Samantha Fummerton
Literacy Project
Ed 477
Geometry and Measurement
I. Create a Framework (Optional)
II. Text Set (Annotated Bibliography)
1) Adler, David A., and Nancy Tobin. How Tall, How Short, How Far Away. New York:
Holiday House, 1999. Print.

This is a excellent book to assist in teaching children about basic measurements. The
illustrations are great, and it also tells us how we acquired the two measuring systems we
use today. It would be a great way to wrap up a lesson about measurements and a great
way to reflect upon the meaning of the measurements we use today.
2) Briggs, Raymond. Jim and the Beanstalk,. New York: Coward-McCann, 1970. Print.

” is a great book to read as a read aloud to get student interested in measurement. After
the read aloud, the teacher would need to express the importance of having an exact
measurement in real world situations. This would be a great introduction to measurement
word problems and real would situations where the students would need to talk about
measurement.
3) Brown, Jeff, and Tomi Ungerer. Flat Stanley. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1964. Print.

is a great story to read before teaching a lesson about measurement. It gives the students a
purpose for reading the story, to find out about what Stanley can do now that he is flat. It
would be a great introduction to a lesson about the students’ measurements. They could
also incorporate this same lesson into geography and talk about all the different places
Stanley was able to travel because of being flat.
4) Burns, Marilyn, and Debbie Tilley. Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!: A Mathematical Story.
New York: Scholastic, 1997. Print.

If spatial relations had been taught like this when we were all young, everyone would be
fluent mathematically. Instead of all those problems about two trains rushing towards one
another, this book takes a practial problem and uses it to illuminate spatial problemsolving.
5) Glass, Julie, and Richard Walz. The Fly on the Ceiling: A Math Myth. New York: Random
House, 1998. Print.

Recognized as the father of analytic geometry, René Descartes was a French
mathematician and philosopher. Kids will love this funny and very accessible tale based on one of math's greatest myths - about the man who popularized the Cartesion
system of coordinates.
6) Krause, Eugene F. Taxicab Geometry: An Adventure in Non-Euclidean Geometry. New
York: Dover Publications, 1987. Print

This is a great book to get the students attention and get them interested in Taxicab
Geometry. The books very easy to read and full of constructive exercises which are fun
and simple to complete. I would say its aimed at a younger or lay audience as a first
introduction to non-Euclidean Geometry and basic notions of distance.
7) Lasky, Kathryn, and Kevin Hawkes. The Librarian Who Measured the Earth. Boston: Joy
Street, 1994. Print.

This is a fascinating tale about the man who discovered a method to determine the
circumference of the earth. The story is interesting and informs the students about how a
man discovered the circumference of the earth without being overwhelming with details.
The illustrations are colorful and complement the story nicely.I could incorporate this
story into my classroom to engage my students in a discussion about what the man went
through and how his steps are still used in today’s learning.
8) Lauber, Patricia, and Megan Lloyd. How We Learned the Earth Is round. New York: T.Y.
Crowell, 1990. Print.

This book has lots of scientific thinking explained so simply. This is the first one of
this series that discusses WHO made discoveries and WHY they were moved to think
about the shape of the earth. Then it goes into the HOW they figured it out. It clarifies
the motivation and the process of scientific or critical thinking in a way kids should
understand. And maybe set the pattern for them to look at things themselves.
9) Neuschwander, Cindy, and Wayne Geehan. Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: A Math
Adventure. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 1999. Print.

Extends further and discusses the relationship between Pi and the properties of a
circle such as the radius, circumference and diameter. This would be a great book to
read before teaching a lesson about Pi and using it to find the circumference of a
circle. It’s a great way to learn the new vocabulary as well as introducing a new
concept.
10) Neuschwander, Cindy, and Wayne Geehan. Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of
Angleland: A Math Adventure. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2001. Print.

This is a great series for teaching geometry. This book can be used during a literature
or math station. I like it uses a lot of the math terms and helps the student understand
the vocabulary of angles more. its an interesting way to look at math. And can focus
the students attention to the objectives of learning about angles if read in the middle
of the lesson.
11) Ottolenghi, Carol. Jack and the Beanstalk. Columbus: School Specialty, 2002. Print.

