Bees, Snails, and Peacock Tails: Patterns and Shapes...Naturally Book

This book explores patterns in nature (snail shells, male peacock feathers, spider webs, and more) with lyrical poetry and colorful images by a Caldecott-winning artist. On some pages, the text is scattered throughout the page, such as in the beehive where the poem says "The hexagons / you'll find inside / fit side / by side / by side / by side." with each row of text by a different hexagon (which I thought was clever from a spatial relationships mathematical standpoint!).

Connections to "big ideas" in math:
Geometry/Algebra (Patterns): Shapes can be defined and classified by their attributes, and the same pattern can be found in many different forms.

Ideas for teaching:
-I would use this book as a kick-off for going on a pattern walk to see what patterns we can find in our school or outside on the patio/in the neighborhood park.
-With the bees, I could bring out pattern blocks for many explorations, including seeing how many ways we can make a hexagon out of other shapes.

Considerations for use with dual-language learners (DLLs) or students with special needs: The rhyming is engaging. Some of the words are more complex (for example, Franco mentions "the mathematical genius of the bee"). I might scaffold by revisiting the book a few different times, doing a picture walk first to see what we notice from the illustrations before reading the accompanying poetry.