BOOKS USED IN GEOMETRY CLASS

When we talked several weeks ago, you asked for a list of books that I used in my math classes and the purpose for the book. I am finally finding the time to send it to you:

• The Patchwork Quilt by [by Valerie Flournoy, Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator)] It is a story about an African American girl and her family and the quilt they make that tells the story of their family. It is used in my high school geometry class to kick off a student service learning project where students use their geometry skills to design and make baby quilts to donate to the local hospital.

• The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss The story of the sneetches is about prejudice but is used in my math classrooms to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. We read the story and then play a game called Sneetch ball. Sneetch ball is played with a Clever Catch ball. These are balls that have math problems on them. Some students wear stars and some students don't just like in the story. Students with stars must throw to students without and vice versa. Some of them are simple multiplying or dividing, some balls have algebra problems, and some balls have geometry problems.

• Math Curse by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith This book is used with my lower level students. It is a fun book full of a variety of math problems. All the answers are on the back cover in some fashion. I read the story to my students and then I have written the various math problems from the book on index cards. I divide them into small groups or pairs and they circulate the cards around the room solving the problems as they go. They then turn the problems in at the end of class for a classwork grade.

• The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns I use this book with my high school geometry classes to introduce polygons and their correct names. It is a very elementary book, that sometimes students make fun of, but it is a fun way to look at polygons.

  This is a series of 4 books that deal with circles, angles, and cones. Sir Cumference and the First Round Table, Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi, Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland, Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone by Cindy Neuschwander These can be used as a series or as individual books. They all start as a different beginning and look at a topic in geometry and help students to have a visual of that topic.

• Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School by Louis Sachar This is from a series of Wayside School books but this one in particular is devoted to different math puzzles and problems. The solutions are in the back of the book. Many students may have read or had the other Wayside books read to them in elementary school and this is a way to continue it.

Hope this helps you with what you were looking for. See you at the workshop. Kim Nutter