This is a great book to incorporate into the classroom while you are teaching a lesson
about measurement. It would be a nice story to simulate a class discussion about
measurement and how Jack used it in the story. It would help focus the students on
the objective and be a great teaching tool.
12) Pappas, Theoni. The Adventures of Penrose, the Mathematical Cat. San Carlos, CA: Wide
World Pub./Tetra, 1997. Print.

It is full of fun, interesting, and relatively simple activities that make abstract
mathematical concepts come to life. Math is made less intimidating, because the mystery
behind it is revealed by a curious cat with whom children can relate. The book takes
mathematical concepts that might otherwise be too complex for children to grasp and
simplifies them, making them more "kid friendly."
13) Pappas, Theoni. Fractals, Googols, and Other Mathematical Tales. San Carlos, CA: Wide
World Pub.Tetra, 1993. Print
 A new treasure trove of stories that make mathematical ideas come to life with an unusual
cast of characters. This book explores mathematical concepts and topics such as real
numbers, exponents, dimensions, and geometry in both serious and humorous ways.
14) Schwartz, David M., and Marissa Moss. G Is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book. Berkeley,
CA: Tricyle, 1998. Print.

This would be a great book to have in the classroom library. Children could explore
this book on their own for independent reading. Since the vocabulary is a little
complex, I would not use this as a read aloud or in lower elementary classrooms.
However, this is a great introduction to math vocabulary that could spark interest and
further exploration.
15) "Sir Cumference and the First Round Table (A Math Adventure) [Paperback]." Sir
Cumference and the First Round Table (A Math Adventure): Cindy Neuschwander, Wayne
Geehan: 9781570911521: Amazon.com: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012.

