Zero the Hero! Equal Shmequal! A Place for Zero! Whole-y Cow!
These are not even the "tip of the literature iceberg" when it comes to mathematics! My colleagues are always hassling me about buying one more book, but I am a book connoisseur! The more and longer I am a teacher, the more convinced I become of the importance of incorporating literature into every subject we teach. For me, it is mathematics where I place my literature emphasis.
Every new concept in my 5th grade math class comes with a literature (usually more than one) in which to introduce, or reinforce, the idea. My students expect a book from when I am teaching math. We read Equal Shmequal so much that my students knew when to say "equal shmequal" at the exact time it came in the book. They would all say it in unison. I have always left the books we were using in the whiteboard mark tray for display. Students are "encouraged" to read them in their free time. A few years ago, I stole an idea from my mother and began leaving the books out in a wire rack to display throughout the year. When I say "encouraged", I mean I left them out, but I never really emphasized to them that they were available to take to their desks. I like my books to stay in good shape.
I am writing today about math literature today because, I learned a valuable lesson from the boys in my class this year. My boys started sneaking the math literature books to their desks. I would notice them up at the rack acting like a "look-out" for the local mafia. They would kneel down, snatch a book, and sneakily return to their desk. At first, I was like "What are they doing?" Then I said to myself, "Isn't that what you want them to do?" I had to re-evaluate my priorities about the books. When I knew this was in fact what I wanted them to do, I started to mention it in class. Before I could speak one of my girls, who is wise beyond her years, said to me, "Mrs. Tiller, they don't want you to know they are reading the math books. They don't want anyone to know." Then it struck me why all the sneaking. It wasn't me they were trying to hide from, it was their peers. So I left it alone.
As the month progressed, it became "cooler" and "cooler" to read the math literature books. There is no more sneaking around. It even cool now to sit in front of the wire rack on the floor and read the books. We pull out our favorites and read in small groups to friends. Most of my books have survived. However, I will say the Sir Cumference series has taken the most wear and tear. There is one that I will have to replace because the pages are falling out, but isn't this a good thing?
This importance of making math cool to my students is what my purpose in life has been for years. All of my students know that math is my favorite subject to teach. They expect it to be hands-on. I realized while I focus on the kinesthetics of mathematics, the books focused on the visuals. While math literature has always been an important part of what I teach in mathematics, it has become even more important.
I have listed some of the books we have loved this year, and some are new for which I will write activities to use next year. Zero the Hero is my new favorite. I have not used it in class, but I am writing activities for K-5 to use the book. I always dislike that "0" has some kind of magic power attributed to it, that does not exist. Students need to understand the place in which zero place in our number system. This is where Zero the Hero will play an important role, and A Place for Zero has played that role. Students can make connections with the literature in ways a math textbook never could. Math literature books are written for every concept in mathematics, even for middle school! Pythagoras and the Ratios or What's Your Angle, Pythagorus? are just two examples.
My point in writing today? Use literature books in your math teaching! Get the books into the hands of the students! Wouldn't it be COOL if math textbooks came with the literature already embedded in them? YES!!
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| Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. That’s what all the other numbers think of Zero. He doesn’t add anything in addition. He’s of no use in division. And don’t even ask what he does in multiplication. (Hint: Poof!) But Zero knows he’s worth a lot, and when the other numbers get into trouble, he swoops in to prove that his talents are innumerable. |
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| Zero is lonely in Digitaria. He can't play Addemup with the other numbers, because he has nothing to add. What's a digit to do? Join Zero as he goes on a journey to discover his place. |
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| What does it mean to be equal? Mouse and her friends want to play tug-of-war but they can't figure out how to make teams that are equal. Nothing works until Mouse starts thinking mathematically. Wonderful illustrations capture Mouse and her animal friends from whiskers to tails. |
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| Learning about fractions isn't always easy, but who says it can't be fun? Using one very entertaining cow, math teacher Taryn Souders has devised a very clever (and fun) way of explaining fractions to beginning learners. One whole cow, calmly eating hay, decided to act differently on this particular day. One whole cow - what should we do? |
