Missing Mittens by Stuart J. Murphy posted by Christine Tedeschi

Title: Missing Mittens
Author: Stuart J. Murphy
Illustrator: G. Brian Karas
Recommended Grade Level: 1-2

Common Core Standards Addressed: Number Concepts, Work with equal groups of objects to gain foundations for multiplication, Understand and apply properties of operations and the relationship between addition and subtraction.

Summary: When Farmer Bill is getting dressed on a snowy day, he discovers that he is short one mitten, and "One mitten's not a pair." Continuing his day, the farmer soon learns that his cow has the same dilemma. As he goes about working around his farm, the situation escalates. His three chickens have only five mittens, and his two horses have only seven mittens. Finally, Farmer Bill and his animals spot the cause of their problem; it's a mitten-chewing goat.

Rating: **** I really enjoyed this book. The illustrations are bright, extremely colorful and fun. In addition, the clumsy rhymes keep this book flowing wonderfully. I especially like the side-by-side comparison of odd and even mittens.

Classroom Ideas: This book is a great introduction to odd & even numbers. It could also be used for multiplication of the number two. I like the idea of using animals that children are familiar with to show how many mittens they would need for their limbs. I would read this story twice to a class if conducting a lesson on odd & even numbers. The second time reading the story I would have the students chart the mittens by odd and even and written the amount next to each box. This way the class can see the pattern of even numbers 2,4,6,8 and odd 1,3,5,7.

Elevator Magic by Stuart J.Murphy and Brian Karas

Title of the Book: Elevator Magic

Author: Stuart J.Murphy

Illustated by: G.Brian Karas

Recommended to: k-3 graders.

Math start: Level 2

Summary:

Learning how to subtract using a simplified "number line" helps children understand the concept of subtraction. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Who knew that riding an elevator could be such an adventure?

The plays on words make this book about subtraction amazing as well as informative. The writer uses a common daily activity to teach some math basics. Ben meets his mom at work on the 10th floor of her office building. On the way down in the elevator they make several stops. Ben needs to subtract the number of floors to determine which number to push on the elevator button. The magic begins when their experience include a stop at Farm Bank and Trust (with live farm animals), and the Hard Rock Candy store that features a live hard rock band! This is part of a series of "Math Start" books that use every day situations to teach math concepts. The text is simple and fun to read and the illustrations are large and colorful. The last two pages list activities parents and teachers can use with this book to present math concepts to children. Kara’s zany illustrations support the main concept being taught, while picking up on the humor in the word play. The repeated image of the elevator controls, the child's monologue, and numerical equations that display his figuring further enhance the understanding of how subtraction works. The book concludes with several easy-to-apply activities to extend this presentation.

Activities

Ask questions throughout the story, such as "Which floor is 2 floors down from the 10th floor?" and "If you go 3 floors down from the 8th floor, where will you be?"

1+1=5 and Other Unlikely Additions by David LaRochelle - Blogged by Angela Minichiello

Title: 1+1=5 and Other Unlikely Additions
Author: David LaRochelle
Illustrator: Brenda Sexton
Recommended Grade Level: K-2

Common Core Mathematics Standards Addressed: Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Measurement and Data, Counting and Cardinality

Summary: This book makes you think outside of what you would normally think. With a title, 1+1=5? I had to see what this was about. So how can 1+1=5, if you add 1 set of triplets + 1 set of twins = 5 babies! That had hooked me right in! It is a fun read to try to come up with how can you get that answer? This will expand a child’s imagination and not to take everything at face value.

Rating:**** I recommend this fun book to help children to think critically and with problem solving. The illustrations in the book are fun and bright. It will catch the eyes of the students especially counting to see if it is true!

Classroom Ideas: Before I start reading the book I would have the students guess what the title might be. Then during the read aloud I would have children predict what the equation could be. After the book is read, students can come up with their own crazy equations. They can be peered up and they would have to create one. Then we can share our equations with the class! It will be a fun way for the students to learn to think outside the box!

