Working with Larger Numbers using Math Literature

There are so many great books you can use that help teach larger numbers. Below are a few examples. I try to have props when I am introducing math related stories to my students. These are some of my favorites:

 

A Favorite Addition Story

I recently posted an activity for How Many Snails? and included a ppt adaptation  How Many Bugs? It's a great book to use when introducing many concepts: sorting, counting, addition.... Another favorite is Splash by Ann Jonas. It's a fabulous introduction to addition. I am including story props you can download. I copied them and used them on the magnetic board. The students used dry erase boards to solve the problems introduced in the book.

Math Work Stations Chp 5

I agree with many of the kindergarten teachers that have posted of how crucially important it is to use number stories from the beginning of the school year to help with the concept of addition and subtraction. I have used the resources Math Their Way, Developing Number Concept with Unifix Cubes and Explorations ( an out of print Addison-Wesley product) to develop my math program for years. Math series come and go in my school system, but I've never found any thing better than the above mentioned resources. Work Jobs II has many story mats.

I am a collector of math literature and I  begin as many lessons as possible with a math related story. I also have props for many of my books and the children then use them for additional experiences with the book. There are several math literature related pages on my website that have lots of  information. I am constantly on the lookout for puppets, stuffed animals and small manipulatives to make the story more engaging. 

Below are a few of the things you can find on my website.

Go to Math Literature on Linda's Learning Links for more ideas!

Counting Book Activity

 

I love How Many Snails? by Paul Giganti. It is a fabulous counting book that promotes critical thinking skills in young children. Every page has so many objects to count and the questions promote higher level thinking skills. More importantly, each page allows the students to ask their own questions. This past school year I started making wordless How Many ppts. This is one of the children's favorites. I don't have a smart board in my classroom, but I do have an infocus projector.  I divided the class into small groups and each group had to produce three questions about the page shown. (We do this activity after repeated readings of How Many Snails?)

Click on the title below to download.

How Many Bugs?