Equal Shmequal

$Equal Shmequal book cover$

Grade 1
5 skill lessons · 3 math-through-reading

Math

Skill lessons

The mathematics the book carries, taught directly. Each lesson has printable workbook pages and a separate teacher key.

1Two Groups, Same Number
2Two Tests for Equal
3Straight Across Means Equal
4Will It Make Halves?
5Parts of the Team

Math + reading

Math through the reading

The same book, entered through a sentence it prints. Change one word in the reading and the numbers change with it.

6One Word, Two Tests
7The Number the Book Never Says
8Were the Teams Equal?

Reading

Reading and language lessons

The same book read as a text. What a word means in its sentence, how a character is shown, how the writing is put together - no mathematics.

9Equal Shmequal: How English Makes an Echo Word
10Called, Squeaked, Exclaimed: Finding the Voice Behind the Line
11I Want to Keep an Eye on Wolf: What Characters Say They Want
12What Does That Mean, Anyway? Questions and the Sentences That Answer Them
13First, Then, Next, Last: Retelling the Rope Game

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Skill lessons

5 lessons on the mathematics the book carries. Each lesson has printable workbook pages and a separate teacher key.

1. Two Groups, Same Number Concept · Making two groups with the same number

The animals argue their way to a definition and the book states it in one line: halves are two groups with the same number. Students take that line and run it on counters, splitting six into two groups and proving the split by matching the groups one to one on a mat, then taking a counter away and finding that five leaves one with no partner.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Build the team of six (5 min)
Each pair of students takes six counters, one for each animal that lined up for the tug-of-war. Push the counters into two groups so that the two groups hold the same number. Count each group aloud and say the two numbers to your partner.
Word preview: equal
The animals lined up, three on one side and three on the other.
2. Match one to one (6 min)
Put one counter from the first group and one from the second on the same row of the mat. Work down the mat until one group runs out. If every counter has a partner and nothing is left over, the two groups hold the same number. Say aloud how many rows you filled.
Word preview: halves
“Halves are what you get when you make two groups with the same number,” Mouse said.
3. Take one away (5 min)
Lift one counter off the mat so five are left. Try again to make two groups with the same number and to fill the rows. Show your partner the counter that ends up with no partner and say what that means about five.
Word preview: halves
We can’t make halves because there are five of us.
4. Say the rule back (4 min)
Point at your two matched rows. Tell your partner the rule in Mouse's words: two groups with the same number are halves. Then hold up five counters and tell your partner why five will not make halves.
Word preview: equal, halves

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Match one to one (6 min)
Pair the counters across the mat, one from each group to a row, until one group runs out. Say aloud how many rows you filled and whether anything was left over.
Word preview: halves
“Halves are what you get when you make two groups with the same number,” Mouse said.
2. Say the rule back (3 min)
Point at your matched rows and say the rule: two groups with the same number are halves. Then hold up five counters and say why five will not do it.
Word preview: equal, halves

Three levels

Support: Work with four counters instead of six. Split them, fill the rows on the mat, and say the same rule aloud that everyone else says: two groups with the same number are halves. The matching and the sentence stay exactly as they are.
At Grade: Work with six counters, then five, then seven, filling the mat each time and saying aloud which totals made halves and which left a counter with no partner.
Extension: Take any total from four to ten, say before you build it whether it will make halves, then build it and say what the mat showed. Tell your partner how you knew before you counted.

English learners

Splitting a pile and matching counters row by row need no English at all, and a student can show halves on the mat before naming them. The word that does not carry over is halves: everyday English uses half for one piece of one thing, so a child who hears it may look for a cut rather than two groups. Practise the frame "Six makes halves. Three and three." against "Five does not make halves. One is left over." Students may count the rows in their first language first and then give the frame in English.

Materials

Six two-color counters per two students
A two-row matching mat per two students
Word cards: equal, halves

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Matching Mat: Two Groups, Same Number full page

Equal Shmequal — Two Groups, Same Number

Matching Mat

Put one counter from each group on the same row.

Work down the mat until one group runs out.

“Halves are what you get when you make two groups with the same number,” Mouse said.

Word Cards: equal, halves card set

Equal Shmequal — Two Groups, Same Number

Word Cards

Cut on the card lines. One word to a card.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Teacher Key: Matching Mat and Rule full page

Equal Shmequal — Two Groups, Same Number

Teacher Key — Matching Mat and Rule

What the mat should show:

Six counters: three and three. Three rows filled, no counter left without a partner.
Five counters: two and three. Two rows filled, one counter left with no partner.
Support, four counters: two and two. Two rows filled, nothing left over.
At Grade, seven counters: three and four. Three rows filled, one counter left with no partner.
Extension, any total from four to ten: four, six, eight and ten fill every row; five, seven and nine leave one counter with no partner.

Saying the rule back: a strong response gives both group numbers and says whether anything was left over, then states that two groups with the same number are halves and that five cannot make halves because one counter has no partner.

Read for: a close response names the two numbers and the leftover. A loose response says only “the same” or points at the mat without giving either number.

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

2. Two Tests for Equal Application · Comparing two groups by count and by weight

The book's whole quarrel is that the animals keep testing the wrong thing, and it ends with two teams that fail a count and pass a balance. Students run both tests on one arrangement: they count Bear and Mouse against the other five, then load two large blocks against loose small cubes until the beam sits level and count what it took.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Count the teams (5 min)
Deal the seven animal cards into the two teams the story ends with. Bear and Mouse on one side of the yarn, everyone else on the other. Count each side aloud and say the two numbers to your partner.
Word preview: number
Bear and Mouse were on one side of the line and all the other animals were on the other.
2. Weigh the teams (6 min)
Put two large blocks in one pan for the small team. Drop small cubes into the other pan one at a time until the beam sits straight across, then count the cubes aloud. Say the two numbers and then say what the beam is doing.
Word preview: weight
Now the teams have equal weight.
3. Two answers, one set (5 min)
Look at the two loaded pans. Tell your partner what the counting said about the two sides and then what the beam said about the same two sides. Put the numbers you counted into both sentences.
Word preview: weight, number
In math, to be equal means to have parts that are the same in weight, size, quantity, or other measure.
4. Pick the test (4 min)
Your partner asks one of two questions: do the sides hold the same number, or do the sides weigh the same. Answer by counting the cards or by loading the pans, whichever the question calls for. Say the answer with a number in it, then trade jobs.
Word preview: number

