Mathis Does Not Like Math

$Mathis Does Not Like Math book cover$

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

Math

Skill lessons

The mathematics the book carries, taught directly. Printable workbook pages are currently available for 5 of 5 lessons; separate teacher keys are available for 4 of 5.

1Move Each One as You Count It
2Four Little Piles of Six
3One Stone for Every Point
4Twelve Is Not Twenty
5See the Dots, Then Count On

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.

6Each Team, Not Both Teams

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.

7How Mathis Feels: Stomach Aches and Delight
8First, Next, Last: Retelling Mathis's Day
9Timidly and Excitedly: Words That Tell How
10Who, What, Where: Questions About the Treasure Hunt
11Easy for Him, Hard for Him: Comparing with But

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Skill lessons

5 lessons on the mathematics the book carries. Printable workbook pages are currently available for 5 of 5 lessons; separate teacher keys are available for 4 of 5.

1. Move Each One as You Count It Concept · Counting a set of objects exactly once, to 17

The book hands this lesson a jumbled pile and a fix for it: Mathis loses his place because his marbles roll in among the ones he has already counted, and when he recounts he lands on seventeen. Students count the same pile twice, first by pointing at a still jumble and then by dropping one counter into a cup for every number word they say, and they hear their own two answers disagree before the cup settles it.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Count the mixed pile (4 min)
Spread the counters across the desk in a jumble and count them by pointing, without moving a single one. Say your total to your partner, then let your partner count the same pile the same way. Say both totals out loud and notice whether they match.
Word preview: count
But Mathis has difficulty because his marbles have rolled around and mixed with others he's already counted.
How can he know which ones he has already counted?
2. Drop one for each number word (5 min)
Count the pile again, this time dropping one counter into the cup every time you say a number word. The rule is one drop, one number. When the desk is empty, say the last number you said out loud, because that is how many the pile holds.
Word preview: each
Mathis then recounts and discovers he has 17 marbles.
3. Prove seventeen twice (7 min)
Tip the cup out. Count the pile back in the same way, one drop per number word. Your partner watches your hand for a counter dropped twice or skipped. Swap jobs and do it again so both of you count the same pile. Both counts have to land on the same number before you stop.
4. Say the strategy to a partner (4 min)
Tell your partner in one sentence what the cup does for a counter. Say what happens to it the moment you have counted it. Then say how many the pile holds. Listen to your partner's sentence and say whether it names both parts, the moving and the number.
Word preview: how many

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Drop one for each number word (5 min)
Count the jumbled pile by dropping one counter into the cup for every number word. One drop, one number. The last number you say is how many the pile holds.
Word preview: each
Mathis then recounts and discovers he has 17 marbles.
2. Say the strategy to a partner (4 min)
Tell your partner what the cup does for a counter, then say how many the pile holds. Your partner says whether your sentence named both parts.
Word preview: how many

Three levels

Support: Work with ten counters instead of seventeen and keep the one-drop-one-number rule exactly as it is. Count the ten into the cup, tip them out, count them in again, and stop when both counts land on ten.
At Grade: Count the seventeen into the cup, tip them out, and count them in again. Both counts must land on seventeen; if they do not, count a third time with your partner watching your hand rather than the counters.
Extension: Count the seventeen into the cup, then take a pile of five you have not counted and add it to the desk without mixing it in. Count the five into the cup on top of the first pile, starting your count at eighteen instead of at one, and say why you did not have to start over.

English learners

Invite students to count the pile into the cup in their first language first, then count the same cup again in English, so both counts land on the same amount sitting in front of them. Practise a sentence naming how many counters were counted, and add that every counter went in the cup one time. Two words need teaching, each and already; say them slowly while pointing at a counter that is already in the cup.

Materials

A jumbled pile of 17 counters or marbles per pair
A paper cup per student
Word cards: count, each, how many

Workbook

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

Word Cards card set

Word Cards

Mathis Does Not Like Math — Move Each One as You Count It

count

each

how many

Say the Strategy strip set

Say the Strategy

Mathis Does Not Like Math — Move Each One as You Count It

Say your sentence to your partner. Use both strips.

When I count a counter, I put it in the ____________.

The pile holds ____________ counters.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Say the Strategy half page

Teacher Key — Say the Strategy

Mathis Does Not Like Math — Move Each One as You Count It

Expected responses

First strip: the cup. Accept any wording that puts the counter into the cup the moment it is counted, one counter for one number word.
Second strip: seventeen. Support pairs counting ten counters say ten. Extension pairs, who counted on from eighteen through a further five counters, say twenty-two.
The two strips together are the whole response: the moving and the number.

