Reflection Of Children's Literature

In order for us as teachers to utilize every resource that is available to us to maximize a student's learning potential, we have to explore endless ways to help them comprehend the matter at hand, but to also present it in a way that interests them as well. Children's literature is a fun but enriching starting point for teachers to incorporate mathematics activities that also provides the students with a way of understanding how math is connected to the world they engage in as they read stories. If effective, it can create positive and lasting opportunities for the students to create math memories.

There are many different kinds of children's literature that would apply to the various standards of learning, as it all depends on the teacher and what standard of learning they want to incorporate into the classroom to help link real-life examples or interesting situations with math lessons and in turn, maximize a student's interest in learning. For instance, I would incorporate works of literature that introduces counting, division, and fractions. In "One Bear at Bedtime" by Mick Inkpen introduces the students to counting and the numbers 1-10 as a boy describes the different animals he needs in order for him to prepare for bed. For division and fractions, "Safari Parks" by Stuart Murphy will teach students how to divide and interpret number sentences as five cousins try to figure out how to divide their 100 tickets amongst one another.

In the children's literature "Pigs will be Pigs," which consists of a family of four (pigs) who, upon realizing their refrigerator has been cleaned out and they have no money, decide to go on a "hunt" for money. They search high and low for loose change and in the end, accumulate enough money for th...

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...ook with my own items that the students can enjoy within the classroom. I would have each student order two items from the menu and add them up, as high as 200 cents. Afterwards, as a group we would try to solve the problem of the total cost of the class's orders.

Math is everywhere and it is up to the teachers to find ways to make the students become enthusiastic about learning mathematics and with proper planning and thoughtful selection, the use of children's literature can provide a way to create memories, link math concepts to real-life situations within the context of the story and enhance their natural interest in mathematics. Whether it be through fun and games or lesson plans, finding different captivating ways for students to learn would be fun for the teacher as well. Learning math may be a necessity as a young student, but it does not have to be boring!