Monday Math Literature Volume 12

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The lesson I did on equality this group with my first and second graders got me thinking about how kids perceive the word equal.  Much of their knowledge comes from what they get exposed to in school and it made me realize how important it is to give kids opportunities to be exposed to equations that look different and to have kids get a chance to decide if equations are true or false.

The book I pulled out as a follow up for these students is a great story by Virgina Kroll who is an amazing author who has over 50 published books.  Now that I know the name, I keep seeing books that I own that she wrote!  Quite a collection.

Equal Shmequal

This story has the sweetest illustrations and a story line that really supports students' developing understanding of equality.  Mouse wants to play tug of war but she wants the teams to be equal.  They can't seem to come to a solution until Mouse starts using math to help her.  The story ends with a look at what equal means for math, art, the law and sports.  

I first started thinking deeply about teaching equality when I read Young Mathematicians at Work: Constructing Algebra.  That book made me really think about how intentional we need to be when we teach equality.

Want to read more about how I use math literature in the classroom?  Click here to start at the beginning of the series!

Click here to head to volume 13!