Title: The Hershey’s milk chocolate Bar Fraction Book Author: Jerry Pallotta Illustrator: Rob Bolster Grade Level (s): 3-5

Common Core Mathematic standards: Number & Operations- Fractions 3.NF.1. Understand a fraction 1/b as the quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is partitioned into b equal parts; understand a fraction a/b as the quantity formed by a parts of size 1/b 3.NF.3. Explain equivalence of fractions in special cases, and compare fractions by reasoning about their size. Build fractions from unit fractions by applying and extending previous understandings of operations on whole numbers. 4.NF.3. Understand a fraction a/b with a > 1 as a sum of fractions 1/b. Use equivalent fractions as a strategy to add and subtract fractions. 5.NF.1. Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators (including mixed numbers) by replacing given fractions with equivalent fractions in such a way as to produce an equivalent sum or difference of fractions with like denominators. For example, 2/3 + 5/4 = 8/12 + 15/12 = 23/12. (In general, a/b + c/d = (ad + bc)/bd.

Summary:

This book is about how a person could look at a hershey’s chocolate bar as a fraction bar with 12 pieces. The book goes step by step showing how one could make different fractions with the one candy bar. The book also explains what chocolate is made out of and where it comes from.

Rating: ***** I would have to give this book 5 stars because I feel that it is an excellent approach to fractions for students who are as afraid of fractions as I am. In this one book there are terms used with fractions defined and explained with an example. The author took into consideration that talking over and over about the fractions of the same whole could get draining and had to parts in the book where he left the candy bar topic and talked about the chocolate factory and the grass field. I am sure this was done with consideration.

Classroom Ideas: This book is eatable fun about fractions. Students are allowed to use an actual candy bar as their hands on manipulative and then able to eat the prop after the lesson. Not only can they make a connection with the chocolate bar but they get to actually eat candy while learning. This is an engaging activity based on a book. A teacher can do a read aloud during a literature block and connect it for a mathematics lesson. The book can used to introduce fractions as well as review and study fractions. It provide definitions of fraction terminologies, such as numerator and denominator and improper fractions.

Fraction Fun by David A. Adler posted by Alexandra Diaz

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Title: Fraction Fun
By David A. Adler
Illustrated by Nancy Tobin
Grade Level (s):
 3 -4 grade
Common Core Mathematics Standards Addressed

Number and Operations—Fractions

• Develop understanding of fractions as numbers.

3b. Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions, e.g., 1/2 = 2/4, 4/6 = 2/3). Explain why the fractions are equivalent, e.g., by using a visual fraction model.

3c. Express whole numbers as fractions, and recognize fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers.

Examples: Express 3 in the form 3 = 3/1; recognize that 6/1 = 6; locate 4/4 and 1 at the same point of a number line diagram.

Build fractions from unit fractions by applying and extending previous understandings of operations on whole numbers.

3d. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole and having like denominators, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem.

Summary:

This book is a basic introduction to the concept of fractions, the book introduces the concept of numerator and denominator and encourages students to compare what happens when either number increases, and how to put them in simple terms so students will be able to understand the idea of fractions.

Rating: () I recommend this book as it present math in a simple exploration of fractions. In which different objects are used to illustrate the concept, from pizza to coins. The information given in this book is accurate.

Classroom Ideas:

This book could be used with more than a few ways to help students to understand the topic of fractions including adding and subtracting fractions, decompose a fraction into a sum of fractions with the same denominator in more than one way, to solving word problems involving multiplication of a fraction by a whole number.

Beep Beep, Vroom Vroom: Nichole LaramyCollins

Common core standards addressed:Geometry,counting and cardinality, measurement and data.

