DreamBox Learning®» Math learning stories

One Week Left! 'Share Your Story' Contest

Tracy H — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:45:03 +0000

There's one week left to share your DreamBox story! We've heard some great stories so far - when you share your story with DreamBox, you will be entered to win an iPod Touch 32GB, a $299 value!

How to enter

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Edmodo – or all three!
Post or Tweet your story and tell us why you and/or your students love DreamBox (not to exceed 100 words).

That’s it! Once you’ve posted your story to Facebook, Twitter, or Edmodo, you’re entered to win. Share your story by June 15th, 2011. The winner will be notified on June 22nd, 2011. Visit our contests page for rules and contest details. Only one entry per person. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY: Open to legal residents of the U.S. except Rhode Island, 18 years of age or older at time of entry. The Contest begins at 12:00:00 a.m. PDT on May 11, 2011 and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. PDT on June 15, 2011. Entries will be judged on a combination of popularity, creativity, and a compelling story. A panel of independent judges will select the winners. PRIZES: One iPod Touch 32GB (approximate retail value of US$299). To enter and find complete rules visit http://www.dreambox.com/blog/contests. Sponsor: DreamBox Learning, 305 108th Avenue NE, 2nd Floor, Bellevue, Washington 98004.

'Share Your Story' Contest

Tracy H — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:46:00 +0000

Share your DreamBox story! DreamBox hears from parents, teachers, principals and district leaders daily about how much their students enjoy learning with DreamBox Learning K-3 Math. Now, share your story with DreamBox, and you will be entered to win an iPod Touch 32GB, a $299 value!

How to enter

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Edmodo – or all three!
Post or Tweet your story and tell us why you and/or your students love DreamBox (not to exceed 100 words).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY: Open to legal residents of the U.S. except Rhode Island, 18 years of age or older at time of entry. The Contest begins at 12:00:00 a.m. PDT on May 11, 2011 and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. PDT on June 15, 2011. Entries will be judged on a combination of popularity, creativity, and a compelling story. A panel of independent judges will select the winners. PRIZES: One iPod Touch 32GB (approximate retail value of US$299). To enter and find complete rules visit http://www.dreambox.com/blog/contests. Sponsor: DreamBox Learning, 305 108th Avenue NE, 2nd Floor, Bellevue, Washington 98004.

7 Math Storybooks Every Child Should Read, No. 6: Math Curse

Alyssa — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:59:04 +0000

Kids usually have more free time over the summer, and it can be hard to keep up with them. Have you started running out of new books for them to read with you, and don’t have the time to search out new books? Well, that’s fine because we have another great math story for you that will have your children asking to read it again and again!

Math Curse, by Jon Scieszka

Read Math Curse for memorable puzzles Math Curse by Jon Scieszka is a quirky book that keeps you on your toes. From disorienting drawings to crazy questions, this story bounces all over the place and never gets boring. The thread that ties it all together is the story of a boy caught in a math curse, where he sees math problems in everything he does during the day. Math Curse is a great story for getting your child thinking instead of memorizing or doing rote practice. The problems in the book emphasize using math in everyday situations. The questions may seem wacky at the beginning, but that keeps children interested and makes the math more memorable. The questions also illustrate many different math concepts, such as the Fibonacci series, in a way your child will understand. The math may be a bit advanced for younger children, but is appropriate for first or second graders. And don’t worry if you start getting stumped on some of the oddest questions; there are answers at the back of the book! Activities to try after reading Math Curse Kids can pretend they are also under the math curse. Have them write down some of the math problems they encounter during the day. Then they can can trade problems, help each other solve them, and compare their days! If they want to get creative, they can create their own books filled with the story of their day, complete with illustrations. Don’t forget to set aside your children’s books – they will be entertaining to come back to in later years to show your kids what they made and how much they've learned!

