Customer Reviews

New Visions for Linking Literature and Mathematics

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This is a useful resource for teachers looking to bring literature into their math classrooms. Most of the content of this book focused on ideas for grades K-6, primarily the younger grades. I am most interested in the middle grades (6-8), so I would probably need to make accommodations to "beef up" the activities, but this book still gave great insight.
The book is divided into several sections on useful topics such as the book selection process, appealing to different age groups, and book pairings. The section that stood out the most to me was the first chapter: Criteria for Selecting Math-Related Books. This is a section that every teacher could benefit from reading. Without giving too much away, the chapter examines the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) principles and standards for classroom literature. It takes into account many aspects of effective classroom literature, including accuracy of ideas, clarity, and cultural awareness.
A strong point of this book is its careful attention to the NCTM standards. If you follow its ideas outlined on choosing literature, then you would be almost guaranteed to find success in your classroom.
I will point out that this book is largely made up of example activities for specific books. Bearing that in mind, this work would be best for teachers looking for specific titles to use in their classroom. Teachers interested in the science and process behind choosing appropriate reading material for their classroom might want to glimpse through this book rather than read it fully.