Connecting Math and Literature at Beach, Havens and Wildwood

David Schwartz, accomplished author and storyteller, led his elementary school audiences through an exciting journey that combined math, science, writing and books. Mr. Schwartz visited all three Piedmont elementary schools, tailoring his presentations to the age level of the group. The innovative presentations made a connection between math and literature encouraging students to apply their mathematical knowledge as they go through their lives. The assemblies were sponsored by a grant from the Piedmont Educational Foundation.

Our librarians at our three Elementary Schools shared these comments about the value of Mr. Schwartz’s assemblies.

“Author David Schwartz presented three different grade-level assemblies for our students.  He brought concrete objects like bags of counted popcorn kernels to demonstrate the concept of large numbers and what it really means when we add a zero to a number.  He showed a PowerPoint presentation that included what authors do when they set out to write a book.  And he made math and science feel like a very hands-on, fun way of finding out more about our world. 

David continued this theme when he conducted a workshop for interested K-5 teachers.  He had all kinds of practical ideas for making math real as well as fun.  About 15 teachers attended this special program.  I personally plan to use his "How Many Minutes in 1000 Heartbeats?" when the fifth graders do their body research in the library next spring.

The Piedmont Educational Foundation also gave us the funding to purchase additional copies of David's books.  In preparation for his author visit, all the classes became familiar with these titles as well as his website.  His books continue to be popular in the Havens Library.  David also handed out his "million dollar" bookmarks to every student.”

Barbara Flores
Teacher-Librarian
Havens School

“David Schwartz’ high-energy assemblies helped cement the connection for students between math and literature. David, an accomplished storyteller, enthusiastically introduced mathematical information in appealing ways, using visuals and humor to inform and inspire.  His visit to the three elementary schools also included one after-school teacher workshop offered to the staff where he presented enrichment activities based on his various books and his Magic of a Million Activity Book.” 

Robin Ludmer
Teacher-Librarian
Beach Elementary School

“David Schwartz was a wonderful guest speaker! Wildwood students K – 5 were wowed by the dynamic presentation of his work as an author and illustrator. Using examples from his book, If You Hopped Like a Frog, Mr. Schwartz demonstrated math concepts, like multiplying distances to figure out how far students could jump if they were frogs. Huge bags of popcorn (from 10 – 10,000 pieces!) illustrated the scale of numbers. David Schwartz’s charisma and humor made math fun. By the end of the day, there was a long list of students waiting to check out Mr. Schwartz’s books, that were also purchased with the Piedmont Educational Foundation Grant.”

Ellen Reed
Teacher-Librarian
Wildwood School