The goals of the TEMPLE (Teaching Early Math by Providing Language Exploration) Read-Alouds Project are to provide young students with a strong background in math vocabulary and to create opportunities to use that math vocabulary in discussions and activities relevant to their daily lives. The TEMPLE Read-Alouds Project provides preschool and kindergarten educators with a specific, research-based read-aloud routine and math-focused books that focus on the combined development of literacy skills (e.g., language, reading) and numeracy skills (e.g., counting, comparison, geometry).
With the TEMPLE Read-Alouds routine, educators read age-appropriate books with young children and make the experience interactive. That is, educators introduce and discuss math vocabulary, engage children in discussions about the book’s content, and do brief math activities to connect the math content to math in real life. Our hope is that the TEMPLE Read-Alouds routine continues to be used to introduce math vocabulary and concepts to emerging readers.