Library math

Telling Time with The Grouchy Ladybug

meeraLeave a comment

Lesson Overview

Read the book, The Grouchy Ladybug, by Eric Carle.

Write the 17 times (e.g. “noon or 12:00 PM” and “five or 5:00 PM”) from The Grouchy Ladybug on a separate piece of paper. Times are every hour from 5:00 AM through 5:00 PM, and 5:15 PM, 5:30 PM, 5:45 PM, and 6:00 PM.

Give each child a piece of paper (each has their own time). Ask them to fill in the clock and write down what happens in the story at their time.

Read the story a second time and students write in the activity happening on their paper.

Let students draw their scene on their paper.

Have students read their scene aloud and show their drawing.

When students illustrate their page, ask them to draw a sun where the sun would normally be at the time of their part of the story (e.g. right at the center top for noon).

— Via Memory Anderson on Eric Carle’s website 

Note: With a larger class, have two students do each time, making a total of two books.

Lesson Goals:

  • Students can position the hands of an analog clock to match a written time
  • Students can position the sun in the sky to match the time of day

Lesson Plan Materials

See this idea and more ideas in detail on Eric Carle’s website.

Also see ideas for introducing book on Educators.about.com.

Common Core State Standards this Lesson Supports

  • CCSS.Math.Content.1.MD.B.3 Tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks.
  • CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.C.7 Tell and write time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m. and p.m.
  • CCSS.Math.Content.3.MD.A.1 Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes, e.g., by representing the problem on a number line diagram.

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

  • AASL 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
  • AASL 4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.

Understanding Shapes with Grandfather Tang’s Story by Ann Tompert

meeraLeave a comment

Lesson Overview

Discuss with students What are shapes? Why do we use shapes?

Read Grandfather Tang’s Story (Dragonfly Books), by Ann Tompert, and point out how shapes can be used to tell a story. Then you let students use tangrams to fill in animal shapes and chat with them about how the pieces line up and form bigger shapes. With older students, you could make several sheets of tangram sheets into a story.

Lesson Goals

  • Students can identify shapes and can use smaller shapes to form larger, composite shapes.
  • Students can explain various places they see shapes.

Lesson Plan Materials

  • Lesson Plan Instructions: Grandfather’s Tang Story (PDF) (courtesy of Imelda Amano)
  • Also need plastic tangram pieces or enough copies of a traced tangram sheet for students to cut out
  • Also need copies of animal shapes that fit the tangrams you have

 Common Core State Standards this Lesson Supports

  • CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.B.6 Compose simple shapes to form larger shapes. For example, “Can you join these two triangles with full sides touching to make a rectangle?”
  • CCSS.Math.Content.1.G.A.2 Compose two-dimensional shapes (rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles, and quarter-circles) or three-dimensional shapes (cubes, right rectangular prisms, right circular cones, and right circular cylinders) to create a composite shape, and compose new shapes from the composite shape.

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

  • AASL 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real world situations, and further investigations.

Note: Modified from Library Lesson Plan Library

Understanding Perimeter with Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!

meeraLeave a comment

Lesson Overview

Read the book, Spaghetti and Meatballs for All! (Marilyn Burns Brainy Day Books), by Marilyn Burns.

Discuss how the amount of space you have around a table is the perimeter. It’s the length of the distance around the table. When you push the tables together, the tables took up the same amount of space (area) but the space around the table got smaller.

1 “Cut out squares of cardboard or use small square tiles so that children can construct the different ways the guests in the story arranged the tables. Help children experiment so they can see that Mrs. Comfort ordered the fewest tables possible. You may want to have them reconstruct some [alternate arrangements].”

2 “If children are interested, go through the book again and help them draw a picture of each new table rearrangement and figure out how many people could be seated at each. Use the words area and perimeter to talk about the size of each arrangement and the number of people it seats.”

3. “Use the cardboard squares, tiles, or drawings to investigate the following problem: Suppose their were going to be just 12 people at the family reunion. What different table arrangements are possible? Which arrangement would use the fewest tables? Which arrangement would use the most tables? (For additional challenges, try the same problem for 16, 24, 36, or any other number of people.)”

— Ideas from notes at the back of the book

Lesson Goals:

  • Students can measure the perimeter of table arrangements
  • Students can determine the fewest number of tables they would need to seat their entire class.

Lesson Plan Materials

See this idea and more ideas in detail in McKinney and Hinton 2010 p. 22.

Common Core State Standards this Lesson Supports

  • CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.A.1 Count to 100 by ones and by tens.
  • CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.2 Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.
  • CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.C.5 Relate counting to addition and subtraction (e.g., by counting on 2 to add 2).

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

  • AASL 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.

Skip Counting by Twos

meeraLeave a comment

Lesson Overview

Read the book, How Many Feet in the Bed?, by Diane Johnston Hamm.

