Why Not?

Math and Literature
by Adele Owatz

Adele Owatz is a grade two/three teacher at Westmount school in Moose Jaw and has participated on the Saskatchewan team for the Western Canadian Protocol Mathematics Materials Evaluation.

With the time crunch felt in many classrooms, using quality literature and integrating subjects will allow for more exploration time in content areas. The students will focus on and explore literature from a different perspective. As teachers, we know how easy it is to interest children in a good story. There is no better steppingstone to gaining students’ interest as well as leaving them with something concrete to refer back to. The Language Arts Curriculum requires that students listen, speak, read and write daily. Through the integration of subject areas, students will have more opportunity to practice all these skills.

You will easily be able to differentiate between concept books and good storybooks that can be used to explore mathematical concepts. Concept books such as 1,2,3, and shape books all have their place in beginning reading as well as to introduce simple math concepts, but students need good stories as well in order to learn how to predict and anticipate.

As well as using quality literature as an introduction to manipulatives, you can also use math journals to respond to literature. Math journals can be used to:

    1. stimulate dialogue between students and teachers
    2. be a part of a portfolio assessment tool
    3. allow students to clarify their thoughts about a topic
    4. formulate problems for others
    5. develop pattern writing based on a mathematical topic
    6. allow teachers to informally assess a student’s understanding of a topic
    7. allow teachers to assess their teaching of a particular topic.

The book Something From Nothing by Phoebe Gilman can be used with students from years one to five by changing the expectations you hope to develop from the provincial mathematics curriculum. The following objectives are taken directly from the Saskatchewan curriculum document.

 
  P-1 Problem Solving  
    - interpreting pictures  
    - drawing diagrams  
    - using number sentences  
    - recognizing hidden information  
  P-8 Create problems similar to those solved  
  D-6 g. Timeline  
  N-11 Building a pattern  
  N-21 Use ordinals to describe and order an arrangement  
  N-43 Use the term plus to add an event  
  N-89 Concept of fractions  
  M-5 Compare, estimate, then measure and record  
    (a) centimetres  
  M-13 Solve a variety of problems involving area  

 

 

Each of the following books are enjoyable as stories on their own. Each contains at least one strand from the mathematics curriculum that you could explore with a class after reading the book. A list of books to use with a math class can now be found in the new teacher’s manuals that have been developed for a hands-on integrated approach to mathematics such as those by Ginn, Gage, and Addison-Wesley.
 

 

TITLE

AUTHOR

MAIN STRAND

GERALDINE’S BLANKET

THE TANGRAM MAGICIAN

GRANDFATHER TANG’S STORY

Keller

Ernst

Ann Tompert

Geometry

Geometry — Tangrams

Geometry — Tangrams

THE DOORBELL RANG

TWO WAYS TO COUNT TO TEN

WHAT COMES IN 2’S, 3’S AND 4’S?

Hutchins

Retold by Ruby Dee

Aker

Numbers and Operations

Numbers and Operations

Numbers and Operations

THE SEVEN CHINESE BROTHERS

MILLIONS OF CATS

HOW MUCH IS A MILLION?

Mahy

Wanda Gag

Schwartz

Numbers and Operations

Numbers and Operations

Numbers and Operations

A MILLION FISH…MORE OR LESS

SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS

McKissak

Wild

Numbers and Operations

Numbers and Operations

REMAINDER OF ONE

Elinor Pinczes

Numbers and Operations — Division

ONE HUNDRED HUNGRY ANTS

ONE HUNDRED IS A FAMILY

ONE WATERMELON SEED

Pinczes

Ryan

Lottridge

Numbers and Operations — 100

Numbers and Operations — 100

Numbers and Operations — 100

MR. GRUMPY’S OUTING

WHO SANK THE BOAT?

Burningham

Pamela Allen

Measurement - Mass

Measurement - Mass

A QUARTER FROM THE TOOTH FAIRY

WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS

ALEXANDER WHO USED TO BE RICH LAST SUNDAY

Holtzman

"Smart" by Shel Silverstein

Viorst

Measurement - Money

Measurement - Money

Measurement - Money

A CHAIR FOR MY MOTHER

COUNTING ON FRANK

THE BUTTON BOX

Vera Williams

Rod Clement

Margaret Reid

Data Management

Data Management

Data Management

FROG AND TOAD ARE FRIENDS

CHRYSANTHEMUM

"The Lost Button" by Lobel

Henkes

Data Management - Attributes

Data Management - Graphing

TITLE

AUTHOR

MAIN STRAND

EACH ORANGE HAD 8 SLICES

SIX-DINNER SID

HOW MANY BEARS

Paul Giganti Jr.

Inga Moore

Cooper Edens

Problem Solving

Problem Solving

Problem Solving

THE IMPORTANT BOOK

Margaret Wise Brown

Writing - all strands

 

 

I have designated one main strand that each book could be associated with, but once you read a book many more ideas will be apparent to you that you could use to explore math concepts and to use manipulatives with the students in your class. As well as mathematics ideas, you will also see the possibilities for integration of arts education strands, science, writing, and social studies.

Have fun with these books. The possibilities are limitless.
 

 

TEACHER RESOURCES

Burns, Marilyn

MATH AND LITERATURE (K-3)

Math Solutions Publications, 1992

ISBN 0-941355-07-1

Satariano, Patricia

STORYTIME MATHTIME: MATH EXPLORATIONS IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Dale Seymore Publications, 1994

ISBN 0-86651-73-4

Gailey, Stavroula K.

ARITHMETIC TEACHER

"The Mathematics-Children’s Literature Connection"

NCTM, January 1993

Schneider, Sally

TEACHING CHILDREN MATHEMATICS

"Links to Literature"

NCTM, December 1995

Helton, Sonia M.

TEACHING CHILDREN MATHEMATICS

"I thik the Citrane will Hoder Lase: Journal Keeping in Math Class"

NCTM, February 1995

Wadlington, Elizabeth; Bitner, Joe et al

ARITHMETIC TEACHER

"Have a problem? Make the Writing-Mathematics Connection!"

NCTM, December 1992

Hurst, Carol Otis

PICTURING MATH

SRA/McGraw-Hill, 1996

ISBN 0-02-687367-2

Whitin, David J. and Gary, Casandra C.

ARITHMETIC TEACHER

"Promoting Mathematical Explorations Through Children's Literature"

NCTM, March 1994

Kilman, Marlene and Richards, Judith

ARITHMETIC TEACHER

"Writing, Sharing and Discussing Mathematics Stories"

NCTM, November 1992

Winograd, Ken and Higgens, Karen M.

THE READING TEACHER

"Writing, Reading and Talking Mathematics: One Interdisciplinary Possibility"

International Reading Association,

January — Febrauary 1995

Matthias, Margaret and Thiessen, Diane, editors

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF MATHEMATICS

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1992

ISBN 0-87353-353-4

 


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