Learn how children’s literature can help K–5 students see the real-life applications of mathematical concepts. This user-friendly book shows how to use stories to engage students in building critical reasoning, abstract thinking, and communication skills, all while helping students understand the relevance of math in their everyday lives. Each chapter is dedicated to one of the eight Standards for Mathematical Practice, and offers examples of children’s literature that can be used to help students develop that practice. You’ll find out how to: Encourage students to persevere in solving mathematical problems and use multiple approaches to find the answer; Help students reason abstractly with the aid of concrete objects and visuals; Guide students in constructing arguments to explain their reasoning and engage in critical discussion with their peers; Teach students to recognize mathematical patterns and use them to solve problems efficiently; And more! The book offers activities for beginners as well as for more advanced problem solvers. Each chapter also provides guidance for ELLs and students with special needs, so no matter your classroom environment, you’ll be able to use these strategies to make math class more dynamic, engaging, and fun.

Table of Contents:
About the Author Acknowledgements Introduction-Addressing the Standards for Mathematical Practice in K-5 Breaking Down the Practice Standards Creating a Problem Solving Community Chapter 1-Make Sense and Persevere What Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers? 7 Blind Mice-K.OA Decompose numbers into pairs MATH-Terpieces: The Art of Problem Solving-1.OA Use 2 and 3 addends to find a sum Splash!-2.OA Represent addition and subtraction problems What Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers? The Warlord’s Kites-3.MD Use the formula for the area of a rectangle A Remainder of One-4.OA Solve multi-step word problems with whole numbers Multiplying Menace-5.NF Multiply a whole number by a fraction Wrapping It Up Chapter 2- Reason Abstractly What Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers? Each Orange Had 8 Slices-K.OA Count to answer, How many? Ten Flashing Fireflies-1.OA Explore the Commutative Property of Addition Rooster’s Off to See the World-1.OA Explore the Associative Property of Addition Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!-2.G Partition rectangles into rows and columns What Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers? Racing Around-3.MD Solve problems involving perimeters of polygons Fractions, Decimals and Percents-4.NF Understand decimal notation for fractions Count to a Million-5.NBT Understand the value of 0 in a multi-digit number Wrapping It Up Chapter 3-Construct Arguments What Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers? How Many Mice?-K.OA Represent addition and subtraction Mall Mania-1.NBT Add two-digit numbers using various strategies How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?-2.NBT Skip-count and compare three-digit numbers What Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers? Full House-3.NF Understand how fractions are written as part/whole The Warlord’s Puzzle-4.G Classify 2-D figures and recognizing right triangles The Hershey’s Fractions Book-5.NF Use equivalent fractions to add & subtract fractions Wrapping It Up Chapter 4-Create a Model What Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers? The Doorbell Rang-K.OA Represent addition in various ways Bigger, Better, Best!-1.G Compose 2-D shapes into composite shapes Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday-2.MD Solve word problems with money What Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers? Tiger Math-3.MD Draw graphs to represent a data set with several categories Actual Size-4.MD Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements Polly’s Pen Pal-5.MD Convert among different-sized measurement units Wrapping It Up Chapter 5-Use Mathematical Tools What Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers? Patterns in Peru-K.G Describe relative positions How Big is a Foot?-1.MD Iterate length units Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone-2.G Recognize attributes of 3D objects What Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers? Inchworm and a Half-3.MD Generate measurement data by measuring lengths Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland-4.MD-Understand concepts of angles Perimeter, Area and Volume-5.MD Understand concepts of volume measurement Wrapping It Up Chapter 6-Attend to Precision What Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers? If You Were a Triangle-K.G Identify 2D shapes Lemonade for Sale-1.MD Represent and interpret data Measuring Penny-2.MD Measure and estimate lengths What Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers? Chimp Math-3.MD Solve problems involving measurement of intervals of time Hershey’s Weights and Measures-4.MD Express and record units of measurement Sir Cumference and the Viking’s Map-5.G Graph points on a coordinate plane Wrapping It Up Chapter 7-Look for Structure What Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers? The Button Box-K.MD Identify attributes for sorting The Greedy Triangle-1.G Explore attributes of shapes Earth Day-Hooray!-2.NBT Use place value to add and subtract What Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers? Hershey’s Kisses Multiplication and Division-3.OA Relate multiplication and division If You Hopped Like a Frog-4.MD Solve problems involving measurement Cheetah Math-5.NBT Explain division calculations Wrapping It Up Chapter 8-Apply Repeated Reasoning What Does This Standard Mean for Grades K-2 Problem Solvers? Bunches of Buttons: Counting by Tens-K.CC Count to 100 by tens The King’s Commissioners-1.NBT Represent tens and ones Sir Cumference and All the King’s Tens-2.NBT Represent three-digit numbers What Does This Standard Mean for Grades 3-5 Problem Solvers? Math Appeal-3.OA Represent and solve problems involving multiplication The Warlord’s Beads. -4.NBT Understand place value for multi-digit numbers Anno’s Magic Seeds-5.OA Generate numerical patterns Wrapping It Up Next Steps Appendix References