EACH STUDENT NEEDS:

• AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE HOME MATTIE'S LUGGAGE
• TIME AT HOME TO COMPLETE THE WRITING TASK
• TO HAVE HEARD THE STORY MATH CURSE BY JON SCIESZKA AND LANE SMITH

CELS: CCT, COMMUNICATION, PSVS, NUMERACY, IL

PROCEDURE:

1. READ MATH CURSE BY JON SCIESZKA AND LANE SMITH TO THE STUDENTS.
2. USE THE RECORDING SHEETS TO PRACTICE WRITING MATH PROBLEMS AS A CLASS. (MATTIE MIGHT DO SOME OF THE WRITING.)
3. PREPARE MATTIE'S LUGGAGE BY COLLECTING TWO BINDERS/DUOTANGS, A CLASS SET OF MATTIE'S MATH JOURNAL SHEETS AND/OR A SET OF MATTIE'S TRAVEL DIARY SHEET, MATH CURSE, A FAMILY LETTER, 2 OR 3 PENCILS, AN ERASER, AND A STUFFED MONKEY.
4. PREPARE A TRAVEL SCHEDULE FOR MATTIE. EACH STUDENT WILL NEED THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE MATTIE HOME. PARENTS/ FAMILIES WILL APPRECIATE A SCHEDULE IN ADVANCE. IT MIGHT BE COPIED ON THE REVERSE OF THE FAMILY LETTER AND SENT HOME TO ALL FAMILIES PRIOR TO THE START OF THE SCHEDULE.

CLOSING:

• STUDENTS RETURN WITH MATTIE AND A REAL WORLD PROBLEM TO SHARE. THE STUDENT READS THE PROBLEM ALOUD. STUDENTS LISTEN AND MAKE JOT NOTES OF THE IMPORTANT/ NEEDED INFORMATION ON THE SOLUTION RECORDING SHEET.
• STUDENTS ARE LED THROUGH A CLASS DISCUSSION OF THE VARIOUS STRATEGIES USED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. DIFFERENCES ARE CELEBRATED AS STUDENT SEE THAT DIFFERENT APPROACHES MAY ACHIEVE THE SAME GOAL.
• DISCUSS WITH STUDENTS, "HOW WILL YOU KNOW WHICH STRATEGY WILL WORK BEST FOR YOU? HOW WILL YOU KNOW WHICH STRATEGY WILL BEST SUIT A GIVEN PROBLEM?"

BIG QUESTIONS:

• WHY DOES THE BOY IN THE STORY FEEL THAT "MATH" IS A CURSE?
• WHEN HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED MATH IN YOUR "HOME" LIFE? DESCRIBE A TIME YOU EXPERIENCED MATH OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOME.
• WHEN YOU THINK OF THE EVENTS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED TODAY, WHICH OF THEM CAN BE DESCRIBED IN MATH LANGUAGE?

OPTIONS:

• MATTIE TRAVELS HOME WITH A DIFFERENT STUDENT EACH EVENING. SHARING THE PROBLEMS WILL NEED TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE DAILY CLASSROOM ROUTINE. THIS FITS WELL INTO MANY MORNING ROUTINES.
• MATTIE MAY CONTINUE TO TRAVEL HOME WITH A DIFFERENT STUDENT EACH NIGHT BUT THE PROBLEMS MAY BE SHARED USING A CENTER FORMAT. THE ORAL SHARING IS ELIMINATED IN USING THIS OPTION AS SMALL GROUPS OF STUDENTS READ THE FOUR PROBLEMS WRITTEN AND SUBMITTED FROM MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AND WORK TOGETHER TO SOLVE THEM.
• MATTIE TRAVELS HOME ONCE EACH WEEK AND STUDENTS SHARE ON A DESIGNATED DAY. THIS ALLOWS FOR THE WASHING OF THE BACKPACK AND STUFFED ANIMAL IN BETWEEN MATTIE'S ADVENTURES IF THIS IS A CONCERN.

OBJECTIVES:

• P-7 CREATE A WORD PROBLEM GIVEN SPECIFIC INFORMATION B) IN WRITTEN FORM
• P-8 CREATE PROBLEMS SIMILAR TO THOSE SOLVED
• P-10 APPLY ALTERNATE PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES
• P-11 PROPERLY DISPLAY THE RESULTS