Blog Three

Grapes of Math

1.) The book I selected is called Grapes of Math. It's written by Greg Tang and illustrated by Harry Briggs. Throughout the book there are many colorful illustrations that go along with the concept. The story is fairly constant throughout. The examples to help explain the concept include pictures of fish, grapes, snails, ants, camels, cherries, prairie dogs, pizza, dice, a strawberry, windows, a hand fan, seashells, watermelon, butterflies, inchworms, beetles, and bird eggs. Each thing has a learning opportunity that goes with it, facts about the thing and about the concept. For example, the camels narrative says, "One hump or two? Rugged camels on the go, their humps are filled with H2O!". This and many other facts are stated throughout the story.

2.) The mathematical concept in Grapes of Math is symmetry and patterns, also with counting too. Each example is different in the way that they tell you to count the things, determined by the certain symmetry seen in the illustrations. For example, the story talks about dots on a fan. The narrator explains, instead of counting the dots by three, count by fives. It's a new creative way to see the dots. Instead of counting the dots vertically by threes, count horizontally by fives!!! This book does a great job of thinking outside the box by looking at symmetry.

Page from book, fan example

3.) I think this is a great way to teach kids about symmetry because the visuals make learning fun. The different examples are all kid friendly and connect the concept to real life so learners can relate it to their own life. I also think that it's awesome that each example not only explains symmetry but also  gives facts about the thing that is being talked about. That way you're learning two things at the same time!!!