Using Children's Literature to Teach Problem Solving in Math

Jeanne White has been an educator since 1992 when she began teaching elementary school in the south suburbs of Chicago. She is currently a Professor of Education at Elmhurst College.

“The entire time I was reading this, I thought of the various ways that I could bring this resource into our district. I love how it breaks it down easily and explains how to embed the SMP and strategies into the everyday language of the classroom. The use of the book is almost scripted, allowing the teacher easy entry into the practice standard.” --Aubrey Carpenter, Instructional Math Coach, Danville District 118, Danville, Illinois“This book helps students make connections with children’s literature and the Mathematical Practices. The author provides examples of specific stories and related activities to encourage problem solving and real-life application. Each chapter presents an in-depth look at one of the eight Mathematical Practices, offering fun, engaging challenges for all students. The directions and questions provide teachers with easy access to complex processes and proficiencies such as perseverance, critical thinking, and abstract reasoning. If you want to help your students develop a positive mathematical mindset, you should add this resource to your collection!” –Jennifer Taylor-Cox, Educational Consultant and Author of Math Intervention P-2 and Math Intervention 3-5"This is an inspirational and motivating way of approaching problem solving in contemporary mathematics education...Although the picturebook market is vast and rich, teachers do not often come across recommendations for about 50 mathematics picturebooks in one book, accompanied by didactical comments and guides on how to use these picturebooks in mathematics education.The book Using Children’s Literature to Teach Problem Solving in Math helps fill this gap."-Dubravka Glasnović Gracin, Libri & Liberi

• About the AuthorAcknowledgementsIntroduction-Addressing the Standards for Mathematical Practice in K-5Breaking Down the Practice Standards Creating a Problem Solving CommunityChapter 1-Make Sense and Persevere What Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers?7 Blind Mice-K.OA Decompose numbers into pairs MATH-Terpieces: The Art of Problem Solving-1.OA Use 2 and 3 addends to find a sumSplash!-2.OA Represent addition and subtraction problemsWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers?The Warlord’s Kites-3.MD Use the formula for the area of a rectangleA Remainder of One-4.OA Solve multi-step word problems with whole numbersMultiplying Menace-5.NF Multiply a whole number by a fraction Wrapping It UpChapter 2- Reason AbstractlyWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers?Each Orange Had 8 Slices-K.OA Count to answer, How many? Ten Flashing Fireflies-1.OA Explore the Commutative Property of AdditionRooster’s Off to See the World-1.OA Explore the Associative Property of AdditionSpaghetti and Meatballs for All!-2.G Partition rectangles into rows and columnsWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers?Racing Around-3.MD Solve problems involving perimeters of polygonsFractions, Decimals and Percents-4.NF Understand decimal notation for fractionsCount to a Million-5.NBT Understand the value of 0 in a multi-digit numberWrapping It UpChapter 3-Construct ArgumentsWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers?How Many Mice?-K.OA Represent addition and subtraction Mall Mania-1.NBT Add two-digit numbers using various strategies How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?-2.NBT Skip-count and compare three-digit numbersWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers?Full House-3.NF Understand how fractions are written as part/wholeThe Warlord’s Puzzle-4.G Classify 2-D figures and recognizing right trianglesThe Hershey’s Fractions Book-5.NF Use equivalent fractions to add & subtract fractionsWrapping It UpChapter 4-Create a ModelWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers?The Doorbell Rang-K.OA Represent addition in various waysBigger, Better, Best!-1.G Compose 2-D shapes into composite shapesAlexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday-2.MD Solve word problems with moneyWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers?Tiger Math-3.MD Draw graphs to represent a data set with several categoriesActual Size-4.MD Make a line plot to display a data set of measurementsPolly’s Pen Pal-5.MD Convert among different-sized measurement unitsWrapping It UpChapter 5-Use Mathematical ToolsWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers?Patterns in Peru-K.G Describe relative positionsHow Big is a Foot?-1.MD Iterate length unitsSir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone-2.G Recognize attributes of 3D objectsWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers?Inchworm and a Half-3.MD Generate measurement data by measuring lengthsSir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland-4.MD-Understand concepts of anglesPerimeter, Area and Volume-5.MD Understand concepts of volume measurementWrapping It UpChapter 6-Attend to PrecisionWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers?If You Were a Triangle-K.G Identify 2D shapesLemonade for Sale-1.MD Represent and interpret dataMeasuring Penny-2.MD Measure and estimate lengthsWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers?Chimp Math-3.MD Solve problems involving measurement of intervals of timeHershey’s Weights and Measures-4.MD Express and record units of measurementSir Cumference and the Viking’s Map-5.G Graph points on a coordinate planeWrapping It UpChapter 7-Look for StructureWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers?The Button Box-K.MD Identify attributes for sortingThe Greedy Triangle-1.G Explore attributes of shapesEarth Day-Hooray!-2.NBT Use place value to add and subtractWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers?Hershey’s Kisses Multiplication and Division-3.OA Relate multiplication and divisionIf You Hopped Like a Frog-4.MD Solve problems involving measurementCheetah Math-5.NBT Explain division calculationsWrapping It UpChapter 8-Apply Repeated ReasoningWhat Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers?Bunches of Buttons: Counting by Tens-K.CC Count to 100 by tensThe King’s Commissioners-1.NBT Represent tens and onesSir Cumference and All the King’s Tens-2.NBT Represent three-digit numbers What Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers?Math Appeal-3.OA Represent and solve problems involving multiplicationThe Warlord’s Beads. -4.NBT Understand place value for multi-digit numbersAnno’s Magic Seeds-5.OA Generate numerical patternsWrapping It UpNext StepsAppendix References