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by Cindy 14 Comments

10 Living Books for Middle School Math

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By now, y’all know that I LOVE living math – and especially math that involves living literature.  So many people think math and literature connections only make sense for the elementary years, but I’m here to tell you middle school students still benefit from the connection!

This list of living books for middle school math is perfect for making those connections and bringing some excitement and pleasure to math time.

Even middle school students benefit from math and literature connections!

This post contains affiliate links.

Living Books for Middle School Math

The Phantom Tollbooth is rich in imagination and character development…not to mention math concepts.  Ratio, proportion, averages, measurement, estimation, geometry and more are seamlessly woven throughout the story line.  You’re just going to love the numerous ideas Dan Batton shares for related lessons.

Math Curse is a goofy picture book that can be read in one sitting.  Each page offers great opportunities for various math explorations like problem solving, averages, percents, volume, sequencing, permutations and more.  Children who are less than enthusiastic about math might find the book and this activity somewhat painless.

Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone is just one of an entire series of Sir Cumference math stories.  While some of the books are appropriate for older elementary, many of them cover more in-depth middle school topics – like finding the volume of cones or the area of circles.  I can’t speak highly enough of this series.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is mostly historical fiction with a geometry twist.  It takes place in Japan after the bombing of Hiroshima.  Get your tissues ready!  After you wipe your tears away, have some fun with this origami lesson.

Counting On Frank is somewhat similar to Math Curse (above), with a character who is a little more thoughtful about math.  Everything he thinks about seems to go through a math funnel.  It’s especially good for showing the real-life side of math.  Find several activity suggestions to go-along with the book here.

One Grain Of Rice is one of my favorite multicultural tales with a wonderful moral at the end.  The book teaches the power of doubling painlessly.  Large place values naturally are covered as well.  We have enjoyed this lesson in the past.

Holes was a book I was skeptical about allowing my children to read at first.  I had the impression it handled issues that were too big, but after previewing, I felt very comfortable handing it over to my kiddos.  It has since become one of Caleb’s very favorite books ever (and that’s saying a lot since very few books even make the “it was okay” list.)  Many math lessons can be drawn from this book including percentages, ratios, proportions and more.

A Million Fish…More or Less is a book that I disliked the first time I read it.  I found the tall tales to be silly and hard for my children to grasp.  Then I started looking at this book from the perspective of math potential for older children and the book earned a spot in my top 10!  Set in Louisiana and using traditional Bayou language, the characters tales about events tend to grow.  This lesson idea covers bar graphs, statistics, tables, averages, scatterplots and more.  (Since I wrote this post a week ago, the lesson link seems to be broken.  I’m going to leave it here in hopes that the webpage comes back up because the lesson ideas are awesome.)

Gulliver’s Travels is a classic tale about a shipwrecked English surgeon who finds himself held captive by a group of little people, among other sea adventures.  Lessons on ratio, proportion and measurement can be easily tied into the book.  Here is a fun proportion lesson idea with video teaching.

Chasing Vermeer is an art mystery that covers all sort of mathematical concepts like patterns, symmetry, shapes, Roman numerals and more.  There’s even a bit of math history thrown in!  A Different Place has a variety of lessons using Chasing Vermeer – you could do a whole unit study with this book.  Please be aware that the Lord’s name in taken in vain in this book.

The Phantom TollboothMath CurseSir Cumference and the Sword in the ConeSadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Puffin Modern Classics)Counting on FrankOne Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical FolktaleHoles (Newbery Ser.)A Million Fish...More or LessGulliver's Travels(Complete and Unabridged, with Illustrations By Arthur Rackham)Chasing Vermeer (Scholastic Gold)

 

Do you have any middle school math favorites to share?

You’ll love the other posts in this Living Literature Top 10 Series.  If you’re interested in living math, be sure to also check out my Living Math Matters Series full of practical living math lessons!

Need ideas for living math lessons? There are more than 100 here!

Learn More About Living Math

Want to learn even more about the possibilities of living math? The Loving Living Math book and Living Math Video Training teach you what living math is, and better yet, how to easily and practically incorporate it into your homeschool program. There are so many benefits to living math, don’t miss out!

