TOP TEN

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, ill.New York: the Penguin Group, 2003.

ISBN: 978-0-670-86194-1  

Annotation: A student falls victim to the Math Curse when her teacher says ``You can think of almost everything as a math problem.'' Suddenly, everything is just that…a math problem… until she finds a way to end the curse. Here’s a wild and wacky book dealing with numbers in everyday life as well as math anxiety.

Media: painting, collage, mixed media

Aspects of Artwork: Paintings and collage-like art compliment the postmodern page design with objects, calculations, geometric shapes, all placed on dark grainy backgrounds. The paintings express the child narrator’s mounting frustration, confusion, and anxiety.

Curricular Connections: 5-8th grades: Math, previews before teaching math concepts, math application to daily events

Rating: 5Q/5P

 

Lesson Plan: 

Audience: 5^th-6^th grades

Goals and Objectives:

 

ALA Information Literacy Standards

Standard 9. the student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and participates in groups to pursue and generate information.

9.1. Collaborates in formal and informal study and research groups.

9.2. Respects the views of others in study and research groups.

California Mathematics Standards

MA.5.2.0. Students perform calculations and solve problems involving addition, subtraction, and simple multiplication and division of fractions and decimals:

MA.5.1.0. Students make decisions about how to approach problems:

MA.5.3.0. Students move beyond a particular problem by generalizing to other situations

 

Lesson Preparation:

Obtain multiple copies of the book in paperback. Pre-number the pages for easier reference. OR:

Scan and Run off enough multiple sets of pages for each of the table teams. Number and staple them in order of the story.

  

Activity: Divide activities into 2 sessions 

1. Check into prior knowledge: Why Math?

Hand check: How many of you use math in everyday life?

Brainstorm and chart: What are some of the ways you use math every day?

 

2. Read Aloud Math Curse. If a video projector and document reader are vailable project the book to see the illustrations up close as the read aloud proceeds.

 

3. Form Table Teams of 5-6 students per table.

Task: Solve as many math problems from the Math Curse as possible within the time frame.

            -They can use any tool to help them; calculators, formulas, math books etc

            -Each box with correct answers at the end of the project is worth 10 points

-Winning table: most points wins free book choice, math bonus points, or other incentive 

 

4. Share answers to questions by Tables. Tables must explain how they got their answers. Tally up the total points per table. Table Winner?

Note: Teacher should note problems and processes that were difficult to complete: possible teachable moments later in the curriculum?

 

5. Each Table write a short paragraph about how they use math each day. Write an additional paragraph about how they would break the math curse. 

 

6. Share paragraphs aloud. Post to a bulletin board that develops throughout the year with the topic heading: Why Math? Encourage students to bring in real world artifact examples of math used in their daily lives to post to the bulletin board.Use comic text bubbles to explain each artifact on the bulletin board.

RAC 7.28.09

 

 

 

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, ill.  New York: Viking, 1995.

					School: Jefferson
Grade Level of Lesson:5th				Subject: Science			Date:7/15/09
Unit Theme/Topic:
Lesson Title/ Topic:	Teacher's Name: Beth Gousman
Expected Student Learning Outcomes:	What will students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson? (Be Specific) Students will be able to...demonstrate an understanding of how mathematics permeate daily life.
CA Academic Standards Addressed:	Which California Academic Content and Performance Standards will your lesson address?   Students move beyond a particular problem by generalizing to other situations.
Materials Used:	What instructional materials and equipment/supplies will you use in this lesson?   -Book for each group                 -individual student logs
Lesson Outline: (Opening, Major Activities, Transitions, Review; Closure)
Opening/Introduce Lesson Do Now Anticipatory Set: q  Focus Students q  State Objective q  Establish Purpose q  Hook /involve students! q  Activate prior knowledge q  Assess students		Time   10 min	Teacher Actions       —  Teacher reads Math Curse to class			Student Actions
Main Activity: Instruction q  Explain Concept q  Refer to previous lessons q  Provide Examples q  Model q  Use a variety of instructional strategies		30 min	—  Working in small groups, students list and solve all of the math problems presented in the book (30 minutes)  Alternately, each group could be assigned to look for a different kind of math problem
Main Activity: Check for Understanding: Ensure students are ready for activity q  Pose Key Questions q  Ask Students to Explain Concepts q  Use active participation strategies			—  Each group is required to present —  the problems that they found.			The group who locates and answers the most problems correctly wins.
Main Activity: Guided Practice: Students do task with teacher direction or assistance q  Provide monitoring q  Check for understanding q  Modify/adapt for all!			Distribute math logs.  Students will have one week to document every math encounter Visually impaired students may tape their logs rather than writing them.			Students will submit logs after the first day for teacher to verify that they are on the right track.
Closure: (Debrief) q  Find out what your students learned q  Share work and give positive feedback q  Summarize work and behavior q  Set next steps		10 minu	—  -Debrief discussion (post-logs) —  What surprised you most about this activity?

