2013 Conference Proceedings - University of Nevada, Las Vegas

discussion. Many texts include wild scenarios, such as knights and perilous geometry-inspiredquests (Neuschwander, 1999), shape shifting polygons (Burns, 1994), and even duelingmathematically savvy barbers (Sundby, 2000), which promote thought-provoking exchanges ofmathematical ideas in ways that formulas and lectures could never do.Although many authors claim their texts can be used in mathematics classrooms, cautionshould be used when making your choices. Whitin and Whitin (2004) believe there are four mainareas to consider when selecting a book. The first main concern is that the mathematics beingportrayed in the story is sound and authentic. Stories should not be manufactured as a way to sellbooks. In addition, the book’s tone should elicit lively discussion. Thirdly, the words and/orrepresentations in the book, such as pictures and graphics, should provoke the reader’s attention.Lastly, Whitin and Whitin detail the importance of social justice issues, where race, gender, andculture are all respectively addressed by the author(s) and illustrator(s).MethodologyFor this study, the researcher focused on middle school (Grades 6-8) inservice teachers whoagreed to be a part of a one-year grant funded geometry focused program. The program consistedof two graduate courses, an 11-day geometry focused graduate class from 8:30-12:30 each dayduring the summer of 2012 and a 7-day geometry focused class from 8:30-4:00 during the 2012-2013 academic year. The researcher centered this study on the former, where participants learnedgeometry through the use of children’s literature, hands-on activities, and group work. Topicscovered during the summer program included polygons, angles, perimeter, area, circles,symmetry, similar figures, and transformations. For each new geometry concept, the researcher,one of three instructors for the course, would read key book excerpts from a children’s book,summarize main story lines, or narrate the entire book to the class as a way to either introduce orrecap a hands-on geometry lesson. As part of the course instruction, the researcher read twobooks in their entirety during the summer term. Approximately 10-20% of the summer class timewas spent integrating literature into the curriculum. Some of the books used throughout thesummer included such titles as The Greedy Triangle (Burns, 1994), Sir Cumference and theDragon of Pi (Neuschwander, 1999), Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland(Neuschwander, 2001), Sir Cumference and the First Round Table (Neuschwander, 1997), andCut Down to Size at High Noon: A Math Adventure (Sundby, 2000).Proceedings of the 40 th Annual Meeting of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning 2013 126