Once Upon A Math Story
This lesson combines math and language arts. The students create stories incorporating math problems into it.
Component: Math operations
Number and number sense
Writing Process
Objectives: The
student will write number sentences and word problems
using combinations of operations.
The student will use written mathematical language to communicate discoveries about
calculations.
Materials: computer, Microsoft Word or Works, Excel (optional), paper, online capabilities
Procedure: 1) Students either work alone or in small
groups and brainstorm for ideas for a math
story.
2) They will write a rough draft incorporating mathematics into the story
line.
3) Revise and edit the story.
4) Add clip art.
The following are samples taken from books written by fifth grade students:
"Cynthia bought the cutest skirts at Old Army. She bought 2
skirts at $15.00 each
and a pair of jeans at $22.00 with a 10% discount. She spent $30.00 on skirts
and
$19.80 for a pair of jeans. Her cash flow was down to $50.00."
"Our eyes lit up in amazement as we saw the candy on the shelves. We spent
about
fifteen minutes of our precious time counting the candy pieces that were there.
There
were 75 candies on one shelf and since there were five shelves, we supposed that
there
were about 375 pieces of candy altogether. We couldn't decide which ones we
wanted."
"Carla went after the sock sale because she was tired of people making fun
of her for only
wearing white socks. There was a sensational sale. If you buy 2 pairs for $3.00
you get a
third pair free. She ended up with 18 socks in total. Do you know how much she
spent?"
5) Read books aloud.
Evaluation:
The students will be tested on several of the
skills used in the story. For example, if
fractions are in the majority of the story, then a fraction word problem would
be written
on the board. An example would be: "Cynthia spent 1/4 of her weekly
allowance at
Old Army. If her allowance is $16.00, how much does she spend?"
Homework:
Choose three skills from the story and write
three new questions for each one. (If it is
a division skill, then write three division word problems.)
Extensions: *Have
students read their math problem books aloud to a third or
fourth grade class.
*Students can improve their math problem solving and critical thinking skills at
Math Stories.
*Students can learn about the history of math at
Math
Madness, in addition, ask
students to
create dinner conversation math problems at this fact-filled site