Bigger, Better, Best. from Lauren Migliarini

Title: Bigger, Better, Best

Author: Stuart J. Murphy

Illustrator: Marsha Winborn

Recommended

Grade Level: 2

Common Core Mathematics Standards Addressed:

2.PS.1 Explore, examine, and make observations about a social problem or mathematical situation

2.PS.2 Interpret information correctly, identify the problem, and generate possible solutions

2.PS.3 Act out or model with manipulatives activities involving mathematical content from literature and/or story telling

2.PS.4 Formulate problems and solutions from everyday situations (e.g., counting the number of children in the class, using the calendar to teach counting).

2.CM.3 Share mathematical ideas through the manipulation of objects, drawings, pictures, charts, and symbols in both written and verbal explanations

2.CN.1 Recognize the connections of patterns in their everyday experiences to mathematical ideas

2.CN.4 Understand how models of situations involving objects, pictures, and symbols relate to mathematical ideas

22.CN.6 Understand how mathematical models represent quantitative relationships

2.CN.8 Recognize and apply mathematics to solve problems

2.G.2 Identify and appropriately name two-dimensional shapes: circle, square, rectangle, and triangle (both regular and irregular)

2.M.1 Use non-standard and standard units to measure both vertical and horizontal lengths

2.M.10 Select and use standard (customary) and non-standard units to estimate measurements

Summary: Siblings, Jenny and Jeff are always arguing over who has the biggest or best of anything and everything; so much so that it is driving their younger sister Jill crazy. On the day when their parents announce they are moving to a new home, the arguing over who’s room will be the largest begins. When they visit the new home mom decides to put an end to the arguing by giving the siblings equal size sections of paper so they can determine the size of the area in each room. While rooms are different shapes the children determine that they are equal sizes, except for Jill’s whose is smaller but she is happiest because she is farthest from her arguing siblings.

Rating: This book has great ideas for introducing the concept of area. Some of the sidebar bickering between siblings is distracting but can be left out/minimized by the reader if being read out loud. I think that this book can be very effectively added into lesson planning on the area of objects.

Classroom Ideas:

- Discuss ‘Area’; ‘how much space something has’. Do things need to be the same shape to figure out which is bigger or smaller?

- Using small squares (maybe post-its) students can use the same method to measure different shaped books or other items in the classroom.

- Homework could include measuring TV screens or dinning room tables.

- Transfer the idea to liquid measurement using a short glass and a tall but thin glass.

- Discuss ways to measure items that are already laid out in a standard measure: ceiling tiles or floor tiles.