It's National Math Awareness Month in the USA, and parents need to find any way they can to help their children to connect math with the real world. Many students struggle with this subject, and find it hard to apply to real life.
If you take time out to think about it, we all use math every day. We just don't think of it as math. Every time we look at a clock, measure ingredients for a recipe, go to the cashier to make a purchase, or even look at a "stop" sign while we're driving, we have come face to face with math.
What does a "stop" sign have to do with math? Well, driving itself involves a lot of math, but so does the shape of the "stop" sign! Geometry is a visual form of math, and an area in which children with strong "spatial intelligence" will excel. There are ways that you can help your child to develop spatial skills. This week, I will share many resources to help you do so.
A great beginner book about polygons and shapes is The Greedy Triangle, by Marilyn Burns. This colorful picture book can be used for children in grades 2 through 5 as an introduction to geometry.
This clever book starts out with a triangle, who is bored with his shape and wants to try out other shapes. So, he adds a side to become a quadrilateral, then a pentagon, then a hexagon, etc. You get the picture.
Along the way, there are many pictures of places each shape can be found in the real world (hence, the "stop" sign has 8 sides, and is an octagon). It really gets children thinking about how math connects with the real world.
In the end, the triangle ends up as a circle, which prompts a discussion of whether a circle is a polygon like the other shapes. It's a great way for children to remember the definition of a polygon.
Believe it or not, even 5th graders have a tough time remembering what a polygon is and how many sides a quadrilateral has. That's because elementary school teachers have so many topics to cover, that they rarely cover any one math topic for too long. Many educators do not feel that they have enough time to use such wonderful picture books as this one during their lessons. That's part of the reason why I left the public school system in order to share my knowledge with parents.
Another unique aspect of this book is the message it sends to children. At first, the triangle wants to become a different shape because he's become bored with being a triangle. After trying on so many different shapes and sizes, however, he realizes that he really likes being a triangle. Just like the books I recommended in my Celebrating Individuality series, the message is that we should value what makes us unique and special.
Marilyn Burns also offers some wonderful suggestions at the end of this book for parents and teachers. Whether or not you use any of these suggestions, or even read this book with your child, you can still try to find ways to connect math with real life. It's an important way to help your child to love learning.
It's Math to World Month here at Moms Inspire Learning! I hope you will check back for more resources and suggestions. As always, you are welcome to subscribe for email updates, or to make comments.
In the meantime, did you or your child find a polygon in the real world that you'd like to share?