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Weigh the teams (6 min)
Two large blocks in one pan, small cubes into the other one at a time until the beam is straight across. Count the cubes aloud and say both numbers.
Word preview: weight
Now the teams have equal weight.
2. Pick the test (3 min)
Your partner asks whether the sides hold the same number or weigh the same. Run the test the question calls for and answer with a number in the sentence.
Word preview: number

Three levels

Support: Run both tests on the same two piles and answer with the class frames rather than your own sentence: "This side has ___ and that side has ___" and "The beam is straight across." The counting and the loading stay exactly as everyone else does them.
At Grade: Run both tests on the two teams, then build a second pair of sides that passes one test and fails the other, and say aloud which test each pair passed.
Extension: Build two sides that pass both tests at once, with the same number in each pan and the beam straight across, and tell your partner what you had to change to get both.

English learners

Counting cards and loading a balance are both silent acts, so a student new to English can produce the mathematics on the first day. What does not carry over is that English uses one word, equal, for two different tests here. Many languages mark same-number and same-weight with different words, and a child who hears only equal will not know which test was asked for. Drill "equal number" and "equal weight" as a contrasting pair, and let students say which test they ran in their home language before giving the English frame.

Materials

A set of seven animal cards per two students
A length of yarn per two students
A pan balance per two students
Two large wooden blocks and a tub of small cubes per two students
Word cards: number, weight

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Animal Cards: The Two Teams card set

Equal Shmequal — Two Tests for Equal

Animal Cards

Cut on the card lines. Seven cards make the whole set.

Sentence Frames: Answering Each Test Support half page

Equal Shmequal — Two Tests for Equal

Sentence Frames

Use these sentences to say what each test showed.

Word Cards: number, weight card set

Equal Shmequal — Two Tests for Equal

Word Cards

Cut on the card lines. One word to a card.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Teacher Key: Two Tests for Equal full page

Equal Shmequal — Two Tests for Equal

Teacher Key — Two Tests

What each test should give:

Count the teams: two cards on the side with Bear and Mouse, five cards on the other side. Two and five are not the same number.
Weigh the teams: there is no single right number of small cubes. It depends on the blocks and cubes in the room. A strong response gives the count of cubes it actually took and says that the beam is straight across.
Two answers, one set: counting says two and five, so the sides do not hold the same number. The beam says the two sides weigh the same. Both are true of the same two sides.
Pick the test: a strong response runs the test that was asked for, counting cards for same number and loading pans for same weight, and puts a number in the answer.

Support: the two frames on the sentence frame slip carry the whole answer. Accept the frame filled with the right two numbers.

At Grade, a second pair of sides that passes one test and fails the other: any pair with the same count but different weight, or the same weight but different counts, and the student says which test it passed.

Extension, passing both tests at once: the same number in each pan and the beam straight across, which needs objects of the same weight on both sides.

Read for: a close response keeps the two tests apart and names which one it ran. A loose response answers “equal” without saying equal in number or equal in weight.

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

3. Straight Across Means Equal Representation · Reading a balance as equal, heavier or lighter

Mouse settles the argument with a seesaw and the book gives the reading rule in her own words: straight across means the two sides are equal. Students work a pan balance the same way, loading one pan a cube at a time until the beam levels, tipping it again with one extra cube, and finally setting three blocks against three erasers so the count and the beam disagree.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Empty and level (5 min)
Set the balance on the table with both pans empty and look along the beam. Tell your partner what a level beam looks like from the side. Drop one cube into one pan and say what the beam did.
Word preview: balance
When what’s on one side of the seesaw is equal to what’s on the other side, the seesaw balances.
2. Make it balance (6 min)
Put three cubes in one pan. Add cubes to the other pan one at a time until the beam sits straight across. Count what is in each pan aloud and say whether the two numbers came out the same.
Word preview: balance, equal
The seesaw teetered back and forth before resting perfectly straight across.
3. Break it (5 min)
Drop one more cube into one pan and look along the beam again. Say aloud which pan is heavier and how the beam told you. Lift that cube back out and check that the beam goes straight across again.
Word preview: equal
Then Bear looked up from his crumbs and ran over roaring, “Wait for me!”
4. Same number, different weight (4 min)
Put the three blocks in one pan and the three erasers in the other. Count both pans aloud, then look along the beam. Tell your partner what the counting said and what the beam said about the very same two pans.
Word preview: equal
The numbers are equal, but that doesn’t make the teams equal.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Make it balance (6 min)
Three cubes in one pan, then cubes into the other one at a time until the beam is straight across. Count both pans aloud and say whether the numbers matched.
Word preview: balance, equal
The seesaw teetered back and forth before resting perfectly straight across.
2. Same number, different weight (3 min)
Three blocks against three erasers. Count both pans aloud, then say what the beam shows about the same two pans.
Word preview: equal
The numbers are equal, but that doesn’t make the teams equal.

Three levels

Support: Start with two cubes in one pan instead of three and add cubes one at a time until the beam is straight across. Say the same two sentences the class says: "The beam is straight across" and "This pan is heavier."
At Grade: Balance three cubes, then five, then six, counting both pans aloud each time and saying whether the beam agreed with the counting.
Extension: Make the beam sit straight across with a different number of objects in each pan, then tell your partner how two pans holding different numbers can still be equal.

English learners

A balance states its result without words, so a student new to English can show equal and heavier by pointing before saying either one. Two pieces of English do not carry over: heavier and lighter are a pair many languages build from one root plus a marker, so the two English words can sound unrelated, and straight across is an idiom for level that no amount of vocabulary work will predict. Model "This pan is heavier" and "The beam is straight across, so they are equal." Students may name the heavier pan in their own language while pointing, then repeat the English frame.

Materials

A pan balance per two students
A tub of interlocking cubes per two students
Three large wooden blocks and three small erasers per two students
Word cards: balance, equal

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Sentence Strips: Reading the Beam Support strip set

Equal Shmequal — Straight Across Means Equal

Sentence Strips

Cut on the strip lines. Say the sentence that matches the beam.

Word Cards: balance, equal card set

Equal Shmequal — Straight Across Means Equal

Word Cards

Cut on the card lines. One word to a card.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Teacher Key: Reading the Balance full page

Equal Shmequal — Straight Across Means Equal

Teacher Key — Reading the Balance

What the balance should show:

Empty and level: both pans empty, the beam sits straight across. One cube in a pan sends that pan down and the beam is no longer straight across.
Make it balance: three cubes against three cubes of the same kind. The beam sits straight across and the two counts are the same, three and three.
Break it: the pan holding the extra cube goes down, so it is the heavier pan. Lifting that cube out brings the beam straight across again.
Same number, different weight: counting says three and three, the same number. The beam says the pan of blocks is heavier. Both readings are correct about the same two pans.

Support, starting from two cubes: two against two, beam straight across, using the two sentences on the strips.

At Grade, three then five then six cubes: the beam agrees with the counting every time, because the cubes are all the same.

Extension, different numbers in each pan: a strong response says the beam can be straight across with different numbers when the objects are not the same weight, and points to the blocks and erasers as the case they already saw.

Read for: a close response says which pan is heavier and how the beam showed it. A loose response says only “that one” or reports the count when the question was about the beam.

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

4. Will It Make Halves? Reasoning · Deciding whether a total splits into two equal groups

Mouse rules five out before anyone tries it, and Deer's arrival is what makes the line-up possible. Students test totals the way the animals did, pushing counters together two at a time for five, six and seven and reporting whether anything is left over, then sorting number cards from two to ten onto a halves side and a left over side.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Pair off five (6 min)
Take five counters, one for each animal who wanted to play before Deer came out of the woods. Push the counters together two at a time until you cannot make another pair. Count the pairs aloud and show your partner the counter that has no partner.
Word preview: pair
We can’t make halves because there are five of us.
2. Add Deer (5 min)
Slide one more counter in for Deer and pair the whole set off again. Count the pairs aloud, then split the pairs into two sides and count each side. Say the two side numbers to your partner.
Word preview: pair
The animals lined up, three on one side and three on the other.
3. Add Bear (5 min)
Slide in the seventh counter for Bear and pair off once more. Say aloud whether every counter found a partner this time and how many were left over.
Word preview: left over
Then Bear looked up from his crumbs and ran over roaring, “Wait for me!”
4. Sort the totals (4 min)
Lay out the number cards from two to ten. Put each card on the halves side or the left over side, building it with counters whenever you are not sure. Tell your partner one number you were sure about before you tested it and how you knew.
Word preview: halves, left over

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Pair off five (6 min)
Five counters, pushed together two at a time until no more pairs can be made. Count the pairs aloud and show the counter with no partner.
Word preview: pair
We can’t make halves because there are five of us.
2. Sort the totals (3 min)
Put the number cards from two to ten on the halves side or the left over side, testing with counters when you are unsure. Say one number you knew before testing.
Word preview: halves, left over

Three levels

Support: Stay with four, five and six instead of going up to ten. Pair the counters off for each one and say aloud which total left a counter with no partner, in the same two sentences the class is using.
At Grade: Test every number from two to ten with the counters, then say aloud the rule you noticed about which totals leave one over.
Extension: Pick a number from eleven to twenty and decide whether it makes halves without building it. Tell your partner how the pairs from a smaller total let you know.

English learners

Pairing off is language-free: a child who cannot yet say six in English can still show that one counter has no partner. Two pieces of English need rehearsing. Left over means remaining, not departed, and the two readings pull in opposite directions for a child translating word by word. Halves is not the everyday half of one object. Practise "Six makes halves" against "Five leaves one over." Students may count the pairs in their strongest language and give the two side numbers in English.

Materials

Seven counters per two students
Number cards two through ten, one set per two students
Word cards: halves, left over, pair

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Number Cards: Two Through Ten card set

Equal Shmequal — Will It Make Halves?

Number Cards

Cut on the card lines. One number to a card.

Sorting Mat: Halves or Left Over full page

Equal Shmequal — Will It Make Halves?

Sorting Mat

Put each number card on one side of this mat.

Build the number with counters if you are not sure.

Word Cards: halves, left over, pair card set

Equal Shmequal — Will It Make Halves?

Word Cards

Cut on the card lines. One word to a card.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Teacher Key: Pairing Off and the Sort full page

Equal Shmequal — Will It Make Halves?

Teacher Key — Pairing Off and the Sort

What the counters should show:

Five: two pairs, and one counter with no partner.
Six, after Deer: three pairs, and three on each side. Nothing left over.
Seven, after Bear: three pairs, and one counter left over.

Where the number cards belong:

Halves side: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.
Left over side: 3, 5, 7, 9.

Support, four five and six only: 4 and 6 on the halves side, 5 on the left over side.

Extension, eleven to twenty without building: even totals make halves, odd totals leave one over. A strong response reasons from a smaller total already tested rather than guessing.

Read for: a close response names the total and says whether a counter was left with no partner. A loose response sorts the card correctly but cannot say what the counters did.