Read for

A close response names both parts — what happens to a counter the moment it is counted, and how many the pile holds. A loose response gives the total only, or says the counters were counted without saying that each one moved into the cup. Ask the partner to say whether both parts were named.

Standards & curriculum

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

2. Four Little Piles of Six Application · Making four equal groups of six and counting the total to 24

The treasure hunt hands the class a clue that cannot be obeyed until its words become leaves. Mathis's team argues over the answer until he rewords the clue as four little piles of six, and Lenny counts twenty-four. Students do that work with their hands: count six leaves into a pile, build three more piles the same size, count the whole mat by ones and then again pile by pile, and check another pair's mat.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Hear the clue and say what it asks (4 min)
Listen to the clue, then tell your partner what your team has to pick up, using both of the numbers in it. Do not pick up anything yet. Say how many piles you will make and how many leaves go in a pile.
Word preview: pile
Mathis, Ella, Lenny and Lou receive their first clue.
Pick up four times six tree leaves.
2. Build four piles of six (5 min)
Count six leaves into a pile, touching each leaf as you say its number. Then push that pile to the top of the mat. Build three more piles the same way, counting each one out loud. When you finish there are four piles on the mat and no leaves loose.
It would be like making four little piles of six leaves.
3. Count all twenty-four (4 min)
Count every leaf on the mat by ones, touching each leaf as you say its number. Then count the mat again, pile by pile. Say six for the first pile. Count seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve across the second. Keep going to the last pile. Say the number you landed on both times.
Word preview: altogether
That's 24, says Lenny.
4. Check another pair's mat and say the sentence (7 min)
Trade mats with another pair and check their piles by touching six leaves in each one. Fix any pile that is short or long and say out loud what was wrong with it. Count their whole mat to see whether it lands where yours did. Then say the sentence about the mat in front of you. Four piles, six leaves in each pile, twenty-four leaves altogether.
Word preview: each

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Build four piles of six (5 min)
Count six leaves into a pile, touching each leaf, and push it to the top of the mat. Build three more piles the same size, counting each out loud, until four piles sit on the mat and nothing is loose.
Word preview: pile
It would be like making four little piles of six leaves.
2. Count all twenty-four (4 min)
Count every leaf on the mat by ones, touching each one. Then count again pile by pile, starting at six, and say the number you landed on both times.
Word preview: altogether
That's 24, says Lenny.

Three levels

Support: Build two piles of six instead of four, counting each pile out loud, and count the twelve leaves altogether. The six-in-a-pile rule stays exactly as it is; only the number of piles is smaller.
At Grade: Build all four piles of six, count the whole mat by ones, count it again pile by pile from six, and say the sentence about your mat.
Extension: Once you have landed on twenty-four, push the piles together and rebuild the same leaves as six piles of four. Count the mat again, then tell a partner why the number did not change even though the piles did.

English learners

Times is the word doing the work in the clue and it gives a student translating no help at all, because it says nothing about leaves. Build before you talk, and let the piles carry the meaning. Drill 'four piles, six in each pile, twenty-four altogether' as one frame with three slots, and let students say the numbers in their home language while pointing at their piles before they say the whole frame in English. Each is the second hard word here; point at one pile every time it is said.

Materials

A tray of at least 30 paper leaves or counters per pair
A work mat per pair
Word cards: altogether, each, pile

Workbook

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

Word Cards card set

Word Cards

Mathis Does Not Like Math — Four Little Piles of Six

altogether

each

pile

Work Mat full page

Work Mat

Mathis Does Not Like Math — Four Little Piles of Six

Push each finished pile to the top of the mat.

Say the Sentence strip set

Say the Sentence

Mathis Does Not Like Math — Four Little Piles of Six

Say the sentence about the mat in front of you.

____________ piles, ____________ leaves in each pile, ____________ leaves altogether.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Say the Sentence half page

Teacher Key — Say the Sentence

Mathis Does Not Like Math — Four Little Piles of Six

Expected responses

At Grade: four piles, six leaves in each pile, twenty-four leaves altogether.
Support, building two piles instead of four: two piles, six leaves in each pile, twelve leaves altogether.
Extension, rebuilding the same leaves as six piles of four: six piles, four leaves in each pile, twenty-four leaves altogether.
The sentence describes the mat the student is holding, which after the trade is another pair’s mat.

Read for

A close response fills all three slots and the middle slot is the size of one pile, not the total. A loose response gives the total only, or says the number of piles and the total and leaves out how many are in each pile. A student who fixed a short or long pile should have corrected the mat before saying the sentence, so the three numbers agree with the leaves in front of them.

