math by the month
Anna H. Hall
Lovely math
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Roald Dahl, one of the most beloved children’s authors of all time, wrote, “You can
have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if
you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always
look lovely” (Dahl 1980). Let’s integrate the magical world of reading with mathematics by
solving problems that require “good thoughts.”
WEEK 4
WEEK 3
WEEK 2
WEEK 1
Grades 5–6
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Dahl 1964)
On the graph to the right, plot where each
golden ticket winner lived. Augustus Gloop was
located at (3, 2), Veruca Salt was located at (6, 4),
Violet Beauregard was located at (2, 5), Mike
Teevee was located at (3, 6), and Charlie Bucket
was located at (4, 5). If Willy Wonka’s factory
was located at (0, 1), who would have to travel
the shortest distance from their home (without
moving diagonally) to get to the factory?
The length of the glass elevator in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory was 72 in., the width was 60 in., and
the height was 90 in. What was the volume of the elevator in cubic inches? Solve this problem using 2 different
strategies, and then compare your strategies to a partner’s. Which strategy makes the most sense to use for this
problem? Why?
Charlie saved money for 1 week to buy the chocolate bar that contained the golden ticket. He saved
2 quarters and 1 nickel on Sunday, 3 dimes and 5 pennies on Monday, and 3 nickels each day for the rest
of the week. How much money did Charlie save in 1 week to buy the chocolate bar? Illustrate your solution.
If Charlie saved the same amount of money each week for 5 weeks, how many chocolate bars could he buy if
each bar costs 90 cents?
Willy Wonka needs 6.2 m of rainbow ribbon to make 10 everlasting gobstoppers. If each ribbon contains
60 cm and costs $3, what is the total cost of the rainbow ribbon required for 20 everlasting gobstoppers? For
100 everlasting gobstoppers? For 250 everlasting gobstoppers? Use pictures or number sentences to represent
your strategies for solving. Write a description of how you solved each part of the problem.
Anna H. Hall, [email protected], is an assistant professor in Early Childhood Education at Clemson University in South Carolina. Edited by
Sandra M. Linder, PhD, [email protected], an assistant professor of early childhood mathematics education at Clemson. Email problem
collections for the editor to consider for future Math by the Month columns. See submission guidelines at www.nctm.org/tcmdepartments. Email
creative solutions and adapted problems to [email protected] for potential publication, noting Readers Exchange in the subject line.
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November 2014 • teaching children mathematics | Vol. 21, No. 4
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WEEK 1
WEEK 3
Two animal families were trapped underground while farmers sat waiting to catch
them at the entrance to Mr. Fox’s den. The 6 foxes in Mr. Fox’s family shared their last
3 jugs of cider with the 9 rabbits in Mr. Rabbit’s family. If the animals drank equal
shares of cider, what fraction of a jug did each animal get to drink? Use manipulatives
to find your answer. Explain your reasoning.
Mr. Boggis had 6 rows of chicken coops. Each row contained 100 chickens. How many chickens did
Mr. Boggis have altogether? How many chickens would he have if he added 4 more rows of chicken coops?
Draw a picture to solve the problem.
WEEK 4
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Dahl 1970)
Mr. Bunce’s rectangular garden is 300 sq. ft. It is 20 ft. wide. To build a fence around
the garden on all 4 sides, what length of fencing must Mr. Bunce buy? Use a drawing of
his garden to find out. Share your strategy with a friend.
WEEK 2
Grades 3–4
Mr. Bean bottles 1 liter of cider each day, and 1 liter = 1000 milliliters. How many milliliters does Mr. Bean
bottle in 3 days? In 5 days? In 3 weeks? Draw a table to show how you found your answers.
WEEK 1
James and the Giant Peach (1961)
James receives glowing green crocodile tongues in a brown bag from a mysterious
man. On his way home, he trips, and 7 tongues fly out of the bag and land near
the peach tree. He has only 3 tongues remaining in the bag. How many tongues
did James have before he tripped? Draw a picture of James tripping, and write an
addition or subtraction sentence that fits the problem.
WEEK 2
A ladybug has 6 legs, Miss Spider has 8 legs, and James has 2 legs. How many legs
do they have altogether? Use manipulatives to help you solve the problem. Represent
your strategy for solving with pictures, words, or numbers. Compare your strategy
with a friend’s. How are your strategies similar or different?
WEEK 3
Aunt Sponge is 4 feet tall. Aunt Spiker is 2 ft. taller than Aunt Sponge. James is 1 ft. shorter than Aunt Sponge.
Which 2 people are shorter than 5 ft? Are any of the people the same height? Who is the tallest? Who is the
shortest? Explain how you found your answers.
WEEK 4
K–Grade 2
The Cloud Men threw 8 hailstones, 5 rocks, and 7 snowballs at the peach. Create a bar graph to record this
data. Can you also represent your data using tally marks? How many more hailstones than rocks did the
Cloud Men throw? What did they throw the fewest of ? What else can you say about these data?
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Vol. 21, No. 4 | teaching children mathematics • November 2014
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