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

5. Parts of the Team Fluency · Number pairs that make five, six and seven

The three totals in this story are five before Deer, six in the line-up and seven once Bear barges in, and each one gets split into two sides. Students take those three totals onto a part-part-whole mat, find every pair of parts for each, and then answer missing-part cards without touching counters.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Break five (5 min)
Put five counters on the whole space of the mat, then slide them into the two part spaces to make two sides. Say the two numbers aloud, sweep the counters back to the whole space, and find a different way. Keep going until you have found every way.
Word preview: part, whole
We can’t make halves because there are five of us.
2. Break six (6 min)
Now put six counters on the whole space and find every pair of sides. Say each pair aloud as you slide it. Point to the one pair that puts the same number on both sides.
Word preview: part, whole
The animals lined up, three on one side and three on the other.
3. Break seven (5 min)
Put seven counters on the mat and slide two of them into one part space for Bear and Mouse. Say how many are left in the other part space, then find every other pair for seven the same way.
Word preview: part
Turtle, Rabbit, Bobcat, Wolf, and Deer pulled back.
4. Quick answers (4 min)
Your partner holds up a card showing the whole and one part. Say the missing part as fast as you can without touching the counters, then check on the mat if you disagree. Trade jobs after every five cards.
Word preview: part, whole

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Break six (6 min)
Six counters on the whole space. Slide them into the two part spaces every way you can, saying each pair aloud, and point to the pair that splits six evenly.
Word preview: part, whole
The animals lined up, three on one side and three on the other.
2. Quick answers (3 min)
Your partner shows the whole and one part. Say the missing part without touching the counters, and check on the mat only if you disagree.
Word preview: part, whole

Three levels

Support: Keep the counters sitting in the part spaces while you say the two numbers, instead of answering from memory. Work through five, six and seven exactly as everyone else does, and say every pair aloud as you slide it.
At Grade: Find every pair for five, six and seven on the mat, then answer the card set for six with the counters pushed aside.
Extension: Answer the cards for five, six and seven with the mat turned over, then say the pairs for eight and tell your partner which pair for eight would make halves.

English learners

What has to be practised is the English word order, because English says the whole last in "three and three make six" and first in "six is three and three," and a child who has learned only one order may hear the other as a new fact. Rehearse both. Students may say the pairs in their strongest language while sliding counters, then give one frame in English.

Materials

A part-part-whole mat per two students
Ten counters per two students
A set of part-and-whole cards for five, six and seven per two students
Word cards: part, whole

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Part-Part-Whole Mat full page

Equal Shmequal — Parts of the Team

Part-Part-Whole Mat

Put the counters on the whole space, then slide them into the two part spaces.

Say the two part numbers aloud each time.

Part and Whole Cards: Five, Six and Seven card set

Equal Shmequal — Parts of the Team

Part and Whole Cards

Cut on the card lines. Hold up one card at a time.

Word Cards: part, whole card set

Equal Shmequal — Parts of the Team

Word Cards

Cut on the card lines. One word to a card.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Teacher Key: Pairs and Missing Parts full page

Equal Shmequal — Parts of the Team

Teacher Key — Pairs and Missing Parts

Every pair on the mat:

Five: 1 and 4, 2 and 3. No pair puts the same number on both sides.
Six: 1 and 5, 2 and 4, 3 and 3. The pair with the same number on both sides is 3 and 3.
Seven: 1 and 6, 2 and 5, 3 and 4. Sliding two across for Bear and Mouse leaves five in the other part space.

Missing part for each card:

Whole 5: part 1 leaves 4, part 2 leaves 3, part 3 leaves 2, part 4 leaves 1.
Whole 6: part 1 leaves 5, part 2 leaves 4, part 3 leaves 3, part 4 leaves 2, part 5 leaves 1.
Whole 7: part 1 leaves 6, part 2 leaves 5, part 3 leaves 4, part 4 leaves 3, part 5 leaves 2, part 6 leaves 1.

Support: the counters stay in the part spaces while the two numbers are said, so the pairs above are read off the mat rather than recalled.

Extension, the pairs for eight: 1 and 7, 2 and 6, 3 and 5, 4 and 4. The pair that makes halves is 4 and 4.

Read for: a close response gives the missing part without moving the counters and checks on the mat only when the partners disagree. A loose response rebuilds every card on the mat before answering.

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

Math through the reading

The mathematics is reached through a sentence the book prints: change one word in the reading and the numbers change with it. These carry their own standards, matched against these lessons rather than inherited from the skill ones.

6. One Word, Two Tests Integrated · Students swap numbers for weights in Mouse's sentence and produce both verdicts on the very same two piles.

Students swap numbers for weights in Mouse's sentence and produce both verdicts on the very same two piles.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Hear the sentence (4 min)
Students hear Mouse's sentence read twice and point to the counters or to the balance to show which test the sentence is asking for, saying the measure word back.
2. Run the number test (5 min)
Students count the three blocks and the three erasers aloud and say the two numbers, then say whether the counting test passed.
3. Swap the word and run it again (7 min)
The teacher swaps the word card on the sentence strip. Students move the same two piles into the pans without changing either one, read the beam, and say the new verdict alongside the old one.
4. Say what the word did (4 min)
Each student tells a partner, with both verdicts in hand, which word sent them to which test and what the piles had to do with it, using a number in each half of the sentence.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Swap the word and run it again (7 min)
The teacher swaps the word card on the sentence strip. Students move the same two piles into the pans without changing either one, read the beam, and say the new verdict alongside the old one.
2. Say what the word did (4 min)
Each student tells a partner, with both verdicts in hand, which word sent them to which test and what the piles had to do with it, using a number in each half of the sentence.

Three levels

Support: Use two blocks and two erasers instead of three, so the counting is over in a moment and the whole of the swap segment is spent on the beam and the word. The sentence work and both frames stay exactly as they are.
At grade: Count both piles, run the balance on the same two piles without altering them, and say both verdicts in one turn, naming the word that produced each.
Extension: Find a pair of piles for which both verdicts come out the same, then say what would have to change about the objects to make the two words disagree again.

English learners

Equal, number and weight are the whole lesson, and the trap is specific: English uses the single word equal for both tests and puts the deciding word beside it rather than in the verb, so a listener tracking only the familiar word hears no difference at all. Many languages mark same-count and same-weight differently and give the learner more warning than English does. Rehearse equal number against equal weight as a contrasting pair before the swap. Students may say which test the sentence asked for in their strongest language while pointing at the counters or the pans, then give the English frame.