Standards & curriculum

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

3. One Stone for Every Point Representation · Recording each score with one object and comparing two counts within 20

Refereeing is where the book stops talking about numbers and makes one. Mathis cannot hold the score in his head, so he puts a stone down for every point and counts the two piles when the game ends. Students referee a short throwing game the same way, one stone on a team's plate per score and no counting during play, then count each plate by ones, lay the two sets out in matched rows, and say which team has more and how many more.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Set out two plates (4 min)
Set the two team plates side by side at your feet, with the cup of stones between them. Keep them close enough to reach either plate without looking down. Agree with your partner which plate belongs to which team. Say the rule aloud before play starts: one score, one stone.
Word preview: each
To help him remember points, he picks up small stones and places them at his feet.
2. Referee the game (5 min)
Referee while the other players throw. Every time a team scores, move one stone onto that team's plate. Do nothing else: no counting, no totals, no keeping it in your head. Referee until every player has thrown three times.
Word preview: score
Each time someone scores, Mathis adds a stone on the side of the appropriate team.
3. Count each plate (4 min)
Count one plate by ones, sliding each stone off as you say its number. Then count the other plate the same way. Say both numbers aloud in the order you counted them. Your partner counts both plates again to check you.
At the end of the game, he can easily count the stones for each team.
4. Match the rows and say how many more (7 min)
Lay the two teams' stones out in two rows, one stone under one stone. Both rows start from the same end of the desk. Point at the stones that have no partner and count them. Say which team has more, and how many more. Then say the same fact the other way round: which team has fewer, and how many fewer.
Word preview: more, fewer

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Referee the game (5 min)
Referee the throwing game. One score, one stone onto that team's plate, and no counting while the game runs.
Word preview: score
Each time someone scores, Mathis adds a stone on the side of the appropriate team.
2. Count each plate (4 min)
Count one plate by sliding each stone off as you say its number, then count the other plate the same way. Say both numbers aloud and let your partner check them.
At the end of the game, he can easily count the stones for each team.

Three levels

Support: Referee one team only. Put a stone on that team's plate for every score it makes, then count the plate by sliding the stones off one at a time and say the number. The second plate and the matched rows wait for another round.
At Grade: Referee both teams, count each plate on its own, then match the two rows and say who has more and how many more, and the same fact the other way round.
Extension: Referee both teams, and before you count either plate say which one you think holds more, just from the look of the two piles. Count, then say whether looking was enough and what the counting told you that looking could not.

English learners

The mathematics travels: one stone for one point is a rule the hand keeps, and counting a plate is the same act in any language. What does not travel is the comparison sentence, because languages order more and than differently, and how many more asks about a difference rather than a total. Model the pair of frames 'Blue has more. Blue has ___ more than red.' and 'Red has fewer. Red has ___ fewer than blue.' Let students count both plates in their own language first and then say both comparison sentences in English while pointing at the unmatched stones.

Materials

A cup of 20 small stones per pair
Two paper plates marked with team colours per pair
A soft ball or bean bag per group of four
Word cards: each, fewer, more, score

Workbook

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

Word Cards card set

Word Cards

Mathis Does Not Like Math — One Stone for Every Point

each

fewer

score

Which Team Has More strip set

Which Team Has More

Mathis Does Not Like Math — One Stone for Every Point

Point at the stones with no partner. Say both strips.

____________ has more.

____________ has ____________ more than ____________.

____________ has fewer.

____________ has ____________ fewer than ____________.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Which Team Has More half page

Teacher Key — Which Team Has More

Mathis Does Not Like Math — One Stone for Every Point

Expected responses

There is no single right answer: the numbers come from the game the pair refereed, and the two plates are counted in the step before this one.
A strong response names the team with more, then gives the number of stones left without a partner in the matched rows.
The second strip carries the same difference as the first, with the teams the other way round: the team with fewer, and how many fewer.
Support pairs refereed one team only and lay out no matched rows; they count their one plate and say its number instead.

Read for

A close response gets the difference from the unmatched stones and says the same number in both strips. A loose response names the winning team without a number, gives one of the two plate totals as the difference, or changes the number between the two strips.

