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!)