Book Bag Activities for
The Greedy
Triangle
By: Kiley Konrade
The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns
- Marilyn Burns is a mathematics teacher and a teacher educator. She is
best known for her books The I Hate Mathematics! Book and The Greedy
Triangle. She has also written books for teachers such as, About
Teaching Mathematics: A K-8 Resource, Writing in math Class, and the Math
by All Means series.
Rationale:
- I chose this book because I wanted to be able to tie in another
subject with reading. It lets students know that they can learn many different
subjects all at once. I also find it easier sometimes to teach math through
reading and vice versa. It also gives the kids some variety in what they are
learning and how they are learning it. The kids are also able to learn their
shapes and identify them in the world around them by using this book.
Questions:
- Knowledge: Why did the triangle change shapes?
- Comprehension: What different shapes does the triangle change
into?
- Application: Pick a shape and write why you would want to be that
shape.
- Analysis: Break down one shape and analyze what you know about
it.
- Synthesis: Suppose the triangle was a different shape, what would the
book be like then?
- Evaluation: Why do you think the triangle wanted to be different
shapes?
Activities:
- Using tangrams, talk about the different shapes in the book and what
the students already know about them. Have them play around with the tangrams
for awhile, so they can make different shapes. This gives a little background
on the different shapes.
- Have the class make the shapes on a geoboard while you read the book
to them. See if the students can make each shape in a couple different sizes.
This activity is more hands-on for the students to learn more about the shapes
in the book.
- Have the students bring something from home that is odd-shaped. Have
them share with the class and see if they can come up with what shape every
object is. If a student stumps the entire class by finding a shape that no one
knows, they may receive a prize. This expands the students idea of
shapes.
- Have each student write down as many shapes as they can remember from
the book. Then, have them brainstorm other shapes that were not used in the
book that they can think of. This will kind of show how much the students
actually do know about shapes already.
- Have the students go around the room and label the different shapes
they see. (square, triangle, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, etc.) This might
help out some students if they are having difficulty remembering which shape is
which.
- Have students brainstorm different ways they could use the shapes.
Have them make a poster of what they would use them for, to share with the
class. See how many students come up with a lot of the same uses for the
shapes.
- Have the students go around the school writing down things that have
different shapes like in the book. (See how many they can find in a certain
time period.)
- Have the students get into groups and make something: a picture,
model, etc. using one shape. (All triangles or all squares) This can be kind of
a weekly project that the students work on in their free time or a little every
day.
- Have the students go home and write down how many shapes they see in
their environment. They will need to write down the exact objects that have the
different shapes. When they return to class, see how many objects the students
found that were the same as someone else.
- Have the students make up a few questions they would ask a math
teacher about shapes. Then, with their questions, have them interview a math
teacher. Each student can present a little of what they found with the class
Props:
- Geoboards with rubberbands
- tangrams
- different shapes of any kind
Bibliography of other related books:
- Triangles (City Shapes) by Jennifer S. Burke
- Shapes In Action:Fun Activities With Triangles, Circles, and
Squares by Giorgiana Liccione Stewart.
- Number Triangles by Morris Bureloff
- Triangles (Lets Investigate) by Marion Smoothey, Ted
Evans (Illustrator).
Assessment Plan:
- To assess the students on what they learned from the book, I would
probably use the geoboard activity and have each student show me how to make
the different shapes mentioned in the book. While they are doing this, they
should also tell me a little bit about each shape. For example, how many sides
it has, what objects are shaped like it, etc. I would probably do this
assessment while the students are working on activity #8. Doing it while the
students are busy seems to help with the dreaded time situation. I will also
grade somewhat on the participation of each student to the activities
above.