Materials

A pan balance per two students
Three large wooden blocks and three small erasers per two students
A sentence strip of Mouse's line with the measure word on a removable card

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

IB PYP developmental alignment

Phases are not grades. The Primary Years Programme is a developmental continuum and your school places each student in a phase, so this names the strand the lesson works in and the phases it could sit across. Confirm against your own school's placement.

Number · Phases 1–2

Phase 1: Develop meaning for counting, quantity, number relationships, simple operations, and early fractions in meaningful contexts.
Phase 2: Develop place value and whole-number operations, mental strategies, fractions, and mathematical language for practical problem solving.

Measurement · Phases 1–2

Phase 1: Compare and describe measurable attributes of objects and sequence familiar events using direct experience and non-standard units.
Phase 2: Use standard units, estimation, measuring tools, calendars, money, temperature, and time to describe and solve practical problems.

7. The Number the Book Never Says Integrated · Students work out how many animals are playing once Deer joins, a number the story never states, and say it together with the sentence that proves it.

Students work out how many animals are playing once Deer joins, a number the story never states, and say it together with the sentence that proves it.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Count the five (4 min)
Students set out one counter for each animal in Mouse's line about there being five of us, count them aloud, and push them into one group.
2. Catch the sentences (6 min)
The teacher rereads four sentences from the story one at a time. Students raise a hand at the one that tells how many animals there were and at the one that tells how they lined up, and say each of those two back.
3. Find the number (6 min)
Students add one counter for Deer and count the whole set, then push the counters into the three and three the line-up sentence describes and count again, saying whether the two routes agreed.
4. Say the number and the line (4 min)
Each pair gives the answer to another pair in one turn: the number, then the sentence it came from. An answer with only the number is sent back for its sentence.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Catch the sentences (6 min)
The teacher rereads four sentences from the story one at a time. Students raise a hand at the one that tells how many animals there were and at the one that tells how they lined up, and say each of those two back.
2. Find the number (6 min)
Students add one counter for Deer and count the whole set, then push the counters into the three and three the line-up sentence describes and count again, saying whether the two routes agreed.

Three levels

Support: The teacher rereads two candidate sentences instead of four, and the answer may be given in the frame six, because they lined up three and three. The counting and the two routes stay exactly as they are for everybody.
At grade: Add Deer's counter and count the set, split it three and three and count again, then give the number with the sentence that funds it.
Extension: Work out how many animals are on the seesaw at the very end, once Bear has jumped on and the last teams are formed, and name the two sentences that fix it. Then say which of the two is doing more of the work.

English learners

This lesson is listening work before it is anything else, and the reading load falls entirely on the teacher's rereading, which is exactly right for a class where English is new. What must be rehearsed is the shape of the answer, because because is doing structural work here and languages differ in where the reason goes in the sentence. Practise the frame six, because ___ before the first reread. Students may say which sentence they want in their strongest language, or point when the teacher rereads it, and give the number in English.

Materials

Seven counters per two students
A strip of the four candidate sentences, reread aloud one at a time

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

IB PYP developmental alignment

Number · Phases 1–3

Phase 1: Develop meaning for counting, quantity, number relationships, simple operations, and early fractions in meaningful contexts.
Phase 2: Develop place value and whole-number operations, mental strategies, fractions, and mathematical language for practical problem solving.
Phase 3: Extend number understanding to larger numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, and efficient strategies for the four operations.

8. Were the Teams Equal? Integrated · Students build the last two teams, test them by counting and by weighing, and argue to a partner whether the teams were equal, with both numbers in the sentence.

Students build the last two teams, test them by counting and by weighing, and argue to a partner whether the teams were equal, with both numbers in the sentence.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Set up the last pull (5 min)
Students deal the seven animal cards into the story's last two teams and count both sides aloud, then model the same two teams as two large blocks against small cubes and load the pans until the beam sits level, counting the cubes.
2. Take a side (4 min)
Each student says aloud which answer they hold and gives one number for it, using the frame before hearing anyone else's position.
3. Argue it to a partner (7 min)
Partners who disagree take turns: each states the case, points at the test they ran, and answers the other's reason with a number instead of repeating their own answer.
4. Change your mind out loud (4 min)
Each student says whether they moved and what moved them. Students who did not move say what evidence would have moved them, naming the test it would come from.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Set up the last pull (5 min)
Students deal the seven animal cards into the story's last two teams and count both sides aloud, then model the same two teams as two large blocks against small cubes and load the pans until the beam sits level, counting the cubes.
2. Argue it to a partner (7 min)
Partners who disagree take turns: each states the case, points at the test they ran, and answers the other's reason with a number instead of repeating their own answer.

Three levels

Support: Fill in only the numbers in the frame: I think the teams were ___ because this side had ___ and that side had ___. Both tests are run exactly as everyone else runs them, and the position is the student's own.
At grade: Take a position, state it with both counts and the balance result, and answer your partner's reason with a number rather than by saying your answer again.
Extension: Argue the strongest case against the position you just took, using the same two tests, then say which case you would give to Deer when she asks how her side won.

English learners

Every position in this lesson has to carry a number, which is a gift for a student new to English, because the number is the part they can already produce. Two structures need rehearsing: because, which carries the whole argument and sits in different places in different languages, and the comparison of two counts, which English states with more than and fewer than where many languages use one word for both. Practise I think the teams were ___ because ___. Students may reason with a partner in their strongest language and give the position and its number in English.

Materials

A set of seven animal cards per two students
A length of yarn per two students
A pan balance per two students
Two large wooden blocks and a tub of small cubes per two students
The ending of the story, reread aloud once both teams are built and both tests are run

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

IB PYP developmental alignment

Number · Phases 1–2

Phase 1: Develop meaning for counting, quantity, number relationships, simple operations, and early fractions in meaningful contexts.
Phase 2: Develop place value and whole-number operations, mental strategies, fractions, and mathematical language for practical problem solving.

Measurement · Phases 1–2

Phase 1: Compare and describe measurable attributes of objects and sequence familiar events using direct experience and non-standard units.
Phase 2: Use standard units, estimation, measuring tools, calendars, money, temperature, and time to describe and solve practical problems.

