Integrating Picturebooks into Math Instruction

When I talk to teachers about integrating children's literature into their classroom instruction, the most common question I get is "but how do I do this in math?". Additionally, when I talk to teacher candidates about using books in their future classrooms, I get the most push back on discussions around how to integrate literacy into mathematics. 

Today, I am sharing three of my favorite picturebooks that integrate mathematics and literacy. These books are great for getting students interested in math content. Teachers can read one of these books at the beginning of a lesson to help students gain interest in the topic. Or, teachers can read the book alongside instruction to reiterate important concepts. Finally, these books can be quality models for helping students write in math. 

The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns and Syd Hoff

This book is so much fun and also aligns to my previous discussion of accepting yourself. In this book, we meet a triangle who desperately wants more sides. Throughout the book, he gains more sides until he becomes a circle and realizes, he wishes he were a triangle again. 

The vocabulary in this book is in a class on its own. I love that the author uses complex vocabulary such as "polygon" and defines it for young readers. Students can learn about shapes and math terminology, while learning an important lesson about being their self. 

One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi

This book is so clever! I love that this book is a folktale and exposes children to a genre they may not see very often - this is great for exposing children to different genres and cultures. In this book, we learn about a society that stores rice in case of famine. Each member of the society must bring a portion of their rice to the raja (leader) annually. However, when a famine does strike, the raja is reluctant to let the rice go and send it out to his people. This is mostly out of fear, but also greediness.

One day, a young girl develops a plot to fool the raja into giving up his rice. She shows her loyalty and respect for the raja and he wants to honor her. She asks for one grain of rice. He insists on giving her more, and she says he can double her rice every day for 30 days. The first few days, she has little rice. However, very quickly she is overcome by rice, until she has more than enough to share with her village.

This book is a great resource for teaching estimating, calculations, and logic. I also like that the moral of the story is positive and shows the consequences of having a selfish leader and how citizens can stand up against that.

The Crayons' Book of Numbers by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

I'm a big fan of the crayons books! I was so excited when I saw this book coming out about the crayons and their adventures with numbers (there is also one for colors). This book is great for young, emergent readers or children just beginning their math studies. The focus of this book is on counting and it is presented in a very simple manner. 

This book is great for young children to develop a basic understanding of counting and to begin to understand the importance of math in their lives. This book is simple, but powerful. 

Happy Reading!