Using Picture Books to Teach Mathematical Concepts: The Why’s and How’s Jessica Knox June 2011

Who can use picture books to help with math instruction?  Anyone!  Children’s literature can be used with any grade level to teach mathematical concepts.

What topics are covered by current picture books?  Today there are so many options out there!  Picture books cover a variety of topics for a variety of grade levels. SSSSome topics covered: AAddition SSubtraction CCounting EEven and Odd Numbers DDivision FFractions GGeometry MMultiplication OOrdinal Numbers TTime

Why use picture books to help with math concepts?  Tucker (2010) says, “Often children develop anxiety about math because they must learn it, but they do not understand it. Teachers and researchers have found that using storybooks about math concepts can help because they present the abstract concept through a story in which children can relate and explain the concept in terms the child understands” (p.154).

Check these books out!  The next several slides show examples of concepts and books that go along with the concepts.  These are just a few books, there are many more out there!

Addition:

Subtraction:

Multiplication:

Division and Fractions:

Counting:

Even and Odd Numbers:

Ordinal Numbers:

Geometry:

Time:

How can I use these books?  Picture books can be used in several ways.  One way to use the picture book is to simply read it aloud to introduce the concept.  Another way to use the book is to include it in a station/center.  One of the most popular ways to use the books is to create an activity or lesson that surrounds the book/concept.

Activity Example Using A Picture Book About Division:  This is a great book to use when you are introducing the concept of a remainder.  In this activity, you will need the picture book (A Remainder of One by Elinor Pinczes), square tile manipulatives, and you could enhance the lesson with a graphic organizer.

Division Activity Continued:  The teacher can have students predict what they think will happen in the book.  Then the teacher will pass out 25 square tiles to each student.  As the teacher reads the book, he/she will have the students move the square tiles into different rows (as the book states)  The teacher can stop several times, or just a few times depending on time constraints.  After the book is completed, the teacher can extend this lesson by then showing the steps of division or even showing how remainders can be greater than one.

Activity Example Using A Picture Book About Pi:  This is a good book to read on Pi Day, just to introduce the concept of Pi, but this book can also be used to develop a deeper understanding of Pi.  Materials needed for this activity: picture book (Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander), paper, pencil, rulers, measuring tape, and a variety of circular objects.

Circumference Activity Continued:  The teacher will read the story and stop on page 13. The teacher will reread pg. 13.  Have students follow the example on page 13 to develop a deeper understanding of radius, diameter, and circumference. The students will practice this with the round objects.

What Does Research Say?  Rushton and Larkin (2001) stated that symbolic representations like letters and numbers were better learned if they could be linked or connected to vivid visual images such as pictures. Children’s books can be helpful, not only in developing understanding about vocabulary and text structure, but also in conceptualizing abstract mathematical concepts (p. 236).

More Research:  According to C. Tucker (2010), “Many children do not value mathematics because they do not understand how it relates to their daily lives. To them, it is just counting, numbers, memorization of facts, and computations without meaning. When teachers use children’s literature to teach math concepts, children see how people use math on a daily basis for many purposes, and can then transfer those math concepts to their own lives. Quality children’s books are appealing, non-threatening, and related to children’s lives” (p. 155).

Just for fun…  Dn8uy/brick-is-special Dn8uy/brick-is-special Dn8uy/brick-is-special

Resources:  Tucker, C., et. al., (2010). Using Children’s Literature to Teach Measurement Reading Improvement v. 47 no. 3 p  ures/ ures/ ures/  h.htm h.htm h.htm  Rushton, S., & Larkin, E. Shaping the learning environment: Connecting developmentally appropriate practices to brain research. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(1), 25-33