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Dec 12, 2019 | Littleton

Reading is a necessary skill to have in today’s world. It’s something that’s typically learned in school and supplemented at home, and it opens up the world for people of all ages. Once a child becomes proficient at reading it not only becomes necessary for future learning, school work and day to day living, it also can become a favorite hobby and activity that can be done year round. With the nip of cold weather at your nose and feet, reading is one of the best winter activities for all ages, as it provides time to stay in, be warm and snuggle with family members. 

Whether the joy of reading has been sparked in your child from the time they were babies, if they were read to, or whether reading is something your child does because they have to for school, encouraging your child to read for pleasure – and especially out loud – is one of the best things you can do to help your child become truly literate. It’s also a great way to spend family time, with everyone gathered around listening to stories. 

We could go on and on about how great reading is, but we are Mathnasium of Littleton, and this is a math blog… so what does this have to do with math? Glad you asked. Here are 3 very tangible ways that reading (especially out loud!) and math are complimentary of one another and why reading makes kids math better. 

Simultaneous Brain Use

You’ve probably heard about the left side of our brain and the right side of our brain, and how these two are diverse and often promote different types of thinking. You’ve also probably heard people refer to themselves as being “right brained” if they’re supposed creative types. People like this may be artists, crafters, linguists and musicians. While “left brained” has been used to describe people who are more analytical types. People who are engineers, accountants, scientists etc. The reality is that while we as humans might have the propensity to lean toward one side or the other, either because of strengths or preference, both sides are important for everyone to exercise – especially at the same time. Neither side of any brain is mutually exclusive and different areas of the brain work together for optimal function all the time! Take, architects, for instance. They generally have very good spatial awareness and understanding – think plotting in calculus – yet they also have very creative solutions for preventing buildings from being too boring.  

Let’s put it together. If you have your child bring math into their reading, and specifically out loud reading, they will still be practicing reading while mathing. They will then be practicing two very important skills that cross over from their right brain to their left – a huge step in the way of literacy and numerical fluency. 

Situational Practice

Sometimes classroom environments can be intimidating – especially if your child is particularly shy or if they aren’t confident with math or reading skills. Many schools these days are taking different approaches than calling on kids for correct answers, however, just as volunteering and having a correct answer can be confidence building, providing a wrong answer or stuttering over words that are supposed to be at grade level for your child can be embarrassing. Reading math problems at home out loud can help. When they practice out loud in front of family, it still provides an audience, but one that isn’t as intimidating as being in a classroom with peers. Being in a more relaxed environment can help your child build the confidence to read out loud and answer math questions in a classroom setting. It can help kids see that it can be fun, too!

Practical Application

Math is not just about sitting in a seat, answering problems. Math is all around us in real life and the act of mathing isn’t just busy work, it helps children be able to come up with expansive ways of problem solving in the real world. Well, analytically applying math to most any real life dilemma will also require reading, hence why word problems exist. Reading word problems out loud and then breaking them down and discussing how to solve them is a step in applying math to real life. It’s like reading a story with a math problem contained in it.

As you’re thinking about gifts for your kids or how to spend time with them during winter break, math books and/or taking a trip to the public library to check out math books should not be left off of the list. Reading math books are a two-fold amazing way to bring math into your child’s daily practice and life and a great way for them to learn how to enjoy math – especially if they already love reading. There are math books for all ages, grades and math comprehension levels. Here are some of our favorites:

Ages 3 – 5

  1. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle
  2. “The Grouchy Ladybug” by Eric Carle
  3. “Five Little Monkeys” by Eileen Christelow
  4. “Ten Black Dots” by Donald Crews

Ages 6 – 8

  1. “Do Not Open This Math Book” by Danica McKellar
  2. “The Sunday Scoop” by Stuart J. Murphy
  3. “A Million Dots” by Mike Clements
  4. “Ten for Me” by Barbara Mariconda

Ages 9 – 11

  1. “Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi – A Math Adventure” by Cindy Neuschwander
  2. “A Very Improbable Story” by Edward Einhorn
  3. “Less Than Zero” by Stuart J. Murphy
  4. “How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane?” by Laura Overdeck

Ages 12 – 14 

  1. Math and Logic Puzzles that Make Kids Think” by Jeffrey Wanko
  2. “Kiss My Math – Show Pre-Algebra Who’s Boss” by Danica McKellar
  3. “The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency: The Case of the Missing Moonstone” by Jordan Stratford

Ages 15+

  1. “Finding Zero” by Amir D. Aczel
  2. “The (Fabulous) Finonacci Numbers by Alfred Posamentier and Ingmar Lehmann
  3. “The Motley Fool Investment Guides for Teens – 8 Steps to Having More Money than your Parents Ever Dreamed of” by David Gardner and Tom Gardner

Read on! 

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