Math Mentor Text for Perimeter {Linky}

I am so excited to be sharing a math mentor text with you today!  I LOVE math and I LOVE using literature in math, and my students do, too!

I had actually forgotten how many books I had to teach math until I decided to pull them out a few weeks ago and then I felt sad because I had missed so many opportunities to use literature just because I had forgotten I had the books!

So, this linky will help me remember!!  Yay!

Today I want to share this book with you:

I recently used this book to review perimeter with my class.  When I taught 3rd grade, I used this book to introduce it.  It still works in 4th grade, and lends itself to critical thinking.  Plus, it's fun!

A very basic summary is this:  Mr. and Mrs. Comfort decide to have a family reunion and serve spaghetti and meatballs.  Mrs. Comfort rents enough tables and chairs for everyone to have a seat, but as more family members arrive, they start pushing the tables together so they can all sit together.  Mrs. Comfort tries to tell them that they will not have enough space for everyone to sit, but no one listens.  The story circles back and they end up with the same seating arrangement as they started with.

This book is great for talking about perimeter, but also helps with spatial awareness because students can see that when you push the tables together, you are actually losing seating.

To use this book, I pulled out the color tiles, which represented tables.  They used their desks and used dry erase markers to mark in the "chairs" which also helped us count our perimeter.

When we did this activity last week, I took some pictures!

They start out with just the right number for all 32 people attending.

Then, they start pushing tables together, which changes the overall total of the perimeter.  As the story goes through, Mrs. Comfort gets more and more upset at all the movement, and the kids catch on pretty quick that this is going to be a disaster!!  Every time a new car pulls up with more people, and they have to rearrange the "tables", the kids groan!  It's awesome!

The first arrivals come and want to push tables together.  Here we go!!

We finally get to the point where all of the tables are pushed together.  At this point, I have told them how to push the tables together each time.  

Now we take the tables apart.  Now, I change the lesson.  I am no longer going to tell them how to separate the tables to get the right perimeter.  For the next picture, they needed to seat 18.  So when the car pulled up and they needed to add 2 chairs, I told them they needed a total perimeter of 18 and that was it.  They could do any design they wanted.

And we just kept going until we ended up with the same design that we started with.

After this design, eight more people come (Mrs. Comfort's sister and husband along with their triplet girls and the triplet's boyfriends who are also triplets- this one always puts the class in an uproar!!).  So, everything goes back to the way it started!  I guess I didn't get that picture!

They really loved trying to figure out each one, and they wanted their's to be different from everyone else's.  All it took was for me to walk around and say, "Ooh, I haven't seen that design yet!" and then they were all clamoring to do a different design.  Some students made every design possible, just for FUN!

This was just a really great way to review perimeter, since they learned it last year, and since I'm feeling rushed since the state test is coming up, I could do something fun, but see what they already knew before I jump head strong in.  Based on this lesson, I think they all remember it!  Yay!!!!

(If you have never linked up before you can check HERE for more information.)

I CAN'T WAIT to see what Must Read Math Mentor Texts you link up!  I'm super excited!!!!

Amanda

Please make yourself a SANDWICH!  What do I mean?  I mean please comment on the person who linked up before you and the person that linked up after you.  I know everyone puts in a lot of time and effort to these posts and I want everyone to feel the love!!!  (Haha, see, you're a sandwich...you know...because you are in the middle of the comments...do you get it?)  ;O)

Next week's topic is Science!!  I can't wait to see what you link up!