"Rich" Math Problems

I got the best compliment ever last week: "That math problem was really fun! That was the best day in math so far this year!"

It was this problem from Robert Kaplinsky: "How Much Money IS That?!"

I put the pertinent information (photos, link to the video, questions to ask) into Google Slides, and printed the above picture for individuals and small groups to mark up. (We did the Coinstar problem the day before.)

I wish you could have been there when I started the slide show with the above picture! Excited conversation ERUPTED all around the classroom! Questions, predictions, estimates, scenarios...leave it to money to get kids excited to solve a problem!

We worked on this problem over the course of two days, and our final answer was in the ballpark of the actual amount, but not at all spot-on. That's okay. We had already determined that we were not going to be able to aim for precision with this problem.

This week, I'm going to try some of the problems from Inside Mathematics. I like how they come tiered with different levels on the same theme.

Happy Problem Solving, and Happy Math Monday!

It's Math Monday! 

Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning 

for the Math Monday link up!

Poetry Friday -- A Kind of Poetry

A Kind of Poetry

by Chi Lingyun

To discover a tree's memories is impossible.

To seek a pebble's experience 
is also impossible.
We spy on water's motion

but in the end we still can't touch its core.

The cloud has always been there, we exhaust our energy
to understand its will, yet there's no hope
it will reveal the sky's mysteries.

Poetry also has the will of clouds

with words like rain, to avoid madness

it creates more madness. Just as when love

is written down, it loses half of its sincerity.
When explained, there is only a layer of sticky
mist left. No one is quick or deft enough

to capture poetry for long. Everything perfect
contains a dark cave.

(the rest of the poem is here -- scroll down to the third poem)

My brother found this poem and shared it with me. I loved it in March, but I love it even more after poetry month. The line, "Just as when love/is written down, it loses half of its sincerity" seems to have been written just for me and my PO-EMotion collaborators! And I found so many dark caves last month...

For more Poetry Friday "spelunking," visit Michelle's roundup at Today's Little Ditty.

2 Books to Start Conversations about Words

I found two new books at Cover to Cover last week.  Both will be great for writing workshop and discussions and words.

There's No Such Thing as Little by LeUyen Pham is one that I picked up because I LOVE this author/illustrator.  I thought it would be too youngish for my classroom but when I picked it up, it looked perfect for writing workshop. The book begins with two children who don't like being called "little" They want us to know there is so much more to them than being little!  The book goes on to look at lots of little things. A little light, a little snowflake, a little hand. But with the turn of the page, we see that those little things are so much more than little.  For example, a little tree becomes a generous tree when we look more closely.  The pages have little cut-outs which make the book even more fun. We see the "little" through a hole peeking into the next page --a feature I think kids will love and one that helps us connect the words in the book.  I think this will be a perfect book for writing workshop when we talk about word choice and the ways we can use words that truly give meaning to what we are saying.

The other book is Outstanding in the Rain: A Whole Story With Holes by Frank Viva. This one is
another book that has holes as part of the illustrations. In this book though, each hole reveals a word on the page.  For example on the first page, the text reads "Ice Cream," I say. My birthday surprise.  The word Cream is shown through the cut-out.  On turning the page, we see that "cream" becomes part of a new word scream in a new sentence that continues the story. This word play happens several times throughout the book as we see words change into different words.  Another book that will be fun as part of our word play conversations. The illustrations in this one are unique and I think kids will like the color choices and the humor.

The Olive Books

I discovered the book Olive and the Embarrassing Gift by Tor Freeman this year. It was a great story that made me smile so I bought a copy for the classroom. When I read it to my class, I realized it was a perfect read for 3rd graders. One of the things that is hard for me when being newish to a grade level is finding books that are a perfect fit.  I am always looking for books with enough depth and things to talk about, but books that are simple enough that most kids can access in a mini lesson.  It is often tricky in early 3rd grade to find the right types of books.

In this story, Olive gets a gift from her good friend. But she doesn't like the gift and is embarrassed to wear it. There is humor in the story and a great lesson. It is something 8 and 9 year-olds could relate to for sure.  A fun story with lots to talk about.

I recently discovered that there are three Olive books in this series and I purchased them all because I think they are great for primary students to learn to talk about books and to revisit throughout the year.  Knowing what a good conversation starter the first book was, I think getting to know Olive in three stories will be great fun!  I think these three titles will naturally lead to great conversations around characters and theme.  

Olive and the Bad Mood is about a day when Olive is a little grumpy with her friends. And Olive and the Big Secret is the story about Olive sharing a secret.  I think these books are great for K-3 classrooms.  Fun and simple but with lots of things to talk about!

Math Monday! I See A Pattern Here by Bruce Goldstone

It's MATH MONDAY! Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for the Math Monday Link Up!

I am a huge Bruce Goldstone fan and was thrilled to see his new book I SEE A PATTERN at Cover to Cover last week. I bought it, figuring it might be a bit primary for my kids but that we definitely needed to add it to our Bruce Goldstone collection.  If you are not familiar with this author/photographer, we've reviewed several of his books on the blog!

WOW! Was I surprised. I should have know that Goldstone would teach us more about patterns than I expected. I should have realized that he would take the book in directions I hadn't considered.  The one thing I love about his books is that there are so many places for readers to enter and engage.