Focus on how the story lets students skip count by twos. When the father is in the bed, there are two feet, and when one more person gets into bed, there are four feet. Show that this is skip counting: if another person gets into bed, there will be six feet. Expand on this idea by asking, how many toes are in the bed? and skip counting fingers and toes by 10s. For older grades, add more people to the bed to cover adding and subtracting larger numbers. — Ideas from McKinney and Hinton 2010

Lesson Goals:

  • Students can skip count by twos.
  • Students can skip count by 10s.

Lesson Plan Materials

See this idea and more ideas in detail in McKinney and Hinton 2010 p. 22.

Common Core State Standards this Lesson Supports

  • CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.A.1 Count to 100 by ones and by tens.
  • CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.2 Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.
  • CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.C.5 Relate counting to addition and subtraction (e.g., by counting on 2 to add 2).

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

  • AASL 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.

Strange Bedfellows: Integrating Mathematics into Library Instruction

meeraLeave a comment

Maxwell, D. Jackson, and Robyn F. Maxwell. 2013. “Strange Bedfellows: Integrating Mathematics into Library Instruction.” Library Media Connection 32 (1): 22–23.

According to the authors, the Common Core State Standards “encourage questioning techniques that draw out the ‘why’.” Plus, the CCSS also emphasizes reading informational texts. The authors suggest that librarians can integrate math into the library by asking “library-related, practically formulated math-based questions.” An example would be to have students locate the copyright date and calculate how old the book is. This is more than just asking them a word problem for the sake of it; as a librarian, you could then discuss whether it would be important to find a more recent book, or discuss what life was like when the author wrote the book. This strategy is the most economical because it can be done with any book. Another “free” approach is to teach math while teaching library skills (such as by showing how decimals work with finding a book on shelves organized by the Dewey Decimal System). They also offer suggestions for adding math related books to the collection, particularly books that cut across disciplines and biographies of mathematicians. They end with about 25 suggested math related books, broken into three categories: Primary (K-2), Intermediate (3-6) and Secondary (7-12).

Opening the Door for Mathematics Collaboration

meeraLeave a comment

Vandenbroek, Alicia. 2014. “Opening the Door for Mathematics Collaboration.” Library Media Connection 32 (6): 26–27.

 

In place of concrete examples of collaboration, the author (a middle school librarian) points out that the level of collaboration between teachers and the librarian will be different at each school, and suggests starting with a small project rather than a large one. Vandenbroek offers a three part process: demonstrate how you are a resource, then show how you are a partner, and then collaborate. She suggests ways to demonstrate how you are a resource: teach lesson plans that incorporate math vocabulary, collect and share math and logic games in the library, and make a math bibliography. In my experience, this outlook is a realistic and helpful approach. Many teachers will be resistant to “collaboration” (as this does take time on their part, and they are very busy), but will welcome a librarian as a resource. From there, some teachers will see how helpful the librarian is and will be willing to collaborate.

Tracking Media Use

meeraLeave a comment

Lesson Overview

Lesson plan in which students calculate the number of hours they spend each day using digital media, and input their data on bar graphs. This lesson applies the strategy of data modeling to a real-life situation that students can relate to. This lesson was created with teenagers in mind, but the lesson can be adapted for children who are not using tablets and phones as much (they can track watching TV for example).

Lesson Goals:

“Students will be able to …

  • assess how much time they spend with media activities.
  • record and compare the time they spend with different forms of digital media (cell phones, Internet, etc.) and in different activities (texting, posting, and watching or creating videos).
  • formulate a viewpoint on the role that digital media play in their lives.”

Lesson Plan Materials

Common Core State Standards this Lesson Supports

The original lesson was aimed at middle school students, and Common Sense Media suggests it targets CCSS.ELA.SL.6-8.2 (Interpret information in diverse media, including quantitatively) and CCSS.ELA.SL.6-8.5 (Use displays, including graphics, to present information). Adapted to younger grades, it could support:

  • CCSS.ELA.SL.5.2 Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
  • CCSS.ELA.SL.5.5 Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
  • CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4 Model with mathematics.

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

  • AASL 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.
  • AASL 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.

Mathematics in the K-8 Classroom and Library

meera2 Comments

McKinney, Sueanne and KaaVonia Hinton. 2010. Mathematics in the K-8 Classroom and Library. Santa Barbara, CA: Linworth.

Authors Sueanne E. McKinney and Kaavonia Hinton are both assistant professors at Old Dominion University in STEM Education and Professional Studies and the Darden College of Education, respectively. Their book describes how school librarians can integrate literature into math in order to support students develop a “conceptual understanding of math.” The book is a great resource to help a school librarian use the books already in the library for math lessons. A school librarian could build connections with teachers by sharing selected books and lessons with them, or offering to teach the lesson in the library. The authors also offer suggestions for how to use any book in a math lesson. Another important area that gets good coverage is how school librarians can collaborate with math teachers.

Below is a list of the mathematical topics and the children’s books which are covered in McKinney and Hinton’s book. These book titles have detailed notes or lesson ideas in the “Using Mathematics Literature” sections of each Chapter. This list will help a school librarian decide if purchasing the book will help them make more use of their existing collection. McKinney and Hinton’s book typically contains a page describing several activities for each of these titles.

Numbers and Operations

  • A Creepy Countdown
  • Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On
  • One Less Fish
  • The M&M’s Count to One Hundred Book
  • Dreaming: A Countdown to Sleep

Addition and Subtraction

  • How the Second Grade Got $8,205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty
  • The Grapes of Math
  • How Many Feet in the Bed?
  • The Hershey’s Kisses Subtraction Book
  • Subtraction Action

Multiplication and Division

  • One Hundred Hungry Ants
  • Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream
  • A Remainder of One
  • 2×2 = Boo
  • Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!

Fractions

  • The Wishing Club
  • Full House: An Invitation to Fractions
  • Piece = Part = Portion
  • The Doorbell Rang
  • Centipede’s 100 Shoes

Algebra

  • The King’s Chessboard
  • The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure
  • The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat
  • Math Curse
  • Fractals, Googles and Other Mathematical Tales

Geometry

  • Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
  • Grandfather Tang’s Story
  • The Greedy Triangle
  • Draw Me a Star
  • Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry

Measurement

  • Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement
  • How Tall, How Short, How Faraway
  • Clocks and More Clocks
  • Millions to Measure
  • Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday

Data Analysis and Probability

  • Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
  • Tricking the Tallyman
  • If the World Were a Village
  • Lemonade for Sale
  • Do You Wanna Bet?

“Any Literary Selection Can Be a Mathematics Selection”

  • A Perfect Snowman
  • Beetle McGrady Eats Bugs
  • Olivia … and the Missing Toy
  • Swamp Angel
  • Chicken Soup

“The Library Problem” – An Ongoing Column in Teaching Children Mathematics

meeraLeave a comment

Schad, Brian, Joseph Georgeson, and Sarah Bunten. 2010. “The Library Problem.” Teaching Children Mathematics 16 (7): 387–89.

The authors, elementary and middle school math teachers, describe a math lesson plan that takes elementary age students to the local public library to gather and analyze data. The students count the number of words on a page of a picture book, and then tally the number of letters in each word on the same page. They describe two methods: older students can work in pairs where one student counts and one completes the table, and younger students can complete the activity using one page with a whole class. Once they have gathered data, they analyze it with the goal of understanding relationships between numbers (e.g. ratio, fraction, decimals, percentages) and how numbers can be visually represented (e.g. on a tally sheet). The authors claim that this exercise puts a difficult concept like rational numbers in the context of how many words you read or how difficult a book is. The authors conclude by inviting other teachers to try the same problem in their classes and share the outcomes. This lesson could be easily adapted by a school librarian or by a public children’s librarian.

Lesson Goals:

  • Students can tally the number of words on a page of a picture book
  • Students can tally the number of letters in each word on a page of a picture book
  • Students can compare these figures and discuss patterns they observe

Lesson Plan Materials

For more detailed instructions and examples, see: Schad, Brian, Joseph Georgeson, and Sarah Bunten. 2010. “The Library Problem.” Teaching Children Mathematics 16 (7): 387–89.

Common Core State Standards this Lesson Supports

  • CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
  • CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4 Model with mathematics.

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

  • AASL 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.
  • AASL 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.

Related Articles

  • Small, Marian. 2010. “North Dakota’s Centennial Quilt and Problem Solvers: Solutions: The Library Problem.” Teaching Children Mathematics 16 (7): 386–93.

How Wide Is a Squid Eye? Integrating Mathematics into Public Library Programs for the Elementary Grades

meera1 Comment

Kliman, Marlene, Nuria Jaumot-Pascual, and Valerie Martin. 2013. “How Wide Is a Squid Eye? Integrating Mathematics into Public Library Programs for the Elementary Grades.” Afterschool Matters, no. 17 (January): 9–15.

The authors, researchers with TERC in Massachusetts, describe an NSF funded project, Math Off the Shelf, where informal educators are given access to a bank of over 200 activities that incorporate math for elementary age students. The researchers consulted with public children’s librarians, and considered both common and uncommon characteristics of a public library, when designing the activities. They cite research showing that on the one hand, engaging children with math outside of the school improves learning math and attitudes toward math, but on the other hand, informal educators are math avoidant and do not share their own use of math in everyday tasks with children. Further, even though science is increasingly seen as a “social” activity where kids learn through working on problems together, people still see math as a subject learned through facts, not something learned socially. The activities they designed address these issues in the public library because the library allows for a place to gather opinions (making math questions more relevant), a place to share math problem-solving strategies (learning socially), and a place to incorporate literature into a math activity. They describe how an external evaluator surveyed the librarians for their perception of math and how they used math in activities before and after introducing the activity bank. After the introduction of the activities, more librarians viewed math as important in their library services and were incorporating math into their everyday interactions with children in the library.