Math can be fun! One of the ways that math learning can be fun is learning math through picture books. This week’s post will focus on the use of picture books to engage primary learners in math. I will provide you with a quick summary of research that supports learning math through stories, give you some strategies and tips that I have found for integrating pictures books into your math block, and of course a great take away for you…. I will provide you with a list of 10 books and math topics related to each book, which will make it so easy to integrate picture books into your next math lesson.
McDonald and Rasch (2004) wrote an article titled “Picture Books + Math = Fun”. This article highlighted the idea that picture books provide visual images of abstract mathematical concepts that can be hard for students to understand, providing another way to see a particular mathematical concept. One example I have is the use of the picture book “Sir Cumference and All the King’s Tens: The Math Adventure”, by Cindy Neuschwander & Wayne Geehan, to visually show how lager numbers (3-digits) are composed. I use this in both primary and junior classrooms to show students how lager numbers are composed using base 10 concepts (i.e. 1s, 10s, 100s, etc.). Another reason I like using “Sir Cumference and All the King’s Tens: The Math Adventure” is the real life connections that can be made, who doesn’t like planning a party for their closest few hundred friends! So, the story may not be real life in the context of our everyday life but it shows how large event planners would need these skills.
Forbringer, Hettinger & Reichert (2016) provide a step-by-step guide to differentiating your math lesson with picture books, they use the phrase “Children’s Literature”, I think picture books creates a more appealing argument! The six step process starts with the teacher focusing on a mathematical concept, from here you search for a book that addresses the specific concept. Once you find the book, you create a learning goal based on curriculum expectations, and then craft a ‘thick’ mathematical question based on the story you have chosen, you will also want to come up with a few ‘thinner’ questions that will guide students when unpacking the ‘thicker’ question. Make sure you review any key ideas / access prior knowledge that students have on the topic, creating an anchor chart of these key ideas and skills will be a good reference for the students as they work on solving the math question you craft. As you review with your students, keep observational notes on where they are at on the skills learning continuum, my observational note system was a checklist with codes (E = emerging, ✔️= on track, M = mastered), at the top of the checklist column I listed the specific expectation I was observing. You will use these observational notes to select working groups, one group will have emerging skills, you will most likely have to spend time with this group to work on building their skill set, the second group will have skills that would allow them to be successful in solving the math question you developed, and the third group will need extensions or a more challenging question for the advanced mathematical skill set they show. At this point you can go back and revise the ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ mathematical questions for each of your skill groups. The planning is over, and it is time to implement! The anchor chart you created is up in the classroom for students to reference, you have come up with a minds-on activity that activates this prior knowledge, the picture book is close by, and the thick questions you developed can be quickly provided to students (I wrote the questions on chart paper and had them ready to post up on the white board with magnets). Consolidation of this math learning is up to you as you may already have a routine in place for students to reflect on their learning. If you want to switch-up how you consolidate math learning, I have successfully used math congress, bansho, and gallery walks. Here are a few resources that I have found helpful for consolidation:
As promised, to finish off this blog post, I am providing you with a list of ten picture books that can be used for primary math lessons, including a big idea each book connects to, and links to lesson ideas. I sourced some of these book titles from the various posts that teachers provided to the math part 2 AQ course I am taking right now.
Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Pizza Slice by Marilyn Sadler
Big idea: NSN - Fractions, proportional reasoning
So Many Circles, So Many Squares by Tana Hoban
Big idea: Geometry & Spatial Sense
The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns
Big idea: Geometry - shape identification and classification
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss
Big idea: Place Value, Data Management, Geometry
One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes
Big idea: NSN - quantity relationships, counting, operational sense
Ten Little Bunnies by Nurit Karlin
Big Idea: NSN - quantity relationships, magnitude
The Thirteen Days of Halloween by Carol Greene
Big Idea: NSN - place value, magnitude, problem solving; Patterning & Algebra
Anno's Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anna
Big Idea: NSN - quantity relationships, counting, operational sense
Earth Day - Hooray! by Stuart J. Murphy
Big Idea: Place Value
Biggest, Strongest and Fastest by Steve Jenkins
Big Idea: Measurement, Spatial Sense
Here are additional resources that I have found useful in sourcing out picture books to use in primary math lessons:
I look forward to hearing about picture books you already use in your math classroom, or stories you have from trying out one of the books listed above.
References:
McDonald, S., & Rasch, S. (2004). Picture Books + Math = Fun. Book Links, 14(2), 9-14.
Forbringer, L., Hettinger, A., & Reichert, E. (2016). Using the Picture Book Extra Yarn to Differentiate Common Core Math Instruction. YC: Young Children, 71(2), 22-28.