This is a great text to read before learning about circles. It presents vocabulary such
as parts of a circle and the ways to label them. It would be a good book to read aloud
and write down the unfamiliar words and their definitions. It’s a great book to
introduce circles into a geometry class or introduce it to a younger crowd.
Reflection:
I chose this text set because all of the books and websites used are related to either
Geometry of Measurement. I really enjoyed looking for these books because I realized that
there are a lot more books about math that can be incorporated into the classroom that I
thought. These books I could see myself incorporating into my junior high geometry class.
There are a lot of books that are not expository texts as well. These books connect to the
theme at all different levels. I would use these books as an introduction to a lesson, or a
conclusion to a lesson, as well as a story to keep the class going in the middle of a lesson.
These books can help guide my students in exploring the topics of Geometry and
Measurement by giving real life examples and situations that help incorporate geometry into a
relatable topic.
III. Instructional Planning to Plan
a.
Before Reading
1) Draw Upon of Build Background Knowledge:
“Fractals, Googols, and Other Mathematical Tales” is a great story to gain some background
knowledge of a subject. There are stories are tales in this book and they will get the
students involved and engaged, and asking questions. A new treasure trove of stories that
make mathematical ideas come to life with an unusual cast of characters. This book
explores mathematical concepts and topics such as real numbers, exponents, dimensions,
and geometry in both serious and humorous ways.
2) Establishes a purpose for reading:
Flat Stanley is a great story to read before teaching a lesson about measurement. It gives the
students a purpose for reading the story, to find out about what Stanley can do now that
he is flat. It would be a great introduction to a lesson about the students’ measurements.
They could also incorporate this same lesson into geography and talk about all the
different places Stanley was able to travel because of being flat.
3) Instill Curiosity and Motivation:
“Jim and the Beanstalk” is a great book to read as a read aloud to get student interested in
measurement. After the read aloud, the teacher would need to express the importance of
having an exact measurement in real world situations. This would be a great introduction
to measurement word problems and real would situations where the students would need
to talk about measurement.
4) Present Vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to students:
“Sir Cumference and the First Round Table” is a great text to read before learning about circles.
It presents vocabulary such as parts of a circle and the ways to label them. It would be a
good book to read aloud and write down the unfamiliar words and their definitions. It’s a
great book to introduce circles into a geometry class or introduce it to a younger crowd.
5) Present Vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to students:
“Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: A Math Adventure.” Extends further and discusses the
relationship between Pi and the properties of a circle such as the radius, circumference
and diameter. This would be a great book to read before teaching a lesson about Pi and
using it to find the circumference of a circle. It’s a great way to learn the new vocabulary
as well as introducing a new concept.
b.
During Reading
1) Focuses the students’ attention on lesson objective:
Taxicab Geometry: An Adventure in Non-Euclidean Geometry is a great book to get the students
attention and get them interested in Taxicab Geometry. The books very easy to read and
full of constructive exercises which are fun and simple to complete. I would say its aimed
at a younger or lay audience as a first introduction to non-Euclidean Geometry and basic
notions of distance.
2) Simulate discussion centered around the lesson objective:
The Fly on the Ceiling: A Math Myth is recognized as the father of analytic geometry, René
Descartes was a French mathematician and philosopher. Kids will love this funny and
very accessible tale - based on one of math's greatest myths - about the man who
popularized the Cartesian system of coordinates. This easy reader combines history,
laughs and math. Teaching the Cartesian Coordinate System, this book lends itself to
great classroom teaching and learning. Try having your kids or students play "Battleship"
after reading!!
3) Relate prior knowledge to information on the text:
G Is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book would be a great book to have in the classroom library.
Children could explore this book on their own for independent reading. Since the
vocabulary is a little complex, I would not use this as a read aloud or in lower elementary
classrooms. However, this is a great introduction to math vocabulary that could spark
interest and further exploration.
4) Focuses the students’ attention on lesson objective:
Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland: A Math Adventure is a great series for
teaching geometry. This book can be used during a literature or math station. I like it uses
a lot of the math terms and helps the student understand the vocabulary of angles more.
its an interesting way to look at math. And can focus the students attention to the
objectives of learning about angles if read in the middle of the lesson.
5) Simulate discussion centered around the lesson objective:
Jack and the Beanstalk is a great book to incorporate into the classroom while you are teaching a
lesson about measurement. It would be a nice story to simulate a class discussion about
measurement and how Jack used it in the story. It would help focus the students on the
objective and be a great teaching tool.
c.
1)
After Reading
Reflect upon the meaning of the text:
How Tall, How Short, How Far Away is a excellent book to assist in teaching children about
basic measurements. The illustrations are great, and it also tells us how we acquired the two
measuring systems we use today. It would be a great way to wrap up a lesson about
measurements and a great way to reflect upon the meaning of the measurements we use
today.
2)
Engages students in higher levels of thinking that go beyond surface-level information:
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth is a fascinating tale about the man who discovered a
method to determine the circumference of the earth. The story is interesting and informs
the students about how a man discovered the circumference of the earth without being
overwhelming with details. The illustrations are colorful and complement the story
nicely.I could incorporate this story into my classroom to engage my students in a
discussion about what the man went through and how his steps are still used in today’s
learning.
3)
Facilitate oral and written summaries of what was learned:
Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!: A Mathematical Story is a great story to wrap up spatial
realtions. If spatial relations had been taught like this when we were all young, everyone
would be fluent mathematically. Instead of all those problems about two trains rushing
towards one another, this book takes a practial problem and uses it to illuminate spatial
problem-solving.
4)
Engages students in higher levels of thinking that go beyond surface-level information:
How We Learned the Earth Is round has lots of scientific thinking explained so simply. This is
the first one of this series that discusses WHO made discoveries and WHY they were
moved to think about the shape of the earth. Then it goes into the HOW they figured it
out. It clarifies the motivation and the process of scientific or critical thinking in a way
kids should understand. And maybe set the pattern for them to look at things themselves.
5) Reflect upon the meaning of the text:
The Adventures of Penrose, the Mathematical Cat is full of fun, is interesting to students of all
ages, and it contains relatively simple activities that make abstract mathematical
concepts come to life. Math is made less intimidating, because the mystery behind it is
revealed by a curious cat with which children can relate. The book takes mathematical
concepts that might otherwise be too complex for children to grasp and simplifies them,
making them more "kid friendly." I could use this book at as a wrap up activity to reflect
on the meaning of the stories in the book. The different stories all relate to math in some
way so I could incorporate this book in to any math lesson and subject.