Reading and language lessons

5 lessons on the reading and language the book carries - what a word means in its sentence, how a character is shown, how a text is built. No mathematics: these are matched against the English language arts curricula, which are a different and smaller set than the mathematics ones.

9. Equal Shmequal: How English Makes an Echo Word Language · Word Play: Echo Words

The book's own title is a language game. Bear takes Mouse's word equal and throws it back with a new sound stuck on the front, and he does it every time he does not want to agree. Students say the pair aloud, find the letters that change and the letters that stay, build an echo of a word of their own, and then say what the echo does that plain disagreeing would not. The work is on how English makes a word out of another word, and on what that made word means.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Say the title pair out loud (5 min)
Read the printed passage with a partner and say the two words Bear makes — equal, shmequal — one after the other, four times. Point to the letters that stay the same in both words and the letters that change at the front. Tell your partner which of the two words is a real word you already knew.
Word preview: equal
“No fair!” squealed Mouse. She picked herself up. “I forgot that teams have to be equal.” “Equal shmequal!” said Bear.
2. Circle the sound that changes (5 min)
In the printed passage, circle the first two letters of shmequal. Say equal and shmequal again and tell your partner what your mouth does differently at the start. Write the two letters that got added on the front of the echo word.
Word preview: echo
“Equal shmequal,” Bear mumbled with a mouthful of chocolate cake.
3. Build your own echo word (5 min)
Pick a word your class uses every day — pencil, lunch, rules. Make its echo the same way Bear did, by putting the same new sound on the front. Say your pair out loud to a partner, then write both words on the echo word chart.
Word preview: pair
4. Say what the echo means (5 min)
Read the last printed passage. Bear says the echo pair right before he says what he really wants. Tell a partner in one sentence what Bear means when he echoes a word instead of arguing with it, and write your sentence under your own echo pair.
Word preview: means
“Equal shmequal,” said Bear. “I want some honey.” Mouse laughed. “Time for a honey break!” she said.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Say the title pair out loud (4 min)
Read the printed passage with a partner and say equal, then shmequal, four times. Point to the letters that are the same in both words and the letters added at the front.
Word preview: equal
“No fair!” squealed Mouse. She picked herself up. “I forgot that teams have to be equal.” “Equal shmequal!” said Bear.
2. Build your own echo word (5 min)
Pick a word your class uses every day and make its echo the way Bear did, by adding the same new sound on the front. Say your pair aloud, then write both words on the echo word chart.
Word preview: pair

Three levels

Support: Work only with equal and shmequal. Say the pair aloud with a partner four times, then point on the printed page to the part of shmequal that is not in equal. Copy both words onto the echo word chart; you do not have to build your own pair.
At Grade: Circle the added letters on the printed page, then build one echo pair of your own and write both words and one sentence saying what your echo means.
Extension: Build two echo pairs of your own, then go back to the last printed passage and write one line saying what Bear means by his echo there and why he says it instead of the word no.

English learners

Echo words like this exist in many languages, and the sound that gets added is different in each one. Invite students to say a word and its echo from their strongest language and tell the class what sound their language puts on the front. That is the same move Bear makes, so the transfer is direct. The English echo carries a dismissive tone — it means the speaker will not argue — and that tone does not always transfer, so name it out loud. Rehearsable frame: In my language, ___ becomes ___.

Materials

Equal Shmequal, the passage printed in this step
pencil
echo word chart
Word cards: equal, echo, pair, means

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

10. Called, Squeaked, Exclaimed: Finding the Voice Behind the Line Reading · Dialogue and Speaker Tags

This story is nearly all talk, and the book keeps telling the reader who is speaking and how. Students find the speaker tags in printed passages, notice that one line has no tag and must be worked out from the lines around it, and then read each line the way its tag verb says to read it. They sort the tag verbs by the voice each one asks for and write a line of their own with a tag attached. The work is reading dialogue and using the words outside the quotation marks.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Find who is talking (5 min)
Read the printed passage aloud with a partner, taking one character each. Underline every word that tells you who said it — called Mouse, squeaked Mouse. Say aloud how you know which of the two lines belongs to Bear when nothing is underlined next to it.
Word preview: called
“Hmm. That looked like fun. Hey, Bear!” called Mouse. “Come out and play!” Bear walked out from the trees. “What do you want to play?” “It’s a game,” squeaked Mouse.
2. Read the tag the way it says (5 min)
Look at the tag verbs in the two printed passages: called, squeaked, exclaimed, asked. Read each line out loud the way its tag tells you to read it. Tell your partner which tag made you the loudest and which made you the smallest.
Word preview: squeaked
“Hmm. That looked like fun. Hey, Bear!” called Mouse. “Come out and play!” Bear walked out from the trees. “What do you want to play?” “It’s a game,” squeaked Mouse.
“Equal shmequal!” Bear exclaimed, finishing off a piece of pizza.
3. Sort the tags on the list (5 min)
Write each tag verb from the printed passages onto the tag verb list. Beside each one, draw an arrow up if that voice is loud and an arrow down if it is quiet. Say to a partner why asked did not get either arrow.
Word preview: asked
Rabbit hopped into the field. “Can we play too?” Rabbit asked. Box Turtle plodded close behind. “What does equal mean, anyway?” he asked.
4. Write a line with its tag (5 min)
Write one new line an animal in this story could say. Choose a tag verb from your list and put it after the line, the way the book does. Read your line to a partner the way your tag tells them it sounded.
Word preview: tag

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Find who is talking (4 min)
Read the printed passage aloud with a partner, one character each. Underline every word that tells you who said it, and say how you know which line is Bear's when no name is printed next to it.
Word preview: called
“Hmm. That looked like fun. Hey, Bear!” called Mouse. “Come out and play!” Bear walked out from the trees. “What do you want to play?” “It’s a game,” squeaked Mouse.
2. Read the tag the way it says (5 min)
Look at the tag verbs in the printed passages — called, squeaked, exclaimed. Read each line out loud the way its tag tells you to. Tell your partner which tag made you loudest and which made you smallest.
Word preview: squeaked
“Hmm. That looked like fun. Hey, Bear!” called Mouse. “Come out and play!” Bear walked out from the trees. “What do you want to play?” “It’s a game,” squeaked Mouse.
“Equal shmequal!” Bear exclaimed, finishing off a piece of pizza.

