Mathematics at the Primary School Level

Making Home and School Connections with Math Homework in a Bag

Parents as Partners

The positive use of literature has been widely recognized in the development of children's language skills. Oldford-Matchim (1994) states, "Children will learn to read when they expect to become readers and that parents, siblings, relatives and other significant others play an important role in enhancing children's concepts of themselves as readers, which in turn may affect their expectations and their reading achievements." (p.2) In the book Help Your Child Become a Reader: A Guide for Reading Conversation, Activities and Games Oldford-Matchim provides a rationale for significant others in a child's life to regard themselves as reading teachers. Many suggestions for interactive home activities that involve children in conversations, activities, and reading games are given for specific trade literature. Thus, children's literature has become an important vehicle for integrating children's learning experiences in the home as well as in the school.

Children's Literature and Mathematics

The Math Bag Homework Program

I used a mathbag homework program in my Kindergarten classroom at Harrington School, St. John's, Newfoundland in 1995-1996. It was designed to develop a series of interactive homework activities that connected mathematical activities done in school with everyday mathematics through a context provided by shared reading of children's literature. The objectives of this homework program include:

1. The development of communication between parent and child about relationships and mathematical concepts that are meaningful for five year old children.
2. The development of an awareness in parents about the kinds of mathematical activities that are considered significant for five year olds.
3. The development of opportunities for children to share home experiences with the class.
4. The opportunity for children to share school experiences with significant others at home
5. The development of a sense of responsibility for the return of the homework bags with all the materials included.

The content areas for the mathematics program of the proposed by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in the new Kindergarten Curriculum Guide, New Beginnings (1995) were used as guidelines in the selection of literature. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics's Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989) is also supported by this program in the following ways:

1. Through classroom discussion children are given a chance to reflect on and clarify their thinking about mathematical ideas and relationships.
2. Opportunities are provided in which children realized that reading, discussing and doing are a part of mathematical learning.
3. Children are encouraged to relate physical materials to mathematical ideas.
4. Children are encouraged to relate their everyday language to mathematical language.

Books were selected for the ideas in each story that had possibilities for connecting to activities that would contribute to mathematical learning. Familiar classroom story books such as Where's Spot? (Hill 1980) Dear Zoo (Campbell, 1983), Mooncake(Asch 1983) and Counting on Calico (Tildes) were chosen for inclusion in the math bag program.
The program is designed so that each child can take home a bag on Friday night and return it on Tuesday. This allows for a variety of parental schedules, and sufficient time is given to provide parents with some flexibility in choosing an opportunity to spend with their child. There are 28 cloth bags that are made from a variety of material that was purchased or donated by parents. This patterned or printed cloth usually reflects the title of the story book contained inside the bags. Included with the book is an instruction card with suggested activities, and an itemized list of the contents of the bag. The children are encouraged to wait until they reach home before they open the bags, and to take responsibility for checking the contents before the bags are returned to school. A small area of the classroom is designated as sign out and storage area for the program.
Some of the activities were developed for the collection of children's books by referring to Read Any Good Math Lately? Children's Books for Mathematical Learning (Whitin and Wilde, 1992) and How to use Children's Literature to Teach Mathematics (Welchman-Tischler 1992). Suggestions given in these books were modified and adapted to other titles that were included in the collection. Six of the bags include projects or the recording of activities that are to be brought to school and shared during the Tuesday morning meeting. Children are given the opportunity to reflect on what they have done during group discussions.
The homework program also gives children an opportunity to participate in a system of record keeping that fosters a sense of numberness, number recognition, an awareness of numerical order, and the recording and reading of information on a chart. Math bags are tagged with an individual number and this number is recorded on a chart next to the child's name on a weekly basis. Children can refer to the chart to see what bags they have already borrowed. There is also a system of tags that are placed in individual pockets so that children can see the number of the math bag they currently have at home.

Parents are encouraged to relate verbally or in writing any activities that they and their child have initiated themselves after reading the books. Parent reaction is recorded as a reference for teacher and student reflection, and to guide revisions to the suggested activities at a later date. Child centered homework bags help foster a positive partnership between home and school, and parents have become more familiar with the content of the Kindergarten Mathematics program.
Harrington School closed in June 1996, and this program is presently being adapted to a second grade level for use in another St. John's school. Many of the same books and materials will be included in this program, with some additions to suggested activities that reflect Grade Two level objectives. One book From One to One Hundred (Sloat 1991) has already been adapted. Students will be required to record their at home experiences in a homework journal and to share them with the class. Other pieces of children's literature will be added to the collection and appropriate activity bags will be developed.

References