Double the Ducks (MathStart 1)

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What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. Write to us at [email protected] or leave us a comment below. Kids will love the story and the illustrations by Valeria Petrone. Parents and educators will love how the story and pictures make understanding the math concepts a breeze—as well as the concrete examples of how math works. The book contains activities for adults to do with kids to extend math into their own lives.

exhibit – n. an object or a collection of objects that have been put out in a public space for people to look at: something shown in an exhibition Lccn 2001024321 Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-1-g862e Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Devanagari Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.6841 Ocr_module_version 0.0.15 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-NS-1027340 Openlibrary_editionThe inspiration to write math stories for children was sparked by my work on a high school mathematics program. Visual learning strategies helped teens—who had been characterized as “reluctant learners’—understand difficult math concepts. Putting math in the context of stories based on their experiences made them feel more comfortable with abstract concepts. They actually became eager to apply math to real-life problems. Engaging and relatable stories, with each story revolving around practical applications of the math concept presented Tell the child or students that you have thought of a number and then doubled it. Then say what the doubled number is and ask if they can figure out what the original number was. For example, if the doubled number is 10, the correct answer is 5. If the child has difficulty, use a group of small objects—buttons, paper clips, or pennies—that total your doubled number. Then have the child separate them into two groups. I See I Learn books teach social, emotional, health and safety, and cognitive skills, such as how to make friends, build confidence, play safely, work together, manage emotions, and make plans. These skills are important for school readiness and for living happy, healthy, productive lives.

MathStart's unique combination of stories, illustrations, and visual models helps teachers and parents in the teaching of math and provides all children with the opportunity to succeed. If this approach worked for older students, I began to wonder what might happen if younger children were introduced to math this way! The songs are terrific. The math is spot on. And the club motto makes my heart sing: “Math Skills are Life Skills!” I was one of those kids who talked all the time in class. I loved telling stories. One day in the 4th Grade, my teacher said, “You tell such good stories, maybe you should try writing some of them down.” “Wow,” I thought. “She thinks my stories are good.” That’s when I started to really enjoy writing. Together, we also drew a series of silly illustrations containing doubles. For example, “Double 1" might be a face with two eyes or a bicycle with two wheels. “Double 2" might be a an animal with four legs or a car with four tires. “Double 3" was a funny insect with three legs on each side.

The math concepts taught in MathStart books conform to state and national standards. Level 1 is Pre-K–Kindergarten; Level 2 is Grades 1–3; Level 3 is Grades 2–4. The series follows math topics across grades so there is a foundational path to learning that runs through the levels.