Three levels

Support: Stay with the first printed passage. Read it aloud with a partner, one character each, and point to the name each time the book says who spoke. You do not have to write; say aloud which line belonged to Bear and how you knew.
At Grade: Read both printed passages, mark every tag verb, and read each line the way its tag says. Then write one new line with a tag verb chosen from your list.
Extension: Go back to the printed passage tagged asked and swap that tag for one of the loud tags from your list. Read the line both ways and write one sentence saying what changed about the character when only the tag changed.

English learners

English usually puts the speaker's name after the spoken words — called Mouse, squeaked Mouse — and this order is not the order many languages use. Say that out loud and show it on the printed page. Invite students to say one of these lines in their strongest language and tell the class where the speaker's name goes there. The tag verbs themselves carry sound, so acting them out beats defining them. Rehearsable frame: ___ said it like ___.

Materials

Equal Shmequal, the passage printed in this step
pencil
tag verb list
Word cards: called, squeaked, asked, tag

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

11. I Want to Keep an Eye on Wolf: What Characters Say They Want Reading · Character Motive from What Is Said and Done

Three animals in this story say out loud what they want, and each one does something in the same breath. Deer says she will join but names a reason for where she stands. Bobcat whimpers first and then claims he only wants to play. Bobcat later volunteers for the risky side and explains himself. Students collect the stated want and the matching action for each, put them side by side on a chart, and then say which character they believe and which printed word decided it. The work is reading motive from a character's own words and deeds.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read what Deer says she wants (5 min)
Read the printed passage with a partner. Underline the words after the word but, because that is where Deer says her real reason. Tell your partner what Deer says she wants to do and where she says she will stand.
Word preview: reason
Deer slowly stepped out of the woods. “It looks like fun,” she said, “but I want to keep an eye on Wolf and Bobcat. I’ll pull from behind them.”
2. Compare it to what Bobcat says (5 min)
Read the second printed passage. Bobcat also says what he wants. Say aloud what Bobcat says he wants, then say what he did just before he said it, using the words in the passage above his line.
Word preview: whimpered
Bobcat whimpered. “I just want to join the game. See, Wolf’s right here! He wants to play too.”
3. Fill in the chart (5 min)
On the wants and reasons chart, write each character's name, what they said they wanted, and one thing they did. Use only words you can point to in a printed passage. Read your row for Bobcat to a partner.
Word preview: offered
Deer slowly stepped out of the woods. “It looks like fun,” she said, “but I want to keep an eye on Wolf and Bobcat. I’ll pull from behind them.”
Bobcat whimpered. “I just want to join the game. See, Wolf’s right here! He wants to play too.”
Bobcat offered to get on the high side first. “If I fall, I’ll land on my feet. Cats always do!”
4. Say who you would trust (5 min)
Tell a partner which animal on your chart you would believe, and name the word from a printed passage that made you decide. Then say one thing the book does not tell you about that animal. Add your sentence to the bottom of your chart.
Word preview: believe
Deer slowly stepped out of the woods. “It looks like fun,” she said, “but I want to keep an eye on Wolf and Bobcat. I’ll pull from behind them.”

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read what Deer says she wants (4 min)
Read the printed passage with a partner and underline the words after but, where Deer gives her real reason. Say what Deer wants to do and where she will stand.
Word preview: reason
Deer slowly stepped out of the woods. “It looks like fun,” she said, “but I want to keep an eye on Wolf and Bobcat. I’ll pull from behind them.”
2. Compare it to what Bobcat says (5 min)
Read the second printed passage. Say what Bobcat says he wants, then say what he did right before he said it, using words from the passage.
Word preview: whimpered
Bobcat whimpered. “I just want to join the game. See, Wolf’s right here! He wants to play too.”

Three levels

Support: Work with Deer only. Read the printed passage with a partner and answer two questions aloud: what does Deer say she wants to do, and who does she want to watch? Copy her reason onto the chart; you do not have to add a second character.
At Grade: Fill a chart row for all three characters, using only words you can point to in a printed passage, then say which one you believe.
Extension: After your chart, write one sentence naming a character whose words and actions do not match, and say which one you would trust more if you had to pick just one.

English learners

The phrase keep an eye on is an idiom: nobody's eye goes anywhere, and it will not survive a word-for-word translation. Show it on the printed page and say plainly that it means watch carefully. Invite students to offer a phrase from their strongest language that means watching someone you do not trust, and say what it literally says. Rehearsable frame: ___ says she wants ___, but really she ___.

Materials

Equal Shmequal, the passage printed in this step
pencil
wants and reasons chart
Word cards: reason, whimpered, offered, believe

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

12. What Does That Mean, Anyway? Questions and the Sentences That Answer Them Reading · Asking and Answering Questions About a Text