  • What is living math and how can you easily add it to your homeschool schedule? Let Cindy help you figure that out!
    Living Math Homeschool Masterclass
    $15.00
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  • Loving Living Math
    $12.00
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Last Updated: November 23, 2020 Filed Under: Charlotte Mason, Living Math, Middle School Tagged With: living books, living literature, living literature series, Math, math and literature connection

Previous Post: « 10 Living Books for Elementary Math
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Comments

  1. Susan W says

    October 22, 2013 at 7:39 pm

    Thank you! I love this. I am personally not a fan of math and unfortunately I am afraid I share that message with my children. We have tried a different approach to math this year (and it seems to be a positive step) and I believe adding in some of these books would be a big plus as well. I shared this on our FB page!

  2. Cindy says

    October 22, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    Thanks, Susan! These books really are great – I hope they spice up your math time. 🙂

  3. Heather Hurt says

    October 23, 2013 at 1:05 pm

    A Million Fish… More or Less- lesson activities site is an error…?

  4. Cindy says

    October 23, 2013 at 2:35 pm

    Yes, Heather. Unfortunately, that link is not working right now. I’m leaving it in hopes that the page magically comes alive again because it has such great ideas. Thanks for the comment to let me know!

  5. Dawn says

    October 27, 2013 at 10:17 am

    Thank you Cindy so much for sharing favorites! We love books! And especially living books!
    I did want to share though on the book Chasing Vermeer: my daughter informed me that they use God’s name in vain.

  6. Cindy says

    October 27, 2013 at 1:12 pm

    Thank you, Dawn! You’re right. Will add that to my post.

  7. Michele says

    December 2, 2013 at 11:35 am

    Lawn Boy and Lawn Boy Returns….it is upper elementary. But Middle Schoolers will understand the investment and entrepreneurial ideas better.

  8. Leann says

    November 2, 2015 at 7:41 am

    I am so new to this concept. I have a son who just don’t get math. We’ve tried everything. Could someone please help me! Is this something you use in supplement to a curriculm could you do this as a stand alone math. How would I make sure my kids get everything they need if I did this? Any help is greatly appreciated.

  9. Cindy says

    November 2, 2015 at 1:53 pm

    Leann, do you mean should you use math literature as stand alone math? If so, the answer would be no. Math literature is meant to supplement math concepts a student is learning. If you would like some help with math for your son, I offer homeschool consultations. You can learn more about them at https://ourjourneywestward.com/homeschool-consulting/.

  10. Sunshine says

    April 9, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    You can access the A Million Fish activities through the Wayback Archives – for example at this link: https://web.archive.org/web/20120126073106/http://sci.tamucc.edu/~eyoung/Literature%20webpages/Leonor/million_fish.html
    Hope this helps someone! 🙂

  11. Cindy says

    April 10, 2016 at 3:19 pm

    Thanks, Sunshine! 🙂

  12. Lilac Mohr says

    June 13, 2016 at 9:56 pm

    Great list of living books for math! Can I add another suggestion? Math and Magic in Wonderland : https://www.amazon.com/Math-Magic-Wonderland-Lilac-Mohr/dp/1532894422 Here’s the description: Lulu and Elizabeth are two girls who love to play with numbers, words, and (on occasion) toy swords. Join them on a grand adventure, where classic math and logic riddles lead the way through a world inspired by Lewis Carroll’s poetry.

Trackbacks

  1. How I Teach Math Using an Eclectic Lifestyle of Learning | Home Schoolroom says:
    January 19, 2014 at 8:32 pm

    […] great titles to get you started from Cindy West of Our Journey Westward for elementary and even middle school […]

  2. The Ultimate Guide to How to Homeschool Middle School says:
    April 1, 2018 at 11:51 am

    […] 10 Living Books for Middle School Math – List of math-related literature perfect for the middle school years […]

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When my boys were little, I loved reading these “letters from God” to them as blessings to start the day.

As I was sorting bookshelves earlier this month, I stumbled across this sweet book again. I decided the blessings are still as pertinent today for my bigger boy as they were years ago. So, we’re starting our day yet again with a quick, but powerful “letter from God” before jumping into our daily Bible studies.

Do you do anything special to start your day off on the right foot? I’d love to hear about it!

Click the link in my bio for a link to the book.

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When the world seems to be falling apart around you, the sun never stops shining. The seasons never stop moving. Without a single, solitary effort of human hands, the woodlands still buzz with life.⠀
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