Shaping Up Summer (Math in Nature) - Hardcover

Flatt, Lizann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1926973879 ISBN 13: 9781926973876

Publisher: Owlkids, 2014

Synopsis

As young readers journey into the natural world, they discover that numbers, patterns, shapes and much more! can be found in everyday plants and animals. What if animals and plants knew math, just like us? Would spiders draw pictures in their webs? Would narwhals sort blocks of ice by shape? Would insects know what’s above and what’s below? In Shaping Up Summer, the final title in the Math in Nature series, nature comes to life to help children grasp concepts of geometry, symmetry, and spatial sense. This interactive, poetic, and artful picture book series is an enticing way to introduce math to young readers they will laugh, use their imaginations, and learn through activities inspired by the books. Each book in the series covers a basic primary math curriculum strand number sense and numeration; patterning, data management, and probability; measurement; geometry and spatial sense to provide a fully rounded approach to primary math. Online teacher guides are also available for each book.

About this title

About the Author:

Lizann Flatt is the author of numerous nonfiction books for children, including The Nature Treasury and Let’s Go! A former editor of chickaDEE Magazine and the recipient of many honors, including a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Educational Press Association of America, she lives in Muskoka, Ontario. Ashley Barron is an illustrator who specializes in cut-paper collage. Her work has appeared in a wide variety of places, including children’s books and magazines, and on posters, websites, animation, set design, and packaging. She lives in Toronto.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 2–4—This title combines simple rhyming prose with nature and geometry concepts. Each page poses a question about the scene, interspersed with small text boxes that further explore geometric concepts that are included in the scene. For example, on a page picturing a spider and its web, readers are asked to identify pictures hidden in the web as well as to count all of the squares. Many geometry concepts are covered, from the simplistic (identifying easy shapes) to the complex (learning about lines of symmetry, mapping, and 3D shapes). Toward the end of the book, there's additional information on the animals pictured throughout (narwhals, coyotes, puffins, etc.). The illustrations are vibrant and will keep any child interested in turning the page to see what happens next. As far as the math concepts, the book is noticeably missing a glossary of terms. Students may need guidance to get full use of this title; those who are unfamiliar with these geometric concepts may not even realize that the book is a learning tool. Recommended as a general purchase for all libraries.—Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh, PA

About this edition

• Publisher: Owlkids
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1926973879
• ISBN 13: 9781926973876
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Barron Ashley