7 Math Storybooks Every Child Should Read, No. 4: How Big is a Foot?

Alyssa — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:08:45 +0000

How Big is a Foot? by Rolf Myller

Summer is full of wonderful outdoors activities to take advantage of the beautiful weather. But what about those rainy days when the children are full of energy and have nowhere to go? Sounds like a great day to sit down with a fun book and start a somewhat more controlled activity, maybe even one that involves math. Reading How Big is a Foot? for math beyond the regular curriculum How Big is a Foot? by Rolf Myller is one of the cutest books I have seen. With simple illustrations and large, easy-to-read text, this is the story of the attempt to build a bed for the Queen’s birthday. But how can you build a bed when no one knows how big to make it? This is a great short story for kindergartners, although older children may find it too simple. Mathematically, this story explores new ideas that your child may not have had much exposure to yet. Instead of focusing on counting, this book focuses on measurements. Through the problems caused by non-standard measurement, the story explains the need for standard measurements that everyone understands. Learning activities to explore after reading How Big is a Foot? While reading the book is a great start, children often learn better when they have a hands-on activity. In this case, activities that reinforce the concepts in the book require almost no preparation and are lots of fun. You can act out the book by having your child measure his own bed with his feet. How does that compare with your feet or a measurement taken with a ruler? Can you find a way of estimating the standard measurement of an object based on a measurement using your child’s feet? Go try it out with more objects! If your children are full of energy, you could even arrange a scavenger hunt that takes them all around the house. Give them a list of things to find based on how long they are, but don’t use standard measurements. Use unusual objects to measure with instead, like finding something that is three marshmallows long. And of course your children will love eating their measuring tool afterwards. So if the children are at loose ends with all their energy, steer them towards this story and these activities to get some learning in while having some summer fun.

7 Math Storybooks Every Child Should Read, No. 3: Math Fables

Alyssa — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:35:12 +0000

Math Fables, by Greg Tang

Does your child love to hear the story of Little Red Riding Hood? What about the Princess and the Pea? As summer heats up and children want to stay up later, reading fables could be a great addition to their bedtime routine. But these aren’t just any fables. Here's the latest in our summer math reading series, to help your little ones settle down after an active day, help them exercise their mental muscles, and keep math fresh in their minds. Read Math Fables for lessons that apply every day Math Fables by Greg Tang is one of his many books that incorporate math, and this one is appropriate for children in kindergarten and first grade. The book is full of different fables, each with its own moral. But they all take place in the real world, showing your child that math is present everywhere and every day. The rhyming poems and vibrant illustrations will definitely keep kids' attention. And, while their attention is caught, your child will be learning about counting and grouping numbers. Although it starts small with the number two, the stories build up to more complicated groupings that help prepare children for place value concepts. The stories are especially good at showing that a number is not just an amount; it is also composed of other smaller numbers. You can read the stories a little at a time, splitting them up over a whole week before bedtime. Or you could read the whole book and use it as a jumping off point for some fun math activities. Use the activities from the back of the book or invent your own. Try going for a walk outside, and have your child count whatever they find, from birds to squirrels to people walking dogs. And if your child gets really interested in one particular animal or plant, try creating a story around it. Your child can even write a poem and draw an illustration when you get home. The next step after reading Math Fables Did you and your child love Math Fables and wish it was longer? Greg Tang has written many other children’s books that emphasize math, and all of them are great stories. Go try Math Fables Too as a continuation or jump to slightly different story types with Math Appeal or Math for all Seasons. Or maybe you want something a bit more advanced? Grapes of Math is for slightly older children, from second to third grade. This story has quick puzzles on each page with witty rhymes to help your child learn about different groupings to get quicker answers when adding or subtracting. This helps develop problem-solving skills instead of stressing memorization. And there are plenty of activities you can explore after reading. You can try out different methods of counting the objects on each page - count each one separately, or find different groupings from the one that is suggested in the book. This emphasizes the way that grouping by an easily multiplied number is a more efficient way of counting. You can also get creative and create new puzzles and hints for each other! So read Greg Tang’s book Math Fables together, and you might find a whole series of books to enjoy with your child!

