*Could be adapted for Grade 6 with addition of decimals/percents)

Connecting:
Ethan is having an odd day. The improbable or impossible keep happening to him! Great hook for Junior students to activate their prior knowledge and introduce theoretical probability.
a)Fractions (equivalent /10 or 100)
b)Probability of an event occurring (predicting theoretical probability)

Big Idea: To the best of their ability, students will learn to: think critically and creatively.  

Goal: so they can… “make connections between math and everyday contexts to help them make informed judgements and decisions”

Math Curse really embraces the theme of “Math is Everywhere”. This would be a great book to work through for review of multiple skills (it is a little heavier on a number sense focus) and to support building problem solving strategies. It would also be a great jumping off point to getting your class to create their own ‘real life’ math word problems. 

1)Measurement- Any   measurement   can   be   determined   in more   than   one   way 

2) Number Sense and Numeration-   There are   relationships   between   the   four   operations 

Have a discussion about how the kids compared the windows in their house. What tools did they use? What type of measurement did they use (standard/non-standard)? What would we like to compare at our school?

Have some ideas ready:

 -compare our classroom window to the front window at the school

-do we have a bigger window than the principal does? 

-is the floor bigger or smaller than the library? How do you know? 

-What has a bigger area, the swingset or play structure? 

 

 

 

that shows the book being read, and all the pictures in the book. We would have a discussion about Math in the real world. Then I would give them the activity of solving a real world problem. I would tell them that I am going to be needing to put backsplash in my kitchen, or retiling my bathroom floors. I will say that a pattern in the book on this page:

 

 

One idea is after showing them the video of the book being read aloud, I would have a discussion with them about the measurement in this book, and the different ways we measure, using standard units of measure, vs. non standard units of measure, the different tools we can use to measure, which unit of measure we should use to measure things, ie. mm, cm, m, km etc. Students could come up with different things they would like to investigate and measure, ie. a favourite car, height of a favourite basketball player, height of a famous building like the CN tower, or the leaning tower of Piza, the height of their own house, length of beach front in a favourite vacation destination etc. Or we could do measuring of things around the school, ie. the perimeter of our classroom, the school gym, the entire school yard. I would also want to discuss with them how do you keep track of, and record, your counting and measurements, especially of a very large item/space, ie. the length of main street without getting lost, like how the inchworm got lost after 629,000. 

 

Another different idea is to have the students meet up with a primary class like a reading buddy partnership and read them this story, and teach them how to measure using non standard units and standard units of measure. The students’ younger buddies could pick out a favourite toy, their desk, etc. and figure out how to measure it.  

 

apply, to the best of their ability, a variety of social-emotional learning skills to support their use of the mathematical processes and their learning in connection with the expectations in the other five strands of the mathematics curriculum

1.     identify and manage emotions

2. recognize sources of stress and cope with challenges

3. maintain positive motivation and perseverance

4. build relationships and communicate effectively

5. develop self-awareness and sense of identity

6. think critically and creatively

For an activity and lesson based on this book I would show my class the video of the book being read aloud as shown here:

 

 

After watching the video of the book being read aloud we would break off into partners and do a think pair share about their thoughts on the book, and relating it to a time in their life when they were trying to do something difficult. How did they feel? How did they handle it? We would do a whole class discussion after. Then I would ask them how they think this video relates to Mathematics. I would record their ideas on a chart. We would brainstorm and co-create success criteria for problem solving, reflecting, and communicating in the Math class. As we move on and go through different Math concepts and activities and assignments, I would bring them back to the ideas that I recorded on the chart and to co-constructed success criteria. We would have open and honest discussions about what to do when we are frustrated and stuck and feeling challenged. How we cope and persevere? This would be something that we would continuously circle back to when it is needed. Another way to use it is to have the students do a project where they create their own “most magnificent thing” and document their challenges, and revisions, and the process throughout. 

  B2.4 represent and solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of whole numbers that add up to no more than 10 000 and of decimal tenths, using appropriate tools and strategies, including algorithm

Data Management 

-D1.5 analyse different data sets presented in various ways, including in frequency tables and in graphs with different scales, by asking and answering questions about the data and drawing conclusions, then make convincing arguments and informed decision

Connections:
S

Assessment Idea
- Do a comparison to our ‘classroom village’ and have students collect data similar to the book (e.gnationalities, languages, religions, food, subjects, hobbies) and create a global lens of your classroom using the data, put into a graph and display in the room in some sort of artistic/creative form (e.g., posters, banners etc.) 

Mike T.

Measurment

E2.3 solve problems involving elapsed time by applying the relationships between different units of time.

Connections:

Assessment Ideas:

- Students can do a biography on their favourite animal, and must include number representations in a variety of forms (Grade level pending) and integrate Literacy and Science expectations! 

- Students can create their own comic strip of an adventure they go on in time. Create a success criteria and agree on elements with your students.

Mike T.

By the end of grade 7, students will demonstrate an understanding of variables, expressions, equalities, and inequalities, and apply this understanding in various contexts

Specific: C2.2 evaluate algebraic expressions that involve whole numbers and decimal numbers

Connecting:  This story can be used to teach what is meant by the term "equal", which is a major topic when teaching mathematics. A concept that can very easily be taught wrong. It's also a perfect addition to any STEM/STEAM collection that shows readers how math can be used in everyday problem solving.

-Alyssa

E2.1 measure length, area, mass, and capacity using the appropriate metric units, and solve problems that require converting smaller units to larger ones and vice versa

D1.4 create an infographic about a data set, representing the data in appropriate
ways, including in tables, histograms, and broken-line graphs, and incorporating any
other relevant information that helps to tell a story about the data

 This book is Fantastic connecting math to other subjects. (Space, History, Time, Inventions, Geography, Water, Living things/biodiversity, Energy, Population, Health/Food)The book covers concepts of; time, shapes, multiplying, dividing, whole numbers, and has many visual representations to highlight the different numbers within specific contexts. 

Activity/Assessment
This book can be a great example of how we can represent numbers in a variety of contexts. How we can represent our solutions and communicate our findings in a way to understand.