Book: Uno’s Garden
Author: Graham Baese
Summary: This book is about the adventures of Uno, an odd
rodent/human animal. In the beginning, Uno, apparently the vanguard of a
civilization, settles in the forest with his snortlepig. Soon after, other join
him, and they carve out a small colony. All the while, various numbers of
animals abound the forest. Transportation systems begin to establish themselves
among the trees. Urbanization advances fast, and the forest is decimated by the
increasing frequency of construction. The snortlepig, a symbol of the balance
Uno once held with nature, is lost. As the citizens gaze out of their towers in
the now-city, they realize what they gave up to reach that point. More
significantly, they see that their accomplishment was not worth the sacrifice
of nature. Uno, living in the city, still keeps a small garden. One day, he
discovers the snortlepig among his plants. He cares for the snortlepig and they
die at old age together. Uno’s descendants observe the consequences of the
destructive actions their ancestors made, and decide to act in far more
eco-friendly ways. Soon, the animals begin to return, and trees grow again. By
the end, the city and the forest achieve a balance where the environment and
civilization thrive together. And, of course, snortlepigs live there too.
Mathematical Concept: Exponential growth is used throughout
the book. As the author, Graeme Base, details life in the forest, he lists
different numbers of animals. In the top right corner, these animals are
multiplied by a corresponding number of plants. So, when there are eight
Frinklepods, they are multiplied by eight plants, resulting in the number 64.
This happens for every number of animals. Through his book, Base is able to
provide both an environmental message, and teach children about squares and
exponential growth.
Effectiveness: Literature is an effective way to teach mathematical
concepts because it pairs lessons that children may find boring with exciting
narratives and vivid illustrations. This pairing keeps kids engaged, and helps
them apply concepts. Sometimes, these stories even stick with them as they grow
older, creating memories of the literature and ingraining math concepts with
the readers for life. In the this particular book, kids will learn both to find
a balance between material gain and caring for the environment, and how to
model basic exponential growth.
i agree with your idea of how these stories can wind up sticking with you as you grow older and help to reinforce those concepts for later in life - excellent point!
ReplyDeletesam,
ReplyDeletereally cool book choice. there are many mathematical topics addressed in this text, which include but are not limited to the following: increasing and decreasing numbers, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, squares of numbers, multiples of numbers, prime numbers. however, i don't really see how exponential growth is shown as concept addressed in this text. the example that you used would probably be closer to multiples or squares of numbers.
professor little