Monitoring & Assessment:	How will you monitor student learning during the lesson? How will you assess student work?   By collecting the logs after one night to ensure the students are on track.
Modifications to Address Individual Student Learning Needs	How will you modify your instruction as needed to ensure that all students meet learning outcomes?   I may modify from individual to group logs, depending upon the success of the logs, as evidenced after the first day.
Follow-up Activities/ Homework	How will you follow up this lesson with homework or other extension activities?     See log activity.

BVG, 7/21/09

 

Math curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. New York:Viking, 1995. 

            ISBN: 0670861944

            Annotation: a kid believes he has been cursed by his math teacher and now everything in his life has become a math problem until he finally breaks the math curse. With real math problems for kids to practice.

            Media: Pencil and Ink

            Rating: 5Q/4P

Subject: Math  Grade: 5-6

Armando Rivera 7-05-09

 

 

Scieszka, J. & Smith, L. (1995). Math curse. New York: Viking Penguin. 0670062995

 

 Rating: 4Q/3P

When her teacher, Mrs. Fibonacci, suggests that one can “think of almost everything as a math problem,” a young student is afflicted with a ballooning math anxiety that preoccupies every moment of her day. Trivial daily tasks such as getting dressed and eating lunch are riddled with mathematical inquiry; mathematical principles are discovered in other school subjects like social studies and physical education. Smith’s unique character illustrations are mixed within a collage of eye-catching graphics.

 

 

This humorous book will help alleviate math anxiety by allowing students to see the practical applications of mathematics. Calculations, quantities, and other numeric problems are encountered every day, from looking at statistics in a social studies class to understanding monetary transactions.  Recommended for any grade and any student struggling with math.

 

 

Lesson Plan:

 

Grades 5-8

 

 

Scieszka, J. & Smith, L. (1995). Math curse. New York: Viking Penguin. ISBN:0670062995

 

 

“You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem.”

Objective: Practical applications of basic math to problems encountered every day.

 

 

1) Your cell phone bill shows that you logged 837 minutes during the month of March. On average, how many minutes per day were you on your cell phone?

 

2) Your cell phone charges are $69.99 per month, before taxes and fees.  On average, how much money do you spend per minute using your cell phone?

 

3) The library charges an overdue fine of 25 cents per day, with a maximum fine of $8.00. However, the library does not charge fines on Sundays because the library is closed. How many days can you keep your overdue book until the maximum fine is reached?

                       

4) A cookie recipe you want to bake yields a batch of 20 cookies. You want to make more cookies and have all the ingredients, yet you are not sure if you will have enough butter. The recipe needs 2/3 of a stick of butter, or 5 and 1/3 tablespoons. If you have 3 sticks of butter (with 8 tablespoons in each stick), how many batches of cookies can you make?

 

 5) You want to buy a video game that costs $19.98 plus 8% sales tax. You have $23.00.

            a. How much is the total cost of the game?

            b. Do you have money left over? If yes, how much?

 

 

TK 4/20/08; 4/29/08

 

 

 

Scieszka, J. and Smith, L. (Ills.) (1995). Math Curse. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN: 0-670-861944-4.

 

Annotation – All around and everywhere there is a math problem—a math curse. How will the curse be lifted? Read this book and find out.

