Poetry in Motion: Using Shel Silverstein's Works to Engage Students in Mathematics

Through Brilliant, Clever Poems and prose, Shel Silverstein has worked his way into many classrooms and into the hearts of students and teachers. He wrote poems with an obvious knowledge that a child's mind is active and curious, and middle school students love reading and listening to his words. Imbedded in many of his poems and prose are opportunities to do mathematics in ways that will get students' minds “flickerin'.” Using a poem, picture book, or portions of a novel can raise the curiosity of middle school students and can increase their desire to solve mathematics problems. As students engage in solving literature-based mathematics lessons, they are applying mathematics in different contexts and making connections among mathematical ideas, which are expectations outlined in the Connections Standard in Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 2000). In the following sections, four delightful Silverstein works prompted engaging mathematics explorations. Each selection focused on a different mathematical strand, although there is much integration of other concepts in the problems.