Specific Expectations: Grade 4 multiplication (creating arrays and arranging equal groups in different ways - there are 32 guests - we could do 8 tables of 4 of 4 tables of 8), Grade 5 patterning (1 table can seat 4 people, but 2 square tables can fit 6. How many tables do you need for the 32 guests?), Grade 6 ratios (32 guests, 96 meatballs - 1:3 ratio of people : meatballs)

Connections: This book presents a problem to students in a funny but accessible and potentially familiar way. I'm sure many of our students have witnessed at home some of the stress that goes into planning a big family meal! The book could also provide a good extension activity where the teacher provides students with a different number of guests and meal options, and they would figure out the different seating and food possibilities for each group.

Specific Expectations: Grade 8, E2.2 - solve problems involving angle properties, including the properties of intersecting and parallel lines and of polygons.

Connection: The Absolute Value of Mike is the story of Mike, a 14-year-old boy with dyscalcula, and his Math professor father. Each chapter title is related to a Math concept (e.g., Parallel Lines, Transversal Lines, Skew Lines), defines the term, and makes connections between the meaning of these Math concepts and the characters and/or the plot.

Specific Expectations: Grade 8, C2.3 Equalities and Inequalities - solve equations that involve multiple terms, integers, and decimal numbers in various contexts, and verify solutions.

Connections: Secrets, Lies, and Algebra is the story of Tess, a Grade 8 student who applies Math concepts to help her understand daily life. Each chapter title is related to a Mathematical concept (e.g., Inequalities, Graphs, Tangents, Quadratic Equation, Exponents), and makes connections between their meaning and the characters and events in the story.

Author: Demi

Curriculum Connections (Grade 5/6):
Grade 5

B2.4 - represent and solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of whole numbers that add up to no more than 100 000, and of decimal numbers up to hundredths, using appropriate tools, strategies, and algorithms

C1.3 -determine pattern rules and use them to extend patterns, make and justify predictions, and identify missing elements in repeating, growing, and shrinking patterns

Grade 6

B2.4 - represent and solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of whole numbers and decimal numbers, using estimation and algorithms

C1.3 - determine pattern rules and use them to extend patterns, make and justify predictions, and identify missing elements in repeating, growing, and shrinking patterns, and use algebraic representations of the pattern rules to solve for unknown values in linear growing patterns

Big Idea:

How doubling works and how we can make accurate predictions over time.

How It Connects:

You can use this book to talk to students about growing patterns and extend it however you see fit. Before you start, I recommend having place value charts handy for students, as we get into large numbers. As you read, you can pause with students and work on a classroom table of values chart on an anchor chart, or have students create them on whiteboards in small groups. I will usually have students “lock in” an answer at the early stages of the pattern being introduced. It is fun to see the guesses students had before they realize how much rice is given (and how much rice is in a handful, bowlful etc). You can further talk about the story and assess students understanding of the different types of growth we see in tables of values, and extend it further by graphing the data. You could also have students create the pattern rule and then find a specific day and how much rice she would receive.

Author: Sandra Boynton

Curriculum Connections (Grade 5/6):
Grade 5

D1.3 - select from among a variety of graphs, including stacked-bar graphs, the type of graph best suited to represent various sets of data; display the data in the graphs with proper sources, titles, and labels, and appropriate scales; and justify their choice of graphs

D1.5 - determine the mean and the median and identify the mode(s), if any, for various data sets involving whole numbers and decimal numbers, and explain what each of these measures indicates about the data

Grade 6

D1.3 - select from among a variety of graphs, including histograms and broken-line graphs, the type of graph best suited to represent various sets of data; display the data in the graphs with proper sources, titles, and labels, and appropriate scales; and justify their choice of graphs

D1.5 - determine the range as a measure of spread and the measures of central tendency for various data sets, and use this information to compare two or more data sets

Big Idea:

How data can be tracked and transferred into graphs

How It Connects:

This book is useful when working with data and introducing tables of values and graphing because the number of hippos changes at each point in time in a clear and trackable way. Students can record the number of hippos versus time in a simple table of values and then transfer the data to a bar graph (or graph of choice). The data set can be used to calculate mean, median, and mode, and to extend the task, data points can be removed or altered so students can see how missing or changed values impact their mean/median/mode. Lastly, students can also compare two different representations of the same data (table vs graph) and explain which is more useful for answering specific questions or which type of data representation they prefer and why.

Curriculum Expectations:

Grade 5 Number Sense: place value; integers (intro); patterns; understanding zero as a placeholder and as a value.

Two Ideas to Connect the Book to Mathematics:

1. Build large place value models (up to millions) and explore how the value changes when zero is inserted in different places.

2. Introduce integer thinking using a number line to discuss how zero acts as a “neutral” point between positives and negatives.

Suggested Assessments of Activity/Lesson:

-Observation of student reasoning during number-building task.

-Exit reflection: “Why is zero powerful in our number system?”

-Small performance task: Correct and explain errors in numbers with misplaced zeros.

Curriculum Expectations:

Grade 5 Geometry & Spatial Sense: transformations, symmetry, area; Financial Literacy; Patterns

Two Ideas to Connect the Book to Mathematics:

1. Students design quilt blocks using translations, reflections, and rotations on grid paper (or digitally).

2. Create a “fabric budget” where students calculate cost per square unit and determine total cost of their quilt design.

Suggested Assessments of Activity/Lesson:

-Rubric assessing use of at least two transformations.

-Math journal explaining symmetry choices.

-Budget calculation accuracy check.

Curriculum Expectations:

Grade 5 Number Sense: patterns & algebra; multiplication; powers of 2; financial literacy; problem solving

Two Ideas to Connect the Book to Mathematics:

1. Have students model the doubling pattern with a table (Day 1–30) and look for structure. Discuss exponential growth and why it becomes so large so quickly.

2. Connect to financial literacy: Compare simple interest vs. “doubling” growth. Which grows faster? Why?

Suggested Assessments of Activity/Lesson:

-Student-created table showing accurate doubling pattern.

-Math journal reflection explaining why doubling grows faster than linear growth.

-Problem-solving task: Predict the total on Day 10 without calculation

Expectation (Grade 2) B2.6 - represent division of up to 12 items as the equal sharing of a quantity, and solve related problems, using various tools and drawings

I love this book -- it's an oldie, but a goodie! I used it the one and only time I taught Grade 3. It's a great intro to division. After reading the story, you could have students do all sorts of similar problems with various materials/collections (including cookies). It can also be tied to lessons on arrays and the inverse relationship between multiplication and division, as well as early fraction concepts.

Big Idea (that I focus on): fractions can represent the same amount even if they look different

Expectation (Grade 5) 1.3 - represent equivalent fractions from halves to twelfths, including improper fractions and mixed numbers, using appropriate tools, in various contexts

Big Idea: Logical reasoning and inference help both reading comprehension and math problem solving.

Curriculum Expectations (Grade 4):

Math C1.1 – Solve problems by applying appropriate strategies (e.g., making inferences, looking for patterns, using logical reasoning).

Language B2.1 – Use appropriate comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading (e.g., making predictions, asking questions).

B2.3 – Make inferences about texts using stated and implied ideas.

Big Idea: Thinking carefully and breaking problems into steps helps students understand stories and solve math problems.

Curriculum Expectations (Grade 4):

Math N1.1 – Solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, using strategies and tools.

Language B1.2 – Demonstrate understanding of text by making predictions and connections to personal experiences.

B2.4 – Explain how story elements (characters, events) contribute to meaning.

Specific Expectations: Grade 5 B1.6 - represent and solve problems with the multiplication of 2 digit by 2 digit whole numbers;

Grades 5 and 6 B2.1 - use the properties of operations to solve problems involving whole numbers and decimal numbers, including those requiring multiple steps, and check calculations

Connecting: This book starts out simple - a penguin mysteriously begins appearing at a house each day, beginning on January 1st. As the number of penguins increase, however, students are presented with increasingly complex problems (how do we feed 75 penguins, when each penguin eats 2.5 lbs of food each day and the food costs 0.75/pound?) and they are given the opportunity to apply a wide variety of Math skills to solve the penguin problem!

This book connects to mathematics because it shows students that math is not just something you do on a worksheet - it's something you use constantly in everyday life. Throughout the story, the main character begins noticing math in ordinary situations like telling time, estimating, measuring, sharing food (fractions), comparing quantities, and solving problems. This makes it a great book for junior students because it helps them build real-world connections to number sense and problem solving, while also encouraging them to think like mathematicians in authentic situations. It supports the Ontario Curriculum focus on using math in daily life and communicating reasoning.

*Please find the curriculum expectations and an activity idea on the discussion board.

