I feel honored to have spent time with over 90 amazing Primary teachers at the BCPTA conference in beautiful Victoria B.C. on October 24, 2014. What a wonderful group of dedicated teachers who love to learn some different ways to support their learners.
Everyone loves a good story. Teachers love reading them and students love hearing them. What better way to set the stage for a math lesson. Last May 2014 Carole Fullerton and I collaborated together to create a new resource Read a Story: Explore the Math.
This resource promotes the teaching of important math concepts through the exploration of delightful children’s books. Many of these books are newly published and all have the potential for students to engage in math and provide opportunities to explore in meaningful ways.
At the conference we shared most of the books, some of the activities and tried a few for ourselves. We explored the tasks with Cuisenaire rods, dominoes, two sided counters, ten frames and dice. By using the manipulatives the students are encouraged to make connections to the concepts and represent their thinking in concrete ways.
Stories allow us a shared experiences. They engage us emotionally, and make us curious about the world. Carole and I hope that this resources will provide ideas for possibilities to pair stories with mathematical investigations that will inspire rich mathematical thinking in your students.