Math Curse

Written By: Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

Recommended Grade Level: 3-6

NCTM Content Standard: Number and Operations, Measurements, Problem Solving, Algebra, Data Analysis and Probability, and Geometry





Summary: The book, which is told by a nameless female student, begins with a seemingly innocent statement by her math teacher: "You know, almost everything in life can be considered a math problem." The next morning, the heroine finds herself thinking of everything in a mathematical way: algebra, probability, statistics, fractions, money, etc... She, eventually, finds her way to break the curse...until the next day, when her science teacher mentions that in life, everything can be viewed as a science experiment... Uh Oh!

Uses: I would use this book as a fun way to bring reading and math together. Everyday, the class could read one page together and solve the problems listed on the page. That way, it becomes an interesting class activity that is done everyday--students begin to anticipate what is going to happen next. Also, you could have students use manipulatives to solve the problem that they cannot do on their own-- the ones with fractions, algebra, or geometry. Also, teachers can ask students to find math in everyday situations by looking at the newspaper and create a problem based on what they find. They can share their problem with other students to see if they can solve it, and finally, the teacher can bind all the students' pages together to form their very own classroom Math Curse book!