This book connects to mathematics because it is built around visual puzzles that encourage students to use flexible strategies rather than just memorizing facts. Each page encourages students to look for groups, patterns, and efficient ways to count or multiply, which supports junior learning in mental math, multiplication, and reasoning. It’s especially useful for junior grades because it encourages students to explain their thinking, compare strategies, and use visual models—all important mathematical processes. The book helps students see that there is often more than one way to solve a problem, and that good math thinking is about choosing smart strategies. 

*Please find the curriculum expectations and an activity idea on the discussion board.

Connections:  This fact-filled book explores numbers in creative ways.  It doesn’t tell one continuous story, but instead shares stories of number facts, historical discoveries, patterns, puzzles, and real-world examples of how numbers are embedded in our everyday lives. 

The stories in the book are more about build number wonder, and less about procedures.   

Big Idea: Requires students to use critical thinking, reasoning, proving, magnitude, proportional reasoning, and number sequences. It challenges readers to understand how numbers are used to measure, compare and interpret the world around them.  

Specific Expectations:
B1.1: read, represent, compare and order whole numbers (special numbers, numerical history)
B1:2: use place value and properties of operations to solve problems (brain teasers and number puzzles, patterns, divisibility)

C1.1: identify and describe repeating patterns (number tricks and sequences)
C1.2: create table of values and extend patterns 

D1.2: interpret and analyze data (barcodes, coding, statistics) 

F1.1: explain how money is used in earning, spending, saving and budgeting 

This task really got me thinking (once all the popular picture books were taken) on how I could use a novel that I am currently reading and find implicit and explicit math related concepts. I read this novel to my class each year as it connects to themes of global citizenship, environmental responsibility, social justice and human rights.  It would be a bit of planning, but what a wonderful way to connect math to literature, social studies and science. 

Big Idea: The novel could challenge students to use reasoning, critical thinking, and reflecting to help them understand the challenges presented in the story.  Students could explore how distance, time, population movement, access to resources and financial decision-making shapes the characters’ experiences.  

Specific Expectations:
B1.1: read, represent, compare and order whole numbers (km, days of travel, population numbers, comparing water usage, etc.)
B1.2: use place  value and properties of operations to solve problems (estimating distance, litres transported, rate, time)

C1.2: create table of values (chart water usage before and after well, track distance walked per day, locations visited, create timelines for South Sudan water projects)

D1.2: interpret and analyze data (interpret maps, charts and stats about water scarcity, analyze global water access, infographics about refugees)

F1.1: money use in earning, spending, saving, budgeting (cost of drilling well, fundraising goals, financial decision making)

Grade 4 and 5

Each poem in this collection highlights a different math idea embedded in everyday life.

Example: The poem “Dog Years” explains that 1 dog year equals 7 human years. Teachers can use this poem to connect to:

• Multiplication – e.g., “How old is a dog in human years?”

• Ratios – e.g., introduce ratio notation 7:1

• Decimals – e.g., “What if a dog is 3.2 years old?”

T

*This is the updated version of If the World Were a Village. This version is more visual and shows each square/person is exactly 1% of the world/

This book could be used for Grade 4 to teach fractions and decimals and representations with a real-world global context. While reading, students can use fraction grids (10 x 10), base-10 blocks, or fraction strips to represent the data.

Grade 4 Example:

• Represent fractions and decimals with models

• For example, if 60 people live in Asia, students can colour 6 rows of 10 (using a 10 × 10 grid) to see that 6/10 of the village, or 0.6, live in Asia.

This story is great for many grades, but I would use it for my grade 4/5s, and have them solve for many problems. How long would it take to drive from BC to NL? How much gas would it cost? Where should they sleep? Should they sightsee along the way, and where? SO.MANY.IDEAS!

The Big Ideas explored in this read-aloud:

• Math helps us to make sense of our world and is something that is found everywhere, not just in the Math classroom. This helps students make connections between things learned in school and real-life contexts

• Problems can be solved using multiple strategies, this can help when students get stuck on a problem

• Growth happens when we can persevere through challenging tasks, leading to a Growth Mindset

• Math requires communication and reflection

Some curriculum expectations explored in the text:

• Read, represent, compose, and decompose numbers in everyday life (B1.1)

• solve multi-step problems using the four operations (B2.1)

• identify and extend patterns, describe pattern rules (C1.1)

• elapsed time (E2.4)

• learn to express feelings of stress and frustration during learning (A1.2, A1.2)

  Math Curse helps students develop a Growth Mindset and overcome Math anxiety, which is an incredibly important component of the Social-Emotional aspect of learning.

Thanks Leanne!