This book is for children who are strongly visual, who learn all at once through pictures, are drawn to patterns, rely on body motions, and who need to understand the process behind each math problem they solve. In Time, Money, & Measurement, we start at the very beginning and increase in difficulty in each area.
1- We embed symbols in VISUALS so that the child can take a quick look, absorb the learning piece, and store it as an image to be retrieved intact later.
2- We use PERSONIFICATION which is a powerful element in teaching and learning. The use of personification makes for rapid learning because the very look and personality of the character conveys the substance of the learning. For example, Ollie Owl, Molly Mongoose, and Sammy Stork have personalities that help cement their function in children's memory. Ollie Hour is an owl who marks the hours and goes very slowly on his short legs. Molly Minute is a mongoose who ticks off the minutes, scuttling around the clock quickly. Sammy Second is a stork who swoops around the clock marking off the seconds.
3- We rely on PATTERN DISCOVERY as a way of making numbers come alive and as a means of conveying the amazing relationships between numbers. What results is number sense. Because the brain is a pattern seeking organ, it is drawn to material that follows patterns.
4- We use STORY to contain the meaning of what we are teaching in math. Stories, like visuals, make learning unforgettable. They explain the "why" behind math concepts and tie everything together, creating a vehicle for meaning and for recall.
5- We use BODY MOTION--both gesture and whole body movement that mirrors the symbol shape or the action in the math story (such as addition or subtraction). Again, body movement is a powerful agent for learning and remembering. For many people, body motion makes recall effortless if the learning piece is directly tied to a unique motion.
6- We employ VISUALIZATION--a powerful tool for right-brain-dominant learners. If these learmers are given time to transfer the image on the paper in front of them to their brains (prompt them to close their eyes and SEE it in their mind's eye), they will be able to retrieve that image later. If the image contains learning concepts, this is how they will remember what you want them to learn. So in this book, each time a visual is introduced, prompt the student(s) to "see" the image in their mind.
