The world of math comes alive and their wonder and creativity begins to flow.  This level of excitement is rarely seen when just a straight math lecture is given.  Books help to overcome the stigma that math is dull.  The characters and creativity in many books that focus on math, pull the students in and grab their attention.  This is a great transition for any teacher to then move into the math lesson.  The students are engaged and ready to learn. 

 Adding childrens literature to teaching math is also a great way to assist teachers who do not have a passion for math or feel comfortable teaching it.  A teacher whose passion or strengths are in language arts, can help increase their own confidence in teaching math with literature.  It is known fact that when you have a passion for something, your love of it can been seen in your actions.  On the flip side, often your fear or dislike can be seen as well.  When you are having fun, any topic is easier to teach or learn.  Your students will see your joy and excitement and pick up on the vibe too.

Researchers have found four important reasons to link math instruction to children's literature:

• It sparks children’s interest in learning mathematics.
  
  
• It provides context that bring meaning to mathematical ideas.
  
  
• It ties mathematics to another area of the curriculum.
  
  
• It supports student understanding through communication.
  

Math ideas and concepts are often abstract in the minds of many students.  By providing a forum for a teacher to read and then explain what math concept has just occurred, it creates an opportunity for students to ask questions and develop a deeper understanding of math.  By linking math and literature, you are creating a crossover of information.  The more often a crossover occurs, it strengthens the understanding of both subjects.  The stories that surround the math concepts in the books give meaning to the math they are learning.  It is no longer just numbers on a paper.  It helps them cross the gap from memorization of information to utilization. 

Scholastic books has picked up on this new trend in math and has partnered with Marilyn Burns to provide teachers resources for teaching math.  Marilyn has worked-hands on in classrooms and through her love of teaching, she has compiled the Marilyn Burns Classroom Math Libraries.  This is a collection of 125 books spanning the K-6 grades.  Here is the link to her library list which is broken down by grade.   Along with her link, I have provided other links below to help you build your math library and gain your buy-in of why linking math to childrens books adds up to success.

Why use childrens books to teach?

Best picture books to teach math

Math picture books

Effective math solutions

Using children's books to teach math