The animals in this story keep stopping to ask each other what a word means, and someone always answers in the very next sentence. Students find the question marks on the page, read the questions the way questions sound, and box the answering sentence beside each one. They match mixed-up question and answer strips back together against the printed passages, then write a question of their own and decide together whether the book answers it. The work is noticing a question in print and locating its answer in the text.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Find the question on the page (5 min)
Read the printed passage with a partner. Put your finger on the question mark. Read Turtle's question aloud the way a question sounds, then say who in the story he is asking.
Word preview: question
Box Turtle plodded close behind. “What does equal mean, anyway?” he asked.
2. Find the answer to a second question (5 min)
Read the second printed passage. Rabbit asks a question and Mouse answers it. Underline the question and draw a box around the sentence that answers it, then read the pair aloud with a partner, one of you asking and one answering.
Word preview: answer
“Does anyone know what halves are?” Rabbit asked. “I’ve heard the farmer talking about halves.” “Halves are what you get when you make two groups with the same number,” Mouse said.
3. Match question strips to answers (5 min)
Cut the question and answer strips apart and mix them up. Match each question to the sentence that answers it, using the printed passages to check. Read one matched pair to a partner without saying which is which and let them tell you.
Word preview: match
Box Turtle plodded close behind. “What does equal mean, anyway?” he asked.
“Does anyone know what halves are?” Rabbit asked. “I’ve heard the farmer talking about halves.” “Halves are what you get when you make two groups with the same number,” Mouse said.
“But the teams were equal,” said Deer. “How did we win?” “What really matters is equal effort,” said Mouse.
4. Ask a question about the story (5 min)
Write one question of your own about something in this story, and end it with a question mark. Ask a partner your question out loud. Together, decide whether the answer is in a printed passage or is something the book never tells you, and write which one on your strip.
Word preview: ask
“But the teams were equal,” said Deer. “How did we win?” “What really matters is equal effort,” said Mouse.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Find the question on the page (4 min)
Read the printed passage with a partner and put your finger on the question mark. Read Turtle's question aloud the way a question sounds, and say who he is asking.
Word preview: question
Box Turtle plodded close behind. “What does equal mean, anyway?” he asked.
2. Find the answer to a second question (5 min)
Read the second printed passage. Underline Rabbit's question and box the sentence that answers it, then read the pair aloud with a partner, one asking and one answering.
Word preview: answer
“Does anyone know what halves are?” Rabbit asked. “I’ve heard the farmer talking about halves.” “Halves are what you get when you make two groups with the same number,” Mouse said.

Three levels

Support: Work with Turtle's question only. Find the question mark on the printed page, read the question aloud, and say who he asked. Then find the one printed sentence that answers it and read that aloud too; you do not have to use the strips.
At Grade: Match all the question and answer strips against the printed passages, then write one question of your own with a question mark.
Extension: After matching, write one question the book asks but never answers anywhere in the printed passages, and say what a reader would have to decide for themselves.

English learners

The question mark is written the same way in many languages but not all, and some languages mark a question with a word at the end instead of a change in the voice. Say that out loud and show the mark on the page. Invite students to ask Turtle's question in their strongest language and let the class hear whether the voice goes up. That listening is the skill. Rehearsable frame: I want to know ___?

Materials

Equal Shmequal, the passage printed in this step
pencil
question and answer strips
Word cards: question, answer, match, ask

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

13. First, Then, Next, Last: Retelling the Rope Game Reading · Retelling Events in Order

The animals try the rope game over and over, and the book marks each new try with an order word — Then, Just then, Finally. Students read the first pull, order two middle passages against each other using the order words printed in them, read the last pull, and then retell the whole rope game to a partner from a strip, saying first, then, next and last as they go. The listening partner names what was left out. The work is putting told events in order and retelling them aloud with the words that hold the order together.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read the first try (5 min)
Read the printed passage aloud with a partner. Say what Bear did and what happened to Mouse right after. Use the word first when you say it: First, Bear pulled, and then Mouse flew.
Word preview: first
Bear gave the rope a mighty yank. Mouse flew across the field. She landed on the ground with a thump.
2. Put the middle tries in order (5 min)
Read the two printed passages. One shows Bear jumping on and spoiling a try, and one shows Mouse stopping to think of a new idea. Put a 1 and a 2 beside them on the retelling strip to show which happened first in the story, and tell a partner the word you used to decide.
Word preview: then
Then Bear looked up from his crumbs and ran over roaring, “Wait for me!” He jumped on and down went his side of the seesaw with a bump.
Mouse sat by herself and tried to think of a new idea. She tapped a tiny foot and twirled a wiry whisker. “Listen,” said Mouse. “Listen up!” she said louder. “I have an idea!” The animals stopped fighting.
3. Read the last try (5 min)
Read the two printed passages. Say aloud what the animals did with the rope and then what Bear did with his paw. Use the words next and last on your retelling strip.
Word preview: last
They jumped off one by one and picked up the rope. Bear and Mouse were on one side of the line and all the other animals were on the other.
He took one paw off the rope to point at the swarm of bees. Just then, the other team gave a mighty pull and Bear stepped over the line.
4. Retell the whole thing to a partner (5 min)
Using only your retelling strip, tell the whole story of the rope game to a partner from the first pull to the last. Say first, then, next and last as you go. Your partner listens for a part you left out and names it.
Word preview: next
“I’m bigger than all of you,” said Bear. “I’ll win!” “Come on,” said Rabbit to her teammates. “There are more of us. Pull harder!” They pulled and tugged, but neither team moved an inch.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read the first try (4 min)
Read the printed passage aloud with a partner. Say what Bear did and what happened to Mouse right after, using the word first.
Word preview: first
Bear gave the rope a mighty yank. Mouse flew across the field. She landed on the ground with a thump.
2. Retell the whole thing to a partner (5 min)
Using your retelling strip, tell the story of the rope game to a partner from the first pull to the last. Say first, then, next and last as you go, and let your partner name a part you left out.
Word preview: next
“I’m bigger than all of you,” said Bear. “I’ll win!” “Come on,” said Rabbit to her teammates. “There are more of us. Pull harder!” They pulled and tugged, but neither team moved an inch.

Three levels

Support: Retell only two parts: the first pull and the last one. Read those two printed passages with a partner and tell them back using just first and last. You do not have to order the middle passages.
At Grade: Order all the printed passages on your strip and retell the whole rope game using first, then, next and last.
Extension: After your retelling, say one part of the rope game the book puts in a different order than you expected, and name the printed word that told you where it went.

English learners

Order words are among the first words that transfer cleanly between languages, because every language has a way to say first and last. Invite students to retell the rope game in their strongest language and then say just the order words in English, keeping the rest in their own. The English phrase Just then is harder — it means at that very moment — so name it on the printed page rather than translating it word by word. Rehearsable frame: First ___, then ___, last ___.

Materials

Equal Shmequal, the passage printed in this step
pencil
retelling strip
Word cards: first, then, last, next

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.