April 14, 1999

Students find Math + Fun = MathStart

By Garret Leiva
Herald staff writer
       Students sometimes struggle with mathematical concepts such as addition and subtraction, multiplication and division. They also have difficulty with another concept: math = fun.
      Stuart J. Murphy, however, has helped children picture math not as an irrelevant string of numbers but as a real part of everyday life. For the past 10 years he has worked at illustrating that point by, well, illustrating.
      An author of 24 children's picture books dealing with math, Murphy bases his MathStart series on two simple ideas:
      The first is that many students are visual learners, and if math is presented in the forms of charts and graphs, students become better at mathematics.
      Second, students don't often study math the same way they experience it. Math is often examined in terms of word problems, numbers and operation symbols, but students experience math in life - measuring while cooking, counting different-colored cars on the highway, folding laundry in halves and quarters.
      For Murphy, making math relevant meant making it relate to everyday life.
      "It is important to show kids the ways in which they use math in their lives. I encourage parents to talk math - such as figuring out the number of paper towels to buy for a boat trip or the tip at a restaurant," said Murphy, who presented his MathStart books at East Bay and Interlochen Elementary Schools this past week.
      "By using math in this way, students learn that math is a part of everyday language. Math becomes more relevant. It becomes fun."
      Part of Murphy's formula for success is that the MathStart books published by Harper Collins are written on three levels:
      Level I includes beginning math concepts, such as counting, ordering, recognizing patterns and comparing sizes. Level II introduces basic math skills: adding, subtracting, estimating and using fractions. While Level III builds on the previous levels with multiplication and division, building equations and problem-solving strategies. Murphy noted that his books, which began appearing in primary grades classrooms in 1996, are geared for ages 3-years-old to 10-years-old.
      Another important aspect of making math relevant is creating lively but simple story lines and colorful characters. Many of the ideas for his books, Murphy said, come from his own life experiences and those of his two grown children, Randy and Kristin.
      "I thought if I could combine the concept of mathematical ideas and put them into a story context kids could believe in and understand this would be something that would be really useful," said Murphy, a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, who became interested in visual learning while working as art director for the publishing firm Ginn & Co.
      For East Bay Elementary teacher, Ken Konopka finding ways to relate math to real life experiences - like Murphy has done with his MathStart stories - is not a foreign concept in his classroom.
      "With our math program we do a lot of hands-on activities," said the second-grade math and science teacher, whose students work with surveys, people graphs and the "Hundreds Chart" for addition and subtraction problems.
      "The children see that they use math just about everyday in their lives."