Books about shapes patterns and space
The purpose of this resource is to provide suggestions to whānau about how they can support their children with their mathematics learning through shapes, patterns, and space books.
About this resource
This section provides some ideas for how you can raise awareness and share mathematics using everyday experiences and resources found around your home. It includes ideas for supporting your children’s learning in all areas of mathematics: geometry, measurement, statistics, algebra, and number.
This page provides suggestions as to how whānau can use books about shapes, patterns, and space to further reinforce mathematics learning.
Books about shapes, patterns, and space
Many picture books have illustrations that highlight shape and pattern in wonderful ways. While reading a story, look for opportunities to explore the illustrations, and use shape words, or find patterns.
- What do you notice about these pictures? Do you see a pattern? What do you think they will do next?
- Can you find some triangles in this picture?
- Which things are under the bridge? Do you think they will go around the mountain or over the mountain?
Reading and understanding instructions are important literacy and maths skills. Books about origami or paper plane folding have detailed instructions and provide the opportunity for you to work together with your child while talking about shapes and making things.
- It says to fold it in half first. How will we do that?
- Look. When we fold this way it makes a square. How many sides does a square have?
- How many faces will this dodecahedron have?
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