Integrating literature into math is not a new idea. Numerous articles and books on this topic have appeared since 1989. We want our students to be able to think mathematically and to see that math is part of their life experiences. Good literature can help us to achieve these goals.   The purpose of this article is to identify some books which could be used with your class. The books, all related to the geometry strand, include ideas which can be applied in patterning activities with students. They are all available through the provincial library.   This list is not exhaustive. If you have some favorite literature that you use, please let us know.   At the conclusion of the article some excellent reference books have been listed. These will give you further ideas on integrating literature into your math lessons. Concept of Shape The following books can be used to introduce this concept, to generate discussion, to have children explore and/or to identify various shapes:    Brown, Marcia. (1979). Listen to a Shape. Franklin Watts.    Carle, Eric. (1974). My Very First Book of Shapes. Thomas Y. Crowell.    Carle, Eric. (1992). Draw me a Star. Philomel Books.    Ehlert, Lois. (1989). Color Zoo. J. B. Lippincott.    Emberley, Ed. (1961). The Wing on a Flea. Little, Brown & Company.    Grifalconi, Ann. (1986). The Village of Round and Square Houses. Little, Brown.    Hoban, Tana. (1973). Over, Under, and Through and other Spatial Concepts. Macmillan Publishing.    Hoban, Tana. (1974). Circles, Triangles, Squares. Macmillan Publishing.    Hoban, Tana. (1983). Round and Round and Round. Greenwillow Books.    Hoban, Tana. (1986). Shapes, Shapes, Shapes. Greenwillow Books.    Isaacson, Philip. (1988). Round Buildings, Square Buildings and Buildings That Wiggle Like a Fish. Knopf.    MacKinnon, D. & Sieveking, A. (1992). What Shape? Dial Books for Young Readers.    Pluckrose, Henry. (1986). Shape. Franklin Watts.    Reiss, John J. (1974). Shapes. Bradbury Press Inc.    Rogers, Paul. (1989). The Shapes Game. Doubleday Canada Limited.    Seuss, Dr. (1973). The Shape of Me and Other Stuff. Beginner Books. Concept of Angles The following books avoid using degrees to measure angles. Rather, they contain activities which relate to the size of angles. Teacher-directed activities with these books is much more effective than simply putting them in learning centers.    Froman, Robert. (1976). Angles are as easy as Pie. Thomas Y. Crowell.    Phillips, Jo. (1972). Right Angles. Crowell Junior Books. Geometry through Paper Folding    Araki, Chiyo. (1965). Origami in the Classroom, Book 1. Charles E. Tuttle.    Araki, Chiyo. (1968). Origami in the Classroom, Book 2. Charles E. Tuttle.    Ayture-Scheele, Zulal. (1986). The Great Origami Book. Sterling Publishing Co.    Phillips, Jo. (1972). Right Angles. Crowell Junior Books.    Sakata, Hideki. (1984). Origami. Japan Publication U.S.A.    Saunders, Richard & Mackness, Brian. (199). Horrorgami! Spooky Paper folding Just for Fun. Sterling Publishing Co.    Simon, Seymour. (1974). The Paper Airplane Book. The Viking Press.    Small, David. (1987). Paper John. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Concept of Perimeter and Area    Srivastava, Jane. (1970). Area. Crowell. Use this book along with sets of tangram pieces.    Tompert, Ann. (1990). Grandfather Tang's Story. Crown Publishers, Inc. Concept of Circle, Ellipse, and Spiral    Charosh, Mannis. (1971). The Ellipse. Thomas Y. Crowell.    de Paola, Tomie. (1978). Pancakes for Breakfast. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.    Emberley, Ed. (1984). Picture Pie. Little, Brown & Company.    Orii, Eiji & Orii, Masako. (1989). Simple Science Experiments with Circles. Gareth Stevens.    Ross, Catherine. (1992). Circles. Kids Can Press Ltd.    Sitomer, Mindel and Harry. (1974). Spirals. Thomas Y. Crowell Company. Concept of Topology    Adler, David. (1975). Three-D, Two-D, One-D. Thomas Y. Crowell.    Froman, Robert. (1972). Rubber Bands, Baseballs, and Doughnuts. Thomas Y. Crowell. Other Geometry books which teachers can use with their students:    Baum, Arline & Baum, Joseph. (1987). Opt: An Illusionary Tale. Viking Kestrel.    Charosh, Mannis. (1972). Straight Lines, Parallel Lines, Perpendicular Lines. Thomas Y. Crowell.    Ernst, Lisa Campbell. (1983). Sam Johnson and the Blue Ribbon Quilt. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.    Jonas, Ann. (1987). Reflections. Greenwillow Books.    Macaulay, David. (1975). Pyramid. Houghton Mifflin.    Ross, Catherine. (1994). Triangles - Shapes in Math, Science and Nature. Kids Can Press Ltd.    Sitomer, Mindel and Harry. (1970). What is Symmetry? Thomas Y. Crowell Company.    Wilson, Forrest. (1968). Architecture: A Book of Projects For Young Adults. Reinhold. Reference Books    Bresser, Rusty. (1995). Math and Literature (Grades 4-6). Math Solutions Publications.    Burns, Marilyn. (1992). Math and Literature (K-3). Book One. Math Solutions Publications.    Sheffield, Stephanie. (1995). Math and Literature (K-3). Book Two. Math Solutions Publications.    Thiessen, D & Matthias, M. (Editors). (1992). The Wonderful World of Mathematics. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.    Tischler, Rosamond Welchman. (1992). How to Use Children's Literature to Teach Mathematics. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.    Whitin, D. & Wilde, S. (1992). Read Any Good Math Lately? Heinemann. Return to Math Central To return to the previous page use your browser's back button.