 

Media used for illustrations – paper collage, pencil and ink drawing, acrylic paint

 

Rating for quality and popularity – 5 quality of text and 5 quality of illustration and 5 popularity

 

Curricular Connection – For upper elementary or junior high, this book could actually be a homework assignment: figure out the answers to the problems set by Scieszka and Smith. Each child could be assigned a certain page and then the next day the students with the same page number could check their answers in their group. What if the answers don’t match? Great!!! It’s a chance to have students working with students to get the correct answer.

Nancy

 

 

Lesson Plan for Math Curse by John Scieszka + Lane Smith

 

 

Unit – Math Formulas and Sequences

 

 

 

Grade 5 – Cross-Curricular Connections – Math and Critical Thinking Skills

 

 

 

Objective 1 – The students will work together in small groups to solve previously reviewed math concepts by using the book Math Curse.

Objective 2 – Students will respond individually on one of several critical questions.

 

           

 

Targeted Math Review Concepts

 

1. Calculations

    

2. Metric quantification

    

3. Fractions

    

4. Fibonacci Sequence

    

5. Mayan numerals                                            

    

6. Binary Counting

    

 

 

Targeted Critical Thinking Elements

 

1.      Analyze positive elements of the group experience

 

2.      Analyze negative elements of the group experience

 

3.      Comment with at least 5 sentences of at least 12 words on the question: How would you have released yourself from the “Math Curse?” 

 

4.      Find information about Fibonacci from a book in the library. Write a short paragraph about his life.

 

 

 

California State Standards for 5^th grade math

 

1.0 Students compute with very large and very small numbers, positive integers, decimals, and fractions and understand the relationship between decimals, fractions, and percents. They understand the relative magnitudes of numbers.

 

 2.0 Students perform calculations and solve problems involving addition, subtraction, and simple multiplication and division of fractions and decimals.

 

Materials

 

Math Curse – at least 5 copies

 

Large sheets of comment paper

 

 

 

Arrangement/Procedure

 

Have students form themselves into groups of 5 by counting off—remainders will be timekeepers. Time will be adjusted according to the complexity of the problem.

 

Each group will have the book Math Curse to refer to.

 

All groups will have the same questions to answer in the same order.

 

 

 

Small Group Work

 

Calculations

 

Begin on the page “I take the milk out for my cereal and wonder…”

 

·         After the group answers question 1, make up a problem using cups, pints, quarts and gallons.

 

·         On the page “The whole morning is one problem after another….” Calculate the answer for the question in the first box, then for all the questions in the second box.

 

 

 

Fractions

 

·         Go to the page “Unfortunately for me, Lunch…”  Answers questions 1, 2, and 3.

 

·         Make up a problem using 1/8, ¼, ½, and 1/3 and M&Ms.

 

 

 

Metric Quantification

 

·         Next do the page starting “In the afternoon, every subject is…..,” do problems 1 and 2 using the metric measurements.

·         Determine how many M&Ms would be needed for one-quarter, one-half and three-fourths of the full length of the Mississippi River.

 

 

 

Individual Work

 

Answer the first question and pick one of the remaining selections

 

1. Comment with at least 5 sentences of at least 12 words on the question: How would you have released yourself from the “Math Curse?” 

 

 

Fibonacci Sequence

 

• Find information about Fibonacci from a book in the library. Write a short paragraph about his life.

   

 

 

Mayan Numerals

 

• Research information about Mayan numerals and write a short explanatory paragraph about how the system works.

 

 

Mom Says—Dad Says

 

• Explain what conclusion you have drawn on the page that says: “Dinner brings no relief.” Can that be true what the author concludes? Why or why not?

   

 

 

Extension/Enrichment

 

• Students can research how different number sequences developed and make up their own.

   

• Check out John Scieszka and Lane Smith’s website

   

 

 

Assessment

 

Comment Sheets

 

Participation in group

 

 

 

Resources Consulted

 

www.readingrockets.org

 

www.lanesmithbooks.com

 

www.emints.org/ethemes/resources - Missouri Dept. of Education – sources for educators by educators

 

www.kidlink.org – linking students around the world

 

 

Nancy