As always the photos in this book are fabulous. The size and color draw you in immediately. For young students the visuals will be plenty to learn from and talk about.  For older readers, Goldstone includes options.

He begins the book talking about pattern, what makes a pattern, where we find patterns.  In the bottom corner of the first spread, there is a bright box with the heading "MathSpeak". In it he says, "Mathematicians use special words to describe patterns. Check out these speech balloons if you want to talk MathSpeak, too. Then on pages throughout the book, Goldstone introduces math words that go along with what he is sharing on the page.

Goldstone starts with simple patterns with beads and explains how they are made using slides. He continues on with ideas around rotation and symmetry, scale and tessellations.  There are some activities for kids at try at the end of the book.

This book, as with all of Goldstone's, is one that I am excited to bring to the classroom. Lots of ideas about patterns for kids to explore over time!

April Mosaic -- Two by Two

Two colors of hyacinth (and fun with a lens).

Cars so small that two can fit in one parking space.

Two yellow blooms in a sea of green.

Two daffodils after a rain shower.

 New leaves and new blooms--two unfurling on the redbud.

April this year was a month for writing poetry, not for taking pictures. Hopefully, May will be a month for both!

Poetry Friday -- Emotional

What I love most about my 2015 National Poetry Month project is what I love most about writing poetry: I had the vaguest of notions how the whole thing would play out, and it grew to be more than I ever could have imagined.

I billed the project as emotions from "Anger to Zest," when in fact we went from Anticipation to Relief.

Not I -- we. The most amazing thing about the month was writing alongside Carol, Kimberley, Kim, and Steve. I loved overlapping challenges occasionally with Jone, and also having Carol V., Linda, Heidi and Kevin write with us occasionally. The conversations in the comments both at A Year of Reading and Poetrepository kept me going.

I'm proud of my collection as a whole, but there are a couple with inside jokes I'd like to share.

On April 29, I tucked the adage, "Pride goeth before a fall" into this poem:

PRIDE

Is it branches full of unopened blossoms against
an impossibly blue April sky?

Or could it be rows of trees, heavy with fruit in
late summer, yellow jackets hovering?

Look down. Is it in the remains of
the bounty, rotting after October frosts?


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

I'm still cracking myself up over the various kinds of interest you encounter at various kinds of banks. (from April 19):

INTEREST

At the bank
it's what you get
without trying.
You just have to be there.
(monetarily)

At the (river)bank
it's what you get
without trying.
You just have to be there.
(open-mindedly)


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

But probably my favorite, is this hidden tribute to ROYGBIV, from April 14:

THE WHOLE SPECTRUM, PLEASE

tulip petal

monarch wing

forsythia's shock

first leaves in spring

prairie sky

shadows on snow

thunderhead's tower

dogwood, crow

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

There's a whole blogpost to be written about my email haiku lessons from Diane Mayr. In that future blogpost, I will show how this pair, seen here still in draft, have undergone an amazing transformation through a series of gentle nudges by Diane!

The roundup is now at Ellen Leventhal's personal blog, Elementary Dear Reader. 

PO-EMotion -- Relief

Wikimedia

THIS IS JUST TO SAY

I have written

the poems

that were sitting on the shelf

in plain sight

and also the ones

locked in the cupboards.

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

but I've had enough for now.

I think I'll walk

down to the park.

I sh'an't be gone long.

You come too?

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.

"Relief"

Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 

"Relief"

Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!

"In an Instant"

Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems 

in the comments at Poetrepository.

Heidi, at my juicy little universe, will join us when she can.

Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.

Check the comments at A Year of Reading or Poetrepository for her poems.

Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,

leaving poetry trax in the comments.

Carol, at Beyond Literacy Link, is writing alongside us when she can.

Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge. 

She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible.

PO-EMotion -- Pride

Flickr Creative Commons photo by Todd Shoemake

PRIDE

Is it branches full of unopened blossoms against

an impossibly blue April sky?

Or could it be rows of trees, heavy with fruit in

late summer, yellow jackets hovering?

Look down. Is it in the remains of  

the bounty, rotting after October frosts?

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.

"Pride"

Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 

"Pride"

Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!

"Piano Pride"

Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems 

in the comments at Poetrepository.

Heidi, at my juicy little universe, will join us when she can.

Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.

Check the comments at A Year of Reading or Poetrepository for her poems.

Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,

leaving poetry trax in the comments.

Carol, at Beyond Literacy Link, is writing alongside us when she can.
"Bring Spring Inside"

Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge. 

She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible.

PO-EMotion -- Optimism

PLANTING BULBS IN THE FALL

It will matter

that I gave them

time 

and 

choice.

It will matter

that they read

widely,

deeply,

voraciously.

It will matter 

that we were family --

accepting

and

respectful.

It will matter

in a someday spring

when they

truly

bloom.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.

Carol has two very different takes on optimism.

Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month. 

"Optimism"

Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!

"An Inconvenient Optimism"

Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems 

in the comments at Poetrepository.

Heidi, at my juicy little universe, will join us when she can.

Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.

Check the comments at A Year of Reading or Poetrepository for her poems.

Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,

leaving poetry trax in the comments.

Carol, at Beyond Literacy Link, is writing alongside us when she can.
"Optimism"

Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge. 

She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible.