Using Literature to Teach Multiplication

Many of us use a curriculum to teach math, but using literature to teach math can be a great teaching tool. I am continuing this math literature series with some of the best books to teach multiplication. With my love for literature and math, it only makes sense to combine the two so I have gathered some of my favorite books that teach multiplication in the elementary classroom.

One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor Pinczes uses a rhyming text to describe the progress of one hundred ants marching toward a picnic. To travel faster, the ants start off in 1 row of 100, then 2 rows of 50, and so on until they get to 10 rows of 10. Their frantic reorganization takes so long that the picnic is gone by the time they arrive.

How Do You Count a Dozen Ducklings by Seon Chae does not use a rhyming text, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying the educational value of this book. To keep track of her 12 ducklings, Mama Duck counts her ducklings one by one as they hatch, but soon she finds a clever new way to count to twelve – by twos, threes, fours, and sixes! Each duckling has an individual hairstyle and a personality to go with it, making the bold colorful illustrations fun to follow.

Breakfast at Danny’s Diner by Judith Stamper uses real-life to teach math calculations. While Tina and Tony help out at the diner, they must put their multiplication skills to work as they work through word problems, such as how many eggs are needed to complete three orders of Danny’s breakfast special with each serving needing three eggs. The simple text and cartoons capture the excitement and pressure of actually surviving the morning rush at the diner.

These are only a few of my favorite books that teach multiplication; there are so many more out there! Feel free to share in the comments what you consider the best book to teach multiplication.

Welcome to My Happy Homeschool! http://www.myhappyhomeschool.blogspot.com/  My name is Susan Reed and my heart’s desire is to encourage the homeschool mom to live out God’s calling and stay the course.