math keynote2008

Click Your Heels 3 Times!Using the Power of Storytelling to Bring Math Concepts Home

• Tina Rohde and Colleen Shaskin• WonderWeavers - Storytellers

• www.wonderweavers.com

Math is more than numbers!

Stories are more than

words!

From the beginning

of time there was Story. . .

Storytelling and Story Listening!

• Builds relationships and creates community• Is interactive• Increases comprehension and

prediction skills• Exercises imagination• Entertains• Increases language and reinforces math skills

How we

learn

Neurons: Building Blocks of the Brain

• 100,000,000,000 neurons at birth

• Each has about 10,000 dendrites (branches)

• 1,000,000,000,000,000 possible configurations

• 17% of the neurons are wired at birth

A Baby’s Brain

A child’s journey into

literacy

What Children Need for Language Development

• Enriched environment

• Secure environment

• Loving environment

• Conversation

• Exploration

• Limited TV

600 words/ hour 1200 words/ hour 2100 words/ hour

Our words make a positive difference

in a child’s life!

When asking questions allow Wait Time.

Stories & Math are all around us!

Standards of Mathfrom the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

• Thinking Math• Problem Solving• Communications• Reasoning• Connections

• Content Math• Patterns and Relationships

• Number Sense & Numeration

• Geometry and Spatial Sense

• Measurement

• Fractions

• Estimation

• Statistics and Probability

Thinking Math• Problem Solving• Communications

• Reasoning• Connections

Problem Solving is key in being able to do all other aspects of math.

Storytelling and story play stimulate children to use all of the Thinking Math skills

Content Math• Patterns and Relationships

• Number Sense & Numeration

• Geometry and Spatial Sense

• Measurement

• Fractions

• Estimation

• Statistics and Probability

Patterns and Relationships

Relationships are things that are

connected by some kind of reason.

Patterns are things that

repeat.

Number Sense & Numeration

• Ability to think and work with numbers easily

Geometry and Spatial Sense

• Shape, Size, Space, Position,

Direction and Movement

Measurement

• Length, Height, Weight, Time, How Big or Little

Fractions

• Parts of a whole

Estimation

• More than, Less than, and educated guess about size or amount

How Many?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

98th

percentile 80th

percentile 50th percentile

20th

percentile

Reading Outside School

Minutes/Day

•Using graphs and charts•Statistics tells the stories about our

world•Probabilities tell the likelihood of

something occurring

Statistics and Probability

Putting it all together!

Using a story across the math curriculum

Use What You Know!

• Playing with Math and Story

Storytelling, Literacy and Math experiences lead to …

Click your heals three times…

• Make learning fun for you and for your students.

• Hands on learning experiences work best.

• The things we do each day shape children’s lives and build strong foundations for their future.