In case you missed Literacy Lava 2, a wonderful, FREE online magazine I contribute to, along with some other incredible bloggers, I thought I'd share my contribution to this volume. It really is an amazing resource for parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians, and anyone else who works with children. I hope you will take a look.
By now, you all know how strongly I believe in integrating literacy with math and other subjects. For the 2nd issue of Literacy Lava, I wrote about the math/literacy connection which relates specifically to shapes. Here is my contribution:
When my son was about 2 or 3, there was an evening when we were driving around trying to find a parking spot near a restaurant. I said, "We're going around in circles!" He responded, "No, Mommy, we're going in squares!" Those words have stayed with me ever since.
It's those small, unexpected moments that we remember the most as parents, isn't it? I'm talking about the moments that come out of the blue and immediately put a smile on your face. The ones that become forever etched in your mind.
Children learn the most through spontaneous moments like that as well, especially when it comes to math. For example, when they build a tower of blocks with preschool friends, only to see it knocked down, they not only learn valuable social skills, but are increasing their spatial perception and are learning to distinguish between different shapes and sizes as well. Not only that, but there's science in there too - gravity!
Sometimes, the best thing you can do as a parent is to sit back and let your child learn through play. My son used to spend hours with blocks. We had blocks of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. And no - I didn't drill him on the shapes, but naming them did come up naturally while he was playing. He used to play with Legos a lot too. Even when he was past the "block" stage, he was able to put together so many different Lego figures by following the child-friendly instructions.
While the importance of play should never be underestimated, there's also a lot that can be learned through simple interaction with parents and other adults. You don't have to be a qualified teacher to help children to discover the math that is all around them. A simple question or comment at the right time is sometimes all that is necessary.
No matter where you are, there are teachable math moments just waiting to be captured. Just think about shapes, for example. You can find them just about anywhere: floor tiles, windows, paintings, photographs, tables, dinner plates, dominoes, and even road signs! While a 2 or 3 year old identifies squares and circles, a budding reader might be able to read the stop sign and identify it as an octagon. A 9 to 12 year old child will have fun looking for three dimensional figures like spheres, cylinders, prisms, pyramids, and cones. And yes, soup cans and ice cream cones count!
Such early experiences with math can make the subject less intimidating for children later on. Learning math is like learning to read in that the skills need to be learned gradually. Just like children need to be surrounded with written and spoken letters and words from a young age, they need to see the math that is all around them every day.
So, as important as literacy is, let's not forget the math! Before you know it, your child will be correcting you, just like my son did when we were looking for that restaurant. When your child starts to see the math before you do, you'll know you're doing something right...And it will bring a smile to your face.
Just a few ideas for Math/Literacy Connections: Shapes -
For ages 2 to 5:
- Ask children to find squares, circles, or triangles all around them.
- Play a game of "I Spy" to identify shapes together.
- Ask children to draw an object, a face, or a person using shapes. They might even be able to label it with a pencil or tell you a story about it.
- Encourage them to play with dominoes, and count the dots.
- Have children to make patterns with cereal that's shaped like circles and squares.
For ages 6 to 8:
- Read Grandfather Tang's Story together.
- Introduce tangrams and talk about the shapes.
- Let your child create all kinds of shapes and figures with the tangram, and tell or write stories about them.
- Let your child build, draw, label, and compare shapes.
- Read Marilyn Burns' Spaghetti and Meatballs for All! Talk about area and perimeter, and try suggested activities.
- Children can also calculate area and perimeter with tangrams!
Why should we integrate math with literacy?
Talking and/or reading about math helps your child to develop the following skills:
- listening
- speaking
- writing
- critical thinking
- storytelling
- sequencing
- problem solving
- spatial perception
For more math/literacy connections, please feel free to take a look through my math resources category, which is updated on a regular basis.
You might also want to take a look at the editor's contribution to Literacy Lava 2. If your child likes to read about and pretend to be a pirate, you'll love Susan Stephenson's Party Like a Pirate.
Enjoy! As always, feedback is very much appreciated.
