Math Curse by Jon Scieszka Included: A brief excerpt from the book and rigorous question set activities promoting higher level-thinking development

Additional Resources

Tier 1 Excerpt from book Jacob’s Ladder Goals & Objectives Habits of Mind

Excerpt When the teacher tells her class that they can think of almost everything as a math problem, one student takes it to heart. She develops an anxiety that becomes a real curse as she can’t help but imagine every aspect of her life as a math problem. Obtain the book from a school library to read the story in its entirety and complete the ladder activities.

Students will be able: Ladder A A1 Sequencing - To list in order of importance specific events or plot summaries A2 Cause and Effect - To identify and predict relationships between character behavior and story events, and their effects upon other characters or events. A3 Consequences and Implications - To predict character actions, story outcomes, and make real-world forecasts. Ladder B B1 Details - To list specific details or recall facts related to the text or generate a list about a specific topic or character. B2 Classifications - To categorize different aspects of the text or identify categories from a list of topics or details. B3 Generalizations - To make general statements about the reading or an idea in the reading and use data to support statements. Ladder D D1 Paraphrasing - Students will be able to restate lines read using their own words. D2 Summarizing - Students will be able to provide a synopsis of text sections. D3 Creative - Synthesis Students will create something new using what they have learned from reading and their synopses.

Habits of Mind Working Interdependently Thinking about Thinking (metacognition) Innovating, Creating, Imagining Refer to Jacob’s Ladder Story Table for Ladder A, B & D Thinking Questions.

Tier 2 Rigor (Discussion) High Level Strategies with Ladder A, B & D Questions

Discussion Strategies: Think-Pair-Share, Write-around, 3-4 Podcast slides (Pixie, Frames). Choose 2 of 3 questions below to complete. A1—Can you solve the problems in the book? Which ones? Put them in order. Which ones can’t you solve? Put them in order. How many problems are solvable? Unsolvable? A2—What is the effect of having numbers that don’t solve a problem? Give three examples of where this happens in the book. How does the author create humor in the book? Give examples. B1—What are all of the examples of unsolvable problems presented in the book? B2—Categorize the unsolvable problems from B1. How did you categorize them? Share categories with classmate and compare how they categorized the problems. D1—In your own words, create a series of math problems related to school holidays, using the math chart of birthdays as an example of what you might do. Be sure to have the correct answer. Exchange problems with a classmate & try to solve each others problems.

Tier 3 Rigor (Discussion) High Level Strategies with Ladder A, B & D Questions

Discussion Strategies: Think-Pair-Share, Write-around, 3-4 Podcast slides (Pixie, Frames). Choose 2 of 3 questions below to complete. A3—The author is very clever in using problem solving with numbers as essential to your reading the book. What do you think are implications of seeing EVERYTHING as a problem to be solved? B3—What new rules about problem solving can you create that would avoid dealing with such unsolvable problems? Make a list of your new rules in a letter to a math book publisher or a author such as this author. D2—Summarize the different ways that the idea of a problem is dealt with in the book. Make a graphic organizer to show the ways. D3—Take the last statement in the book: “You know, you can think of almost everything as a science experiment...” and create a comic strip with three panels to demonstrate how that might be true.

Tier 4 Reflections/Relevance

Choose one of the writing ideas to complete. Be creative. 1. Write a letter to a math teacher or a famous mathematician. Write them about what you learned from Math Curse. Include word problems you would like them to try to solve and your feelings about working on math. 2. Create unsolvable word problems like in the book. Ask classmates what information is missing! Suggested project strategies: Write a podcast script; create a puppet show; develop a PSA; a PowerPoint presentation; write and be an actor in a skit; write a persuasive speech and give before the class.