Benny's Pennies

Benny's Pennies

By Pat Brisson

Random House Children's Books, 1995

 

Grades: PreK, K

Synopsis: Benny has five pennies to spend and he asks his family for suggestions of what to buy. Each of them has a different idea - something beautiful, something to eat, something to wear. As Benny travels around town that day, he finds the perfect item for each and comes home after he spends all his pennies.

Jump: As Benny trades his pennies for the work of his friends (a cookie, a rose, a paper hat, a fish, and a bone) children are introduced to the idea that money is used in exchange for goods. The penny could be introduced and described and then a center or station set up for students to "buy" one item at a time. These items should be labeled with how many pennies they cost - both number and pictures, or cents notation if desired. Use play food as your groceries and allow students to rotate being the shoppers and cashier.

Kindergarten students could also use this book to begin writing simple number sentences. The story could be written in subtraction sentences to match how many pennies Benny has left after each transaction, or it could be used to show the varied ways to make five (ex. five pennies and zero objects, four pennies and one object, etc).

The Chicken Problem

The Chicken Problem

By Jennifer Oxley + Billy Aronson

Random House Children's Books, 2012

Grades: 1, 2, 3

Synopsis: Peg and Cat are all set for a picnic. They have a piece of pie for each of them and one for their new friend Pig, but they also have one extra little piece. Peg decides the extra piece is just perfect for the tiniest chicken. Unfortunately when she lets out the tiniest chicken, the other ninety-nine get out too - and now they all have a much bigger problem! How do they get the chickens back into their coop so they can enjoy the picnic and pie?

Jump: As Peg and Cat attempt to get all of the chickens back into the pen, students can write and solve number sentences to match their antics. The page numbers are also written in number sentence form: "9 + 1 = 10" and there are number sentences that match the story hidden within the illustrations. This story could also be used as a concrete introduction to division. Students can use "pieces of pie" to divide a number into equal groups. These can be groups like in the story where there is more pie than people thus prompting a discussion of remainders (and what to do about that problem!)

The Thingamabob

The Thingamabob

By Il Sung Na

Randomhouse Children's Books, 2010

Grades: K, 1, 2

Synopsis: One day, elephant finds a thingamabob but he is not quite sure what it is or how to use it. He asks his friends, but no one knows.  He tries to fly with it, sail in it, and hide behind it but none of these seem to be the thingamabob's purpose. It isn't until it starts to rain and elephant notices it is a perfect rain shield that he discovers the thingamabob is really an umbrella.

Jump: To practice visualizing, cover the book with paper or newsprint so the students are not able to see the illustration on the front. During reading, students should be encouraged to visualize what the thingamabob might look like or what it might be. After reading, students should guess what the thingamabob was before the illustrations are displayed during a second reading. Students could then create their own thingamabob and give good clues as to how it would be used. To hide their own illustrations, a piece of paper could be folded in half and the description/story placed on the outside while the illustration is placed on the inside.

11 Experiments That Failed

11 Experiments That Failed

 

By Jenny Offill

Schwartz and Wade, 2011

 

Grades: 2, 3, 4

 

Summary: The very ambitious main character creates and executes 11 different experiments ranging from living on ketchup and snow to using perfume to water seeds. The results are never quite what she expected and sometimes don't answer the questions, but are always humorous. She is careful to document her question, hypothesis, process and results for each (failed) experiment.

Jump: Students will find the main character's antics engaging, and her process quite thorough. After reading through the book, the steps of the scientific process could be identified. Then, students could be asked to create and execute their own experiment (with parent and/or teacher approval). These experiments could be documented in the same way as the book and displayed as experiments that failed - or didn't!

Zero

Zero

by Kathryn Otoshi

KO Kids Books, 2010

Grades: K, 1, 2, 3

Synopsis: Zero is upset because she doesn't count the same way the other numbers do. She cannot line up with them, she has no value, and feels like she is empty inside. Although the other numbers try to help her become more like them, she realizes she can only be the best "zero" she can be and find a way to count.

Jump: Like Otoshi's book One, this book promotes the idea that "everyone counts." Zero must look oustide her normal role and buddy up with friends to make the biggest difference. Using these two ideas as a starting point, students can come up with ways to work together, and outside of their usual tasks, to make a difference in the classroom or community. This could easily lead into an Earth Day or service project.

At the younger grades, Zero also provides a lesson about the numerical value of numbers and cardinal counting. Once all the numerals are used up, the progression must start again and count in a different way. This could be paired with Zero the Hero by Janet Holub which takes a more humorous look at zero's role.

Taking a Bath With the Dog and Other Things That Make Me Happy

Taking a Bath With the Dog and Other Things that Make Me Happy

by Scott Menchin

Candlewick Press, 2007

Grade Level: K, 1

Synopsis: The main character in this book starts out having a tough day. Her mom asks what would make her happy, but the little girl is not sure and decides to ask everyone she knows from her mom, to her dog, to her neighbor. By the end of the book, she realizes that many things can make people happy, and she has a lot of happy thoughts, too!

Jump: There is a great variety of ideas in this book to give even the pickiest writer some thoughts to start with. Use a four square model for brainstorming after reading. Have the students divide their paper into four quadrants or create a template for them to use. Each student can then draw four things that make him or her happy (one in each box) and then label or write a sentence about each. This could also be used around Thanksgiving for thankful ideas.