THE EFFECT OF THE INTEGRATED MATHEMATICS LESSONS WITH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE ON THE FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS’ PLACE VALUE UNDERSTANDING

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya

The study investigates how fifth-grade mathematics lessons integrated with children’s literature influence students’ place value understanding and achievement. Place value comprehension is described as difficult, especially when learning relies on isolated rules rather than meaningful connections to daily life. Using a qualitative case study design with 32 participants, data were collected through a place value test, a place value achievement test, and interviews. Results show positive effects on both comprehension and achievement, and students largely reported favorable views toward the integrated lessons.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Teaching mathematics and children’s literature

THE EFFECT OF THE INTEGRATED MATHEMATICS LESSONS WITH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE ON THE FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS’ PLACE VALUE UNDERSTANDING Burcu DURMAZ, Semai MIÇOOĞULLARI Abstract: The comprehension of the place value concept which is based on the grouping ofnumbers in accordance with distinct systems is not so easy. One of the sources that may contribute to the comprehension of the place value and making connections with daily life is children’s books. The effects of several tools on the comprehension of the place value have been analyzed in the literature, but the effects of children’s books in this regard have not been so frequent. Therefore, the aim of the study is to analyze the effects of the fifth-grade mathematics lessons integrated with children’s books on the students’ place value understanding. The study was designed through the case study which is a kind of the qualitative research methods. The participants of the study are 32 fifth grade students. The data of the study were obtained through the place value test, the place value achievement test, and an interview form. The findings indicate that the mathematics lessons integrated with the picture books have positive effects on the fifth-grade students’ comprehension and achievement about the place value. Also, the students participated in the study mostly reported positive views about the mathematics lessons integrated with the children’s books. Key words: children’s literature, mathematics education, place value 1. Introduction The place value is one of the key concepts in mathematics which is the basis for various mathematical concepts and topics (Major, 2012) . If not learned in a meaningful way, the place value comprehension, which causes individuals to have problems in terms of mathematics lessons in the following years and students may have trouble in learning further mathematical topics (Moeller et al., 2011). Also, students’comprehension about the place value does not increase with the grade levels over time as it is normally expected. It is reported that even successful students have difficulty in comprehending the concept of place value (Dinç Artut & Tarım, 2006) . As expected, students with poor understanding about place value show lower performance than their peers in the activities concerning the learning domain of numbers and operations (Chan, Au & Tang, 2014) . Some of the difficulties related to the comprehension of the place value are about the organization of the teaching process. Excessive emphasis on the rules and the lack of connections are just some of the problems with instructional processes that make it difficult to learn the place value (Price, 2001) . Due to the lack of connections students may have difficulties in establishing a connection between the symbols of numbers and their real-life counterparts (Baroody, 1990) . For this reason, research suggests that such connections can be developed through some teaching tools that can also be used for the teaching of the place value (Can & Durmaz, 2021; Mutlu & Sarı, 2019; Sarı & Aydoğdu, 2020) . One of the materials that may serve this connection is thought to be children’s books. 1. 1. Teaching mathematics and children’s literature Children’s books can be used to enrich the mathematics teaching. Such an integration provides an opportunity to relate the mathematical content with daily life (Moyer, 2000) . It is reported that when the mathematical concepts are taught in a context or in a story and not as isolated knowledge, students learn them much better, and learning becomes more permanent (Casey et al., 2008) . The integration of mathematics teaching and children’s literature does not only contribute to connecting mathematics with daily life (Golden, 2012) . Because such an integration provides an opportunity to introduce the mathematical concepts in a context (Wallace, Clark & Cherry, 2006), to eliminate the potential misconceptions (Courtedo et al., 2013) and to offer different

FAQs

What is the purpose of integrating fifth-grade mathematics lessons with children’s literature?

The study aims to analyze the effects of integrated lessons on students’ place value understanding, leveraging children’s books as tools to support meaningful learning and daily-life connections.

How was the study designed and who participated?

It was designed as a qualitative case study. The participants were 32 fifth-grade students.

What data collection tools were used, and what did they show?

Data were obtained through a place value test, a place value achievement test, and an interview form. Findings indicate positive effects on both comprehension and achievement, with most students reporting positive views.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya