Skip to main

February 21, 2018

Integrating Literacy Strategies in the Mathematics Classroom

Here are a few of the many books that captured my students’ attention (and hearts) during math instruction:

Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There is? by Robert E. Wells
The author does a creative job of comparing the sizes of different things. Did you know it would take 20 giant jars filled with 100 whales each to equal the size of Mount Everest? Wells also demonstrates the relative sizes of the earth, the sun, the Milky Way, and ends with the biggest things there is-the universe-in this interactive book. After reading and discussing this book, my students and I compared the average height of a student (5 feet) to the average length of a blue whale (100 feet). After drawing pictures of whales, my students counted by fives to determine how many students they needed to draw to equal the length of a whale. This activity helped bring more meaning and enjoyment to skip counting and measuring.

Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
This Caldecott honor book engaged my students with the lovely colors and illustrations on every page while demonstrating the concept of measurement. After reading this book aloud, students appeared excited as they searched the classroom with rulers for objects to measure. Students first had to estimate the length of each object, then measure the objects with rulers. Last, students determined the differences between their estimates and the measurements. Conversations were always generated among my students as they compared how many of their estimates were right on with the actual measurements.

The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns
With a triangle who morphs into different shapes, this is a fun book to introduce basic geometry to students. I loved the giggles this book produced among my students! After reading and discussing this book, students were asked to choose a triangle (or triangles) from a variety of precut sizes, shapes, and colors. Students then drew pictures that incorporated the triangles and wrote sentences describing what their triangles could be used as. Students were often eager to share their creative pictures and sentences with the rest of the class. The completed masterpieces included: a picture of two triangles used as a sandwich cut diagonally in half, a pyramid in the desert, the roof of a house, the beak of a bird, a playground swing set, a mountain, and a sliced pizza. What a great outlet for my student-artists while learning about geometry!

Other books my students and I enjoyed included: Six-Dinner Sid by Inga Moore to teach multiplication and The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins as a delicious way to learn division. The 512 Ants on Sullivan Street by Carol A. Losi and Night Noises by Mem Fox were amusing ways to teach the concepts of doubling and adding. Pigs will be Pigs by Amy Axelrod and Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst were both used as entertaining ways to learn about money.

My literature-based math instruction was not limited to math-related books. It also involved other popular children’s books including: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, and The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. Using the content of the books as a basis, I wrote a variety of word problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. After reading the books aloud and discussing, students were asked to solve the word problems, promoting and enhancing their interest levels and problem-solving abilities. Implementing word problems based on books seemed to provide a more concrete way of understanding and solving otherwise abstract word problems for my students.

Initially my students were a little thrown off when they saw me pulling out picture books during math instruction. “Why are we reading in math class?” they would often ask. Soon, the first thing those same students would ask as they sat down for math class was, “Can we read a book?” Books became part of our regular math lessons. Not only did I observe my students’ levels of academic engagement and understanding of concepts increase with the integration of children’s literature, I also experienced an increased level of confidence and enthusiasm for teaching math.

As children’s author Marilyn Burns noted, “Math and literature together? Why not!” Let us know how integrating literature into your next math lesson “adds up” for you and your students.

***

Share

Search the K12 Hub

More From Teaching Channel

Want to partner with us?

We’re always looking for new authors! If you’re interested in writing an article, please get in touch with us.

Subscribe to our Newsletter!

Get notified of new content added to K12 Hub.