Literature In High School Math

Many picture books, while not exclusively so, lend themselves well to a Middle or Elementary school context. There is an ever growing trend in the literature to take a more holistic approach to interdisciplinary literacy. While novel “studies” may seem overwhelming in terms of time, using literature to create a real life context for math is less ominous. See this example of ways that one math teacher has used current literature (and movies) to bring real life application to math concepts. Literature And Math1

 

Limerick

A dozen, a gross, and a score

Plus three times the square root of four,

Divided by seven

Plus five time eleven

Is nine squared and not a bit more 3

Here is a sample of some novels which lend themselves to a high school context:2 

 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

●      Appropriate for:  Upper Middle School/High School

●      Math Topics:  Number Theory, Algebra, Problem Solving

 The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa.

●      Appropriate for:  High School

●      Math Topics:  Number Theory, Algebra, Proofs

 Anathem by Neal Stephenson

●      Appropriate For:  Upper high school/college

●      Math Topics:  Calculus, Proofs, Math History

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

●      Appropriate For:  Upper high school/college

●      Math Topics:  Cryptology, Problem Solving, Programming

The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensburger

●      Appropriate For:  Upper elementary/lower middle school

●      Math Topics:  Number Theory, Math History

The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson (Quicksilver, The Confusion, The System of the World)

●      Appropriate for:  Upper High School/College

●      Math Topics:  Math History, Calculus, Algebra, Geometry, Problem Solving

Schrodinger’s Gat by Robert Kroese

●      Appropriate for:  Advanced High School/College

●      Math Topics:  Physics, Quantum Theory, Math Philosophy

The Martian by Andy Weir

●      Appropriate For:  Upper High School/College

●      Math Topics:  STEM, Problem Solving, Rate Conversion Problems, Physics

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

●      Appropriate For:  High School/College

●      Math Topics:  STEM, Problem Solving, Rate Conversion Problems, Physics

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

●      Appropriate For:  High School/College

●      Math Topics:  Physics

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka

●      Appropriate for:  Lower School, Middle School

●      Math Topics:  Arithmetic, Problem Solving, Math History, More

1 Bezaire, J. (nd). Literature And Math – Pre-Algebra. Retrieved 6 July 2020, from https://prealgebraone.wordpress.com/category/literature-and-math/

2 Bezaire, J. Novel Studies for Math Classes. Retrieved 6 July 2020, from https://prealgebraone.wordpress.com/novel-studies/

3 Is there any similar math limerick? – Mathematics Stack Exchange

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