RM Winter 2016 FLIP

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Reading Matters
Research Matters
Reading Matters | Volume 16 • Winter 2016 | |13|
their math journal: I remember (Can you use your prior knowledge
to connect this book or concept to another one?); I notice (Did
the story offer a new way of thinking about the concept we are
learning about?); I wonder (Did this book make you think of a
question, or are you more curious about a concept than before?).
After spending a few minutes writing, the students either shared
their entries with a partner or sometimes they shared with
the entire class. Murphy (1999) suggested that picture books
not only engage children and help them make mathematical
connections, but they also provide visualization of mathematical
concepts in the illustrations. Rogers, Cooper, Nesmith, and
Purdum-Cassidy (2015) add that including children’s literature
provides a natural context for the sharing of mathematics. When
students wrote in their journals after they listened to a poem or
picture book, they actively communicated their understanding
or lack thereof. Thus this served as an authentic way for me to
assess whether the students were able to grasp the concept,
or not, as I observed and noted their responses to the story.
After each mathematical literacy experience, I wrote detailed
field notes regarding how I felt about the lesson, how the
students responded, whether students seemed to benefit
from the shared reading, and any thoughts I had about what I
could do differently next time. Daily reflections helped me to
continuously evaluate the students’ learning needs and revise
my instruction to support the students’ understanding.
Data analysis in this teacher research study occurred in three
phases. In Phase I, I identified examples from student work and
field notes that related to my research question, coded data
for themes, and organized the data electronically in a matrix to
make searches, sorting, and retrieval easier. In Phase II, I charted
my codes, specific examples, and the student associated with
the code, recognizing that certain events or statements might
be coded several ways. In Phase III, I used cross case analysis to
compare students and better understand the larger phenomenon
of incorporating children’s literature into a content area class.
First Grade Findings
In this section I share four students’ stories: Jack, Kate, Ben
and Ellie (all pseudonyms). First, I introduce each student
and share his or her understanding of math concepts as well
as their dispositions towards the subject. Next, I describe
their individual reactions to the incorporation of children’s
literature into the math class and one salient theme that
resonated across all of the data collected from that particular
student. Finally, I share some of my notes about the student
as the year progressed. My hope is that by reading about
their experiences and my own reflections on their progress,
educators will see how skills can transfer across content
areas, consider new ways to differentiate and recognize the
importance of incorporating children’s literature into math time.
Jack: avid reader and unconfident
mathematician
In the baseline survey, Jack responded that he could not get
good grades in math, however, his responses on the thumbs up
slips regarding children’s literature were very positive, showing
the books helped him understand the mathematical concepts.
Jack preferred reading and writing to math, so when math time
incorporated literacy skills he enjoyed it more. After we read Pigs
will be Pigs: Fun with Math and Money (Axelrod, 1997), he wrote
in his journal: I remember when I found a nickel and penny just
like the pigs did in the hot air duct. Jack used the reading strategy
of making connections to try to relate math to his own life.
Research shows that increased access to a variety of texts
can better motivate students who have a strong interest in the
topics addressed in such texts (Jobe & Dayton-Sakari, 2002).
For Jack, incorporating children’s literature into mathematics
joined an activity he thought of as favorable (reading) with
one he did not feel as successful in (math). Jack’s overall
reading ability and his self-confidence grew to the point where
his negative feelings towards math lessened. In one of his
last journal entries of the year he wrote: Math is not bad.
Looking over my field notes, I recognized that many of the
students were like Jack and their responses were mostly positive
towards the incorporation of children’s literature during math
throughout the year. In my research journal, I wrote about enjoying
the days I used picture books more than days I did not. In one entry
I describe the students’ reaction to The Greedy Triangle (Burns, 1994).
The Greedy Triangle was a big hit. Not only did they enjoy
the book, but I also really think it helped their understanding.
Jack, who always looks so disinterested during math, was on the
edge of his seat waiting to say the name of the next shape.
Kate, strong reader and mathematician
Kate believed that she could do math, get good grades in
math and gave all thumbs up on her slips, showing she had a high
confidence level in mathematics. Kate enjoyed the math books,
and may have benefited from them, but she probably would have
had the same positive reaction towards math with or without
the books. After we read the poem“Smart” (Silverstein, 1974),
she wrote in her math journal: In (the poem) Smart, I noticed that
he did not add right. He just wanted more coins. Kate was able to
understand the money concepts presented in “Smart” and express
the greed of the child in the poem. Incorporating poetry into math
class encouraged Kate to join math concepts and logical reasoning.
When children’s literature is used as way of introducing a
manipulative, students may see the manipulative as a tool for
exploring the math concept as opposed to a device for obtaining
an answer (Van de Walle, Karp, & Bay-Williams, 2010). For example,
when I taught the money unit, I used texts such as Money (Crib,
1990), If you Made a Million (Schwartz, 1989) and A Chair for My
Mother (Williams, 1982). By sharing these texts with my class
and using the coins as manipulatives, I provided an opportunity
for the students to further understand the concept of authentic
purpose for listening – to obtain information that they needed to
know. The books also reminded the students about the real world
applications of this concept. At the same time, students enjoyed
being read children’s literature outside of the literacy block.