Hands-On Activities with Math Story Books

It can often be difficult to engage reluctant learners in any subject, but it seems especially challenging to excite and engage kids who are uninterested or struggling with math. One of my favorite ways to draw kids in and share math in a non-threatening way is through the use of math story books! If you’re not familiar with any, there are a wealth of quality story books out there that introduce various math topics in a way that is fun!

To help you use these books with your students, here’s a list of free resources to go along with and extend the learning of each story. Some of these are familiar and popular, and some may be books that you’ve never heard of before. I hope you will check them out and hopefully find some new ways to engage your young learners and have fun with math together!

The “Sir Cumference” Books:

This series of math adventures is a great way to introduce various math topics, especially geometry. I encourage you to check out all of them, but here are a few to get your started!

Sir Cumference and All the King’s Tens:

This is a fun and simple introduction to place value and large numbers.

Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone:

This introduces 3D shapes, as well as Euler’s Formula in a way that is easy for even young kids to see and understand.

Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland:

This book introduces kids to different types of angles, and important geometry vocabulary.

Shapes:

The Greedy Triangle:

This book not only teaches the difference between all kinds of polygons, but also teaches an important lesson and contentment.

Addition:

The Grapes of Math:

This best selling book is great for helping kids learn addition strategies and problem solving skills, and it’s wonderful rhymes are sure to engage!

Money:

Pigs Will Be Pigs:

This is a great book for older kids who are working on adding money and making change, as well as learning how to use money wisely.

Math in the Kitchen:

Pigs in the Pantry:

Another useful story in the Pigs Will Be Pigs series, this book focuses on math in the kitchen, such as conversions and measurement.

Multiplication:

The Lion’s Share:

This book shows what happens when you double or half something in a way that not only teaches math, but also teaches important character lessons for kids, such as the dangers of pride.

The King’s Chessboard:

Similar to The Lion’s Share, this book presents a classic math problem that is fun for kids of all ages to explore, especially middle or high school students.

Math in Real Life:

Math Curse:

This hilarious tale shows the many ways we see and use math in our everyday life. A must read for every math student!

I hope you find this list of ideas a great starting point, and are excited to explore even more math stories with your students!