Combining math with literature is an excellent way to spice up your child's curriculum. Not only can he practice reading skills, he will also boost his math by working out the problems within the story in a fun and relaxed manner.
Many children's stories can be adapted for math use, although some are more obvious than others. Amy Axelrod's Pigs series is a great starting point that touches on concepts such as money, probability, time, as well as the basics — addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Here are some guidelines to help you get started:
- Provide a math notebook. Any kind would work but one with graph paper will help keep equations in order.
- Have your child read the story out loud to you. Allow your child to read through the story once for pure enjoyment.
- Go back and work out the problems together. "The Pigs started out with $10. They bought a hot dog for $1.75 and then bought an ice cream cone for $.75. How much do they have left?"
- Go further. Ask additional questions to expand on concepts in the book. "What other foods could they have bought for their $10?"
Keep it simple and don't worry about writing everything down at first. The more you work on math with literature, the more comfortable you will be with finding questions. Most importantly, relax and enjoy the story together!
Books to try:
Pigs Go To Market by Amy Axelrod (money)
One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes (counting to 100, regrouping)
Inch By Inch by Leo Lionni (measurement)
Two Of Everything by Lily Toy Hong (doubling)
*All recommended books can be found in the Homeschool Bliss Store.
Loading ...
I like teaching math through literature too. Some of the best books I've found are by Mitsumasa Anno, a Japanese math teacher turned children's book author. Math themed books of his that we've returned to over and over are "Anno's Counting House" and "Anno's Magic Seeds." (Yes, his name is annoyingly part of the title.) I've heard the "Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar" is good too, but we haven't read it.
Another fun one is Eric Carle's wordless "1 2 3 To the Zoo."
I like your blog by the way.