I'm Trying to Love Math



Last updated Monday, April 1, 2024

Author: Bethany Barton
Date of Publication: 2019
ISBN: 0451480902
Grade Level: 1st    (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Apr. 2024

Synopsis: Do multiplication tables give you hives? Do you break out in a sweat when you see more than a few numbers hanging out together? Then I'm Trying to Love Math is for you! Bethany Barton introduces readers to the things (and people) that use math in amazing ways - like music, and spacecraft, and even baking cookies! This isn't a how-to math book, it's a way to think differently about math as a necessary and cool part of our lives!

Discussion topics for before reading:
•  How was Spring Break? What fun activities did you enjoy during Spring Break?
•  Did you read any books or watch your favorite television show during Spring Break?
•  What was your favorite meal prepared during the Spring Holiday Break?

Vocabulary
•  Scientist- a person who is studying or has expert knowledge of one or more of the natural or physical sciences.
•  Arithmetic- the branch of mathematics dealing with the properties of numbers.
•  Invention- a product or a way of doing something which has never been made or never existed before.
•  Measurement- the action of measuring something.

Discussion topics for during/after reading:
•  Where did they put the gold record?
•  Where is Math used?
•  What pastry was baked using Math?
•  What is the meaning of pi in Math?
•  How is math used in our everyday life?

Craft ideas:
•  Earth Day is April 22,2024. Make a poster or flyer about something pertaining to the day.
•  Draw a picture of something you did on your spring break.

Special activities:
•  Spider Web Active Math
•  Practice addition (or subtraction) with this fun outdoor game for students. Make a big spider web on your sidewalk and write numbers in each section. Call out commands like 1+1, 4-2, 1+6 and so on. Line up the students, each student will have a chance to deduce the answer mentally and jump on the correct number.
•  If indoors, please write numbers on construction paper and lay on the floor in the shape of the spider web and have the student jump on the correct number.
•  Materials needed: Construction paper, slim markers and chalk.

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions. You can use them, but you don't have to use them. You can expand upon them, or add your own twist. Remember, though, that the focus of your time should not be on the development and execution of a craft; the focus should be on the read-aloud and the enjoyment of the book!