6th Teaching & Education Conference, Vienna

MATHEMATICS IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

RENAN SEZER

Abstract:

Children’s literature enhances language and vocabulary skills, creativity, while teaching about culture and even content, such as history. Yet literature and mathematics are often considered totally unrelated fields and this extends to children’s literature as well. The aim of this study is to show that literature and mathematics can indeed overlap. Children’s literature involving mathematics can be classified into two catagories: literature per se and literature where the aim is to help youngsters, who are not naturally inclined toward mathematics, learn it through an adventure story. This is a qualitative study examining works of both types. Examples of the underlying mathematical thought as well as age appropriateness of these topics will be discussed. Moreover, examples where erroneous distortions in mathematics is made, in order to fit in with the story line, will be given. It is recommended that either such fallacies are averted or results are given as approximations, to avoid mathematical misconceptions.

Keywords: Children's Literature, mathematics and literature, interdisciplinary

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