7 Math Storybooks Every Child Should Read, No. 2: Quack and Count

Alyssa — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:55:17 +0000

No. 2: Quack and Count

Quack and Count, by Keith Baker

Kids have an insatiable interest in story books and they love hearing the same stories again and again. Are you getting tired of some of the classics and looking for new additions to your child’s book list? We're doing our summer math storybook series to suggest some books that are not only great reads but also illustrate some of the math concepts that are important for your early learners! We picked Quack and Count as the second book in our series of seven.

Read Quack and Count for fun filled math learning

Quack and Count by Keith Baker is the story of a group of seven ducks and their adventures. Full of detailed illustrations and narrated with clever rhymes, this story will keep your child’s attention. Even counting the ducks can be trickier than you expect as the ducks play hide and seek! But Baker’s book is not just about fun and games. A great story for kindergartners and first graders, Quack and Count emphasizes certain basic mathematical principles. Baker moves the seven ducks into different groupings over each two-page spread. This use of addends emphasizes the concept that each number is more than just an amount; it is also made up of other numbers. This is a great introduction to the concepts that underlie addition.

After reading Quack and Count, try these fun math activities

Are you reading to a group? Try having the kids move around a little to keep their attention. Teach them the song Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play. Then choose six children to act out the song as the rest of the group sings the song. Another interactive activity that you can use with a group or an individual is to act the story out with little rubber ducks as you read it. Want something more math oriented for slightly older children? Have them write out the math sentences being illustrated on each page of the book (such as 7 = 6 + 1). At the end, have the children write down their own number sentence that equals seven, possibly even using three addends. Then they can illustrate their equation with drawing of ducks or any other object that they want to use. Have fun reading (and rereading) – you may have just found a new favorite book!

7 Math Storybooks Every Child Should Read: One Watermelon Seed

Alyssa — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:39:27 +0000

One Watermelon Seed, by Celia Baker Lottridge

It’s summer time, filled with heat, sun, and plenty of time outside. But with school out until the fall, do you want to continue your child’s math learning at home? Children's literature is a great way of getting some math into busy summer schedules in a way that they will enjoy. All summer long, we'll feature wonderful math storybooks to keep your kids entertained and learning. We're kicking off our summer math storybook series with One Watermelon Seed, a juicy children's book by Celia Barker Lottridge.

Reading One Watermelon Seed for math and more

One Watermelon Seed by Celia Barker Lottridge is an old classic with a new cover. Recently republished with new illustrations, this is the story of Max and Josephine as they plant, grow, and harvest their crops. The storyline teaches kids about gardening and its connection to the changing seasons. I enjoyed the packed and detailed illustrations, and I think your child will want to take the time just to take it all in. As for the math, this book gets into counting in a serious way. It doesn’t just take your child from 1 to 10, but it goes all the way up to 100! So Lottridge’s book is good for children from kindergarten through second grade. Younger children will learn the lower numbers, and enjoy the pictures and the story even if they don't comprehend all of the numbers. Older children will get a review of the basics and then be introduced to the concept of counting in groups of ten, which is good preparation for learning multiplication.

Family activities to try after reading One Watermelon Seed

Want to take this book to the next level? There are lots of interactive activities that you can explore with your child using Lottridge’s book as a jumping off point. One option is for your child to choose his favorite plant from the story and research it. How long is the growing season and when is the time to harvest? What is the usual yield and how does it compare to the amounts in the book? What are the largest and smallest specimens ever recorded? You can start a small garden of your own, even if it is just a couple of plants in a pot. Your child can enjoy watching his garden grow through the summer, and he'll learn how important it is to remembers to take care of it! When it's ready to harvest, find a cool recipe and help your child make it. If you are reading to a group of children, you can survey the kids about which plant is their favorite. Graph the results and talk about different ways you can present the information. So have fun, get creative, and keep math in your child’s everyday life all through the summer!