Summary: Molly loves to play with her brother Kevin, toy cars. He thinks that his sister is too little to play with cars. Kevin lines up all his cars on the shelf. He tells his sister that he wants the cars to be the same way he left them; red, blue, yellow; red, blue, yellow. When Kevin leaves, Molly begins to play with the cars. Mom and Dad hears Molly playing and makes Molly put back the cars the way her brother had left it. When they leave, Molly plays with the cars again. Kevin tells Molly that she'd better not be playing with his cars and he is coming to see. Immediately, Molly tries to put the cars back in the same pattern Kevin left them. At first the cars didn't seem to be lined up correctly; yellow, blue, red. She tries again and put the cars back the way that her brother had left them.

Rating: I would recommend the book to teach basic math skills to children in the early grades from Preschool to Grade 1. It is a good way to teach students pattern recognition, colors, shapes and how to count objects. The book also has colorful and bright pictures so that students could follow along while the teacher is reading.

Classroom ideas: Teachers can have students create their own patterns using manipulative materials in the classrrom such as building blocks, colored tiles and counters. As the teacher reads, she may ask the students to identify the different patterns Molly places the cars on the shelf. The teacher may also ask students to identify the different shapes and colors of the cars in the book.

The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns Posted by: Jasmin Garcia

Title: The Greedy Triangle
Author: Marilyn Burns
Illustrator: Gordon Silveria
Recommended Grade Level: K- 2nd grade

Common Core Mathematics Standards:
k- Identify and describe shapes.
1-2 Geometry: Reason with shapes and their attributes.

Summary:
This story is about a triangle who gets bored with his life and becomes convinced that the answer to his his problems would be to feels that his life is boring because he was doing the same old things like holding up roofs, supporting have just one more side and one more angle. So he went to his local shapeshifter who turned him into a quadrilateral until he became bored of that. Then he turned him into a pentagon but every shape he turned into to became boring after a while so he kept asking for an extra side and angle. Eventually, he had so many sides that he didn't know what to do with himself. His friends began avoiding him because they couldn't tell which side he was on and he became lonely. He went to the shapeshifter one last time and asked to be a triangle again.

Rating:
I recommend this book for teaching geometric shapes to k-2nd graders. It might be a little long for kindergartners with short attention spans but I find it ideal for 1st and 2nd graders. I think it is cute because people in general can relate with the triangle when he gets bored with his life and thinks that the grass is greener on the other side. Kids can also relate because they may feel like their life would be better if they could change something about themselves and it may help them see that they are perfect the way they are. It also gives them exposure to different terminology for shapes. (Ie, quadilateral for square).

Classroom Ideas:
-Shape search- Assign students a particular shape and have them look around the classroom or home (if assigned for homework). Then they can write each thing down or draw what they see.-Make a graph and see which shape they see more of in the classroom.-Make a collage from magazines of the different shapes they learned.

100 WAYS TO CELEBRATE 100 DAY

"Pigs Will Be Pigs" by Amy Axelrod... Post by Matthew Guarino

 

 

 

 

Title: Pigs Will Be Pigs

Author: Amy Axelrod

Illustrator: Sharon McGinley-Nally

Recommended Grade Level: K-3

Common Core Mathematics Standards Addressed: Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Number and Operations in Base Ten, Measurement and Data

Summary: This story is about a family of pigs who need to collect money in order to purchase a meal at a restaurant. In the story, each of the family members finds a different amount of money in the form of dollar bills, dimes, quarters, pennies and nickels. They combine their found money and go to a restaurant to purchase one of the restaurant's specials. After their meal, they come home and realize the mess that they have left after searching the house for money.

Rating: **** I recommend this book as it presents math in cases that most students could relate to: money and food. It encourages students to develop their mathematical skills in counting to 100, addition and subtraction. It even includes a page that includes questions like "How much did the Pigs spend at the restaurant?" and "How much money did the Pigs have left?".

Classroom Ideas: This book could be used with several mathematical topics including addition, subtraction, budgeting, and money. Students could keep track of the Pigs' money by using manipulatives and adding money as each new discovery was made. They could even have copies of the menu from the book and when the Pigs reach the restaurant in the story, the students could discuss the Pigs' possible food choices with the amount of money that they had available to them.