\n\tPublished: March 10, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tPicture a huddle of children, wide-eyed as they listen to 足彩app哪个是正规的 Very Hungry Caterpillar, the classic tale of a critter gobbling through one apple, two pears, three plums and oh so much more<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tOn the simplest level, it\u2019s all about counting. Focus the math 足彩app哪个是正规的 a bit, say two researchers in UW Bothell\u2019s School of Educational Studies, and it becomes a fun problem-solving challenge for first-graders, who add number after number then debate whether the caterpillar eats 25 or 26 things on its way to a tummy ache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\u201cWhen you can say, \u2018Let\u2019s count how many things the caterpillar\u2019s eating,\u2019 all of a sudden children start seeing math in more interesting ways in the world around them,\u201d says Allison Hintz, an assistant professor who researches mathematics teaching and learning in early elementary classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tHintz and Antony Smith, Associate Dean of the School of Educational Studies, are researching how this \u201cmathematizing\u201d of story-time reading can nurture children\u2019s joy and wonder for mathematics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\u201cWe have seen teachers transform read-alouds into engaging experiences that are also mathematically powerful for students,\u201d Hintz and Smith wrote in an article about some of their early research published in 足彩app哪个是正规的 Reading Teacher, a national practitioner journal for educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tIn March, Hintz and Smith are teaming with Mie-Mie Wu, a children\u2019s librarian at the Bothell branch of the King County Library System, where they will field test the first of several toolkits they\u2019re developing with step-by-step tips for sparking conversations about math while reading to children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tWu recommended many of the titles that Hintz and Smith chose for their first two toolkits that will include a set of books, discussion prompts, and story synopses. One focuses on math practices, time, number, and combinations; another concentrates on shape, size, and pattern. Wu is excited to use them during the Bothell Library\u2019s \u201cMarch Mathness\u201d story times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\u201cThis is such a great opportunity,\u201d Wu says. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to be experts who can talk about theorems and proofs to bring math into story time conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tHintz and Smith will gather data on their toolkits by observing story times and interviewing librarians and parents. 足彩app哪个是正规的n, they\u2019ll fine-tune their toolkits as they work to develop 13 others, with input from librarians in other King County Library System branches. 足彩app哪个是正规的y hope to secure future funding for a larger-scale study examining story-time math discussions in library and school settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\u201c足彩app哪个是正规的 ultimate goal\u201d Smith says, \u201cis to help children see mathematics as meaningful and relevant to their lives \u2013 as a way to make sense of their world \u2013 and to see themselves as vibrant young mathematicians and readers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n