Page 405 - Štemberger Tina, Čotar Konrad Sonja, Rutar Sonja, Žakelj Amalija. Ur. 2022. Oblikovanje inovativnih učnih okolij. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem
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Use of the Picture Book in Teaching Mathematics and Serbian Language
teacher may start with the picture book by narrating the content of the Little
Red Riding Hood fairy tale. The tale of the girl who goes through the woods to
visit her sick grandmother and her encounter with the big bad wolf is well-
known to children. By reminding children of the thematic context of the fairy
tale, the teacher creates an encouraging atmosphere in class for children who
exhibit difficulties in learning mathematics and mother tongue. Enjoying the
depicted world of fairy tales is an integral part of childhood. The child gives
in to the world of imagination and magic without resistance which would be
present if the child with learning disabilities would hear that the next math
lesson would be dedicated to learning number one, or that the next Serbian
language lesson would be dedicated to learning to read and write the let-
ter C.
The aforementioned picture book is suitable for adopting the concept of
number 1 in elementary mathematics education. Each page of this picture
book provides this possibility. The concept of numbers represents a great
abstraction for children, and the issue of understanding the concept of natu-
ral numbers is even more pronounced in children with mathematics-related
learning disabilities. Mathematics education is ‘often very abstract for stu-
dents, so a student of this age can hardly understand or comprehend the
essence of a concept or a process if that concept/process is not obvious’ (Mar-
ičić and Milinković 2017, 120). Therefore, it is often emphasised that mathe-
matics education that starts with situations familiar to the child, based on the
child’s experience and interests is a good mathematics education. ‘Children
learn mathematics from meaningful contexts, and teaching should build on
the informal knowledge children have acquired both before starting school
and outside school hours’ (Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Van den Boogaard,
and Doig 2009, 30).
Pages of the picture book Little Red Riding Hood do just that – they create
concrete, realistic situations that represent an excellent basis for the forma-
tion and development of the concept of number one. On the first page of the
picture book, students’ attention is drawn to the following elements: one girl
in a little red riding hood, one bird, one squirrel, one basket, one flower held
by the girl. On the second page, we have: one girl again, one wolf and one
rabbit; on the third page: one wolf, one grandmother, but at this point, atten-
tion is drawn to the following objects as well: one bed, one case, one carpet,
one curtain, etc. Based on the depicted realistic context, we will form unit
sets that will be used as examples, based on which children should form a
mental image of the concept of number ONE. This way, we will reach the ab-
stract concept of number one via real examples of unit sets. Given that the
405
teacher may start with the picture book by narrating the content of the Little
Red Riding Hood fairy tale. The tale of the girl who goes through the woods to
visit her sick grandmother and her encounter with the big bad wolf is well-
known to children. By reminding children of the thematic context of the fairy
tale, the teacher creates an encouraging atmosphere in class for children who
exhibit difficulties in learning mathematics and mother tongue. Enjoying the
depicted world of fairy tales is an integral part of childhood. The child gives
in to the world of imagination and magic without resistance which would be
present if the child with learning disabilities would hear that the next math
lesson would be dedicated to learning number one, or that the next Serbian
language lesson would be dedicated to learning to read and write the let-
ter C.
The aforementioned picture book is suitable for adopting the concept of
number 1 in elementary mathematics education. Each page of this picture
book provides this possibility. The concept of numbers represents a great
abstraction for children, and the issue of understanding the concept of natu-
ral numbers is even more pronounced in children with mathematics-related
learning disabilities. Mathematics education is ‘often very abstract for stu-
dents, so a student of this age can hardly understand or comprehend the
essence of a concept or a process if that concept/process is not obvious’ (Mar-
ičić and Milinković 2017, 120). Therefore, it is often emphasised that mathe-
matics education that starts with situations familiar to the child, based on the
child’s experience and interests is a good mathematics education. ‘Children
learn mathematics from meaningful contexts, and teaching should build on
the informal knowledge children have acquired both before starting school
and outside school hours’ (Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Van den Boogaard,
and Doig 2009, 30).
Pages of the picture book Little Red Riding Hood do just that – they create
concrete, realistic situations that represent an excellent basis for the forma-
tion and development of the concept of number one. On the first page of the
picture book, students’ attention is drawn to the following elements: one girl
in a little red riding hood, one bird, one squirrel, one basket, one flower held
by the girl. On the second page, we have: one girl again, one wolf and one
rabbit; on the third page: one wolf, one grandmother, but at this point, atten-
tion is drawn to the following objects as well: one bed, one case, one carpet,
one curtain, etc. Based on the depicted realistic context, we will form unit
sets that will be used as examples, based on which children should form a
mental image of the concept of number ONE. This way, we will reach the ab-
stract concept of number one via real examples of unit sets. Given that the
405
