Anita Tjahyadi Blog 3-- "The Math Curse"

1.Once you have selected a book, read the book and write a synopsis (summary) of the book. 
       -The book that I have chosen is called The Math Curse. This book relates to math and to students in a very close matter. The Math Curse, is about a boy and his struggles in finding out that math is everywhere and in everything around him. In the beginning of the book, the little boy first hears how everyday life is basically like a math problem.The next day, he wakes up realizing that he has woken up to algebra when he starts to try thinking of the time in terms of it. As the day goes on, he begins to feel as if math is consuming his life. When everything in his life is transformed into a problem, he turns into a "math zombie". Mathematical subjects like probability turn up when a class treat becomes a fractions problem. Then when he goes to a trip to the local store, he has to deal with counting money and basic math. Finally, He is in a rut and counting the days until he is going to stop seeing math in his everyday life and feels as if he has become a math lunatic. His sister asks him what his problem is, and he responds, "365 days x 24 hours x 60 minutes." Finally, he collapses on his bed, and dreams that he is trapped in a blackboard-room covered in math problems. Armed with only a piece of chalk, he must escape and he manages to do just that by breaking the chalk in half, because "two halves make a whole." He escapes through this "whole", and awakens the next morning with the ability to solve any problem. His curse is broken...until the next day, when his science teacher mentions that in life, everything can be viewed as a science experiment.

2. After reading and summarizing the book, explain in detail the mathematical concept presented in the book.
        - There are many mathematical concepts in this book. There is probability, money counting, adding and subtracting and multiplying complicated, everyday equations in life. This book was based solely on the exploration of everyday life and algebra concepts. When the class treats were distributed, the student is confronted with a problem in fractions-- how many are left if a certain amount is take away?[5/8]?[1/4]?

 3. Explain in your own words why you believe literature is an effective way to teach/learn a mathematical concept.
       - I feel that this book is a good source for people to relate to math because it helps to give a deeper understanding in how math revolves around our world. It helps to show that you do not need to get to stressed over math because you're doing it everyday. If kids were to read this, it could teach them not to panic just because there is a math problem on the board. It could help them to be more comfortable around it and even love math a little more because now they can just see math as little puzzles for them to solve.