Positioning Picture Books within the Mathematics Curriculum

Most teachers feel confident espousing the benefits of using picture books in English lessons, talking about the importance of using the illustrations to enhance the text, engaging students and fostering a love and appreciation of literature. How many teachers passionately advocate the use of these same picture books in mathematics lessons? This author hopes to show how easily a quality picture book can stimulate mathematical discussion, introduce and develop abstract concepts, and lead into relevant and interesting mathematical activities. Picture books develop the literacy skills of students: pictures provide extra scaffolding, and there are opportunities to relate the text content to one's own background knowledge, to respond to themes, introduce problematic knowledge and so on. Using picture books to stimulate mathematical discussion and learning experiences gives students a starting point and provides a non-threatening learning environment for students with low mathematical self efficacy. Jenkins will demonstrate how four fiction texts can be used specifically to develop students' understanding of position, direction, and mapping skills.