A Lesson Plan for One of Each

PROBLEM SOLVING
DIVIDING A UNIT
MEASUREMENT

NCTM Standards for problem solving:
Instructional programs from prekindergarten should enable all students to:
• build new mathematical knowledge through problem solving;
• solve problems that arise in mathematics and in other contexts;
• apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems;
• monitor and reflect on the process of mathematical problem solving.

Teacher notes
There’s a great deal to learn from Hoberman’s work, enough to base a short unit on this book. The food-related theme can be used to teach children about nutrition, the rhymes can introduce and reinforce word-patterns; but here we will use it to solve the problem of sharing one unit among many, allowing children to discover that dividing equally can be more difficult when they would like to have an odd number of pieces. They will also discover methods of measuring and dividing based on measurements.

Lesson Plan for grades 1 — 2
You will need: One of Each by Mary Ann Hoberman; bananas; paper strips to cut to approximately the length of the fruit; scissors.

New words: divide equally.

Plan
Anticipatory set:
Tell the children you are going to read a story about sharing. Ask how they would share one thing among many.

Input and Modeling:
Read the book and share the pictures.

Guided Practice:
Read the book a second time and use one banana to demonstrate the way Oliver divided his fruit to share with his friends. Cut a strip of paper to the exact length of the banana, fold the strip in half and use the fold to measure the length of each piece. Cut the banana at the fold.

Divide the class into groups of even numbers and give each group two bananas and two strips of paper. Tell them they must divide one piece of fruit evenly so that each child gets the same sized piece. How would they decide to cut it if there are 4 people to share?

Now divide the class into odd numbered groups. Will they measure differently if there are 3 or 5 instead of 4?

Checking Understanding:
After giving the groups time to solve the problem, visit each group and observe their solution. Have the groups share their solutions. Discuss the solutions with the class.

Independent Practice:
Have the groups divide another piece of fruit into 6 pieces.