EMMA'S GROUPING
Author: JL Cornish
Illustrator: n/a
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Number of pages: 16
Publisher: Amazon (Australia) First published in: 2021 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
An educational story, written by a primary school teacher (and mathematics lover) to develop knowledge of multiplication and division. Emma loves to learn about groups that she sees around her. She sees equal groups when sharing pancakes with her family, buying snacks at the shops and even when picking plants in her garden! Join Emma as she learns some flexible ways to find the total of equal groups. Includes discussion questions and optional learning activities to help deepen understanding and further develop number sense with your little one. |
“"Later she went to the shops, to buy some fruit for snacks, she grabbed some juicy strawberries, that were inside little packs. Emma saw that each pack, had 5 berries inside. There were 4 packs in her trolley, so she had 4 groups of 5.”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
JL Cornish’s ‘Emma’s Grouping’ (2021) is a title in the author’s series of mathematical story picture books. The story follows a young girl character, named Emma, as she spots different ways to group everyday objects e.g., six plates of three pancakes, four packs of five berries, and three rows of nine plants. While the story does not have any actual storyline per se, it is still useful in providing a relatable everyday context to very young children to start relating the mathematical concept of grouping to their everyday life. (Having an actual storyline and getting to hear Emma’s own voice (and not just the narrative description) would have made the story more engaging and personal.) The page illustrations are useful in helping young children to visualise counting by grouping. However, some page illustrations (e.g., the illustrations on p. 8 and p. 10 do not clearly illustrate four packs of five berries to match the description on p. 7). Just like the other titles in the series, the book comes with some useful suggested discussion questions (e.g., “Emma skip counted the strawberries to find the total. What does skip counting mean?”) and learning activities (e.g., “Draw all the different ways you can share 24 into equal groups.”). All in all, ‘Emma’s Grouping’ is a useful resource to help introduce the concept of grouping (multiplication and division) to children, aged 4+ years old.
Recommended age range:
4+ years old
Relevant topics:
Multiplication; Division
Possible teaching activities:
At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.
JL Cornish’s ‘Emma’s Grouping’ (2021) is a title in the author’s series of mathematical story picture books. The story follows a young girl character, named Emma, as she spots different ways to group everyday objects e.g., six plates of three pancakes, four packs of five berries, and three rows of nine plants. While the story does not have any actual storyline per se, it is still useful in providing a relatable everyday context to very young children to start relating the mathematical concept of grouping to their everyday life. (Having an actual storyline and getting to hear Emma’s own voice (and not just the narrative description) would have made the story more engaging and personal.) The page illustrations are useful in helping young children to visualise counting by grouping. However, some page illustrations (e.g., the illustrations on p. 8 and p. 10 do not clearly illustrate four packs of five berries to match the description on p. 7). Just like the other titles in the series, the book comes with some useful suggested discussion questions (e.g., “Emma skip counted the strawberries to find the total. What does skip counting mean?”) and learning activities (e.g., “Draw all the different ways you can share 24 into equal groups.”). All in all, ‘Emma’s Grouping’ is a useful resource to help introduce the concept of grouping (multiplication and division) to children, aged 4+ years old.
Recommended age range:
4+ years old
Relevant topics:
Multiplication; Division
Possible teaching activities:
At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.