Standards & curriculum

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

4. Twelve Is Not Twenty Fluency · Counting on to 100 and telling teen numbers from decade numbers

This lesson takes its error from the book: hidden behind a tree with a count to one hundred ahead of him, Mathis confuses twelve with twenty and thirteen with thirty. Students build those numbers as lines of cubes, count each line by touching one cube per number word, count on from the short line to the long one, and then carry the count around the room to one hundred with a partner tracking on the hundred chart.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Build twelve and twenty (5 min)
Make a line of twelve cubes and a line of twenty cubes. Put one line under the other, both starting at the same end of the desk. Count each line aloud, touching one cube per number word. Then start at twelve and count on along the longer line, and say how many more cubes the twenty-line holds.
Hiding behind a tree, Mathis counts, but he confuses 12 and 20 and then 13 and 30.
2. Build thirteen and thirty (4 min)
Break the lines apart and build thirteen and thirty the same way. Count both lines aloud, touching one cube per number word. Then say the two names one after the other, twice and slowly. Listen to how each one ends. Point at the line a name belongs to every time you say it.
3. Count the chain to 100 (6 min)
Count around the room to one hundred, one number each. A partner walks the count along the hundred chart with a finger. Anyone whose number ends in -teen or in -ty says it twice before the count moves on. If the finger and the voices come apart, the count restarts at the last ten.
Especially because he will have to go up to 100.
That's a lot of counting.
4. Count for the hiding game to 30 (5 min)
Take turns being the counter. Cover your eyes and count aloud to thirty. Your partner follows on the hundred chart. They stop you the moment a number is skipped or swapped. Reach thirty twice without a stop, then swap jobs.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Build twelve and twenty (5 min)
Build a line of twelve cubes and a line of twenty under it. Count each line by touching, then count on from twelve to twenty and say how many more cubes the long line holds.
Word preview: twelve, twenty
Hiding behind a tree, Mathis counts, but he confuses 12 and 20 and then 13 and 30.
2. Build thirteen and thirty (4 min)
Build thirteen and thirty the same way and count both lines by touching. Say the two names slowly, twice, pointing at the line each one belongs to.
Word preview: thirteen, thirty

Three levels

Support: Stay with twelve and twenty and leave thirteen and thirty for another day. Build both lines, count each one by touching, and practise until you can point to the right line the moment you hear the name, without counting first.
At Grade: Build both pairs, count every line by touching, count on from the short line to the long one, and take your turn in the chain to one hundred.
Extension: Build twelve and twenty, cover both lines, and say how many more cubes the twenty-line holds before you check by counting on from twelve. Do the same for thirteen and thirty, then say which pair had the bigger gap and how you know.

English learners

The -teen and -ty endings are a listening problem before they are a mathematics problem, and languages that build number names on a different pattern give a student no help here. Keep both cube lines on the desk while the names are said, so the amount stays visible while the sound changes. Rehearse 'Twelve is the short line. Twenty is the long line.' Invite students to count each line in their strongest language and then in English, touching the same cubes both times.

Materials

50 connecting cubes per pair
A wall hundred chart

Workbook

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

Hundred Chart full page

Hundred Chart

Mathis Does Not Like Math — Twelve Is Not Twenty

Walk the count along the chart with your finger.

Standards & curriculum

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

5. See the Dots, Then Count On Fluency · Reading a die pattern within 6 and counting on along a track

The penguin race gives this lesson its exact difficulty: Mathis has to concentrate on the dots before he can move anything. Students flash a die to a partner and say the number without counting, check it by touching each dot, then move a marker that many spaces along a track by counting on from the space it already stands on instead of starting again at one. Fluency here has two parts, both of them computational: the small dot patterns come out as numbers without a count, and the move comes out as a count that begins where the marker is.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Flash the die and say the number (5 min)
Roll the die under your hand, lift your hand for as long as one clap, and cover it again. Say how many dots you saw without counting them. Take turns rolling until each of you has called six rolls.
Word preview: dots
Mathis has to concentrate to be able to count the dots on the dice.
2. Check by touching each dot (4 min)
Uncover the die and count the dots by touching each one. Say whether the number you saw and the number you counted are the same. Roll again and say what the pattern looks like: two rows of three, or one in each corner. Then you know it by its shape next time.
3. Count on along the track (7 min)
Stand your marker on a space and roll. Move the marker one space per number word, starting the count at the next space along and not at one. Say the number of the space you land on, then hand the die to your partner.
Word preview: count on
He now moves the penguins.
4. Race and say who is ahead (4 min)
Play until one marker reaches the end of the track. After every turn, say which marker is ahead and count the spaces between the two markers. Say that number of spaces out loud, not just the name of whoever is winning.
Word preview: spaces

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Flash the die and say the number (5 min)
Roll under your hand, lift it for one clap, cover it again, and say how many dots you saw without counting. Take turns until each of you has called six rolls.
Word preview: dots
Mathis has to concentrate to be able to count the dots on the dice.
2. Check by touching each dot (4 min)
Uncover the die, count the dots by touching each one, and say whether the number you saw matches the number you counted. Say what the pattern looks like so you know it by shape next time.

Three levels

Support: Play with the small faces only and reroll anything bigger than three. Everything else stays whole: flash, say the number, check by touching each dot, and count on that many spaces along the track.
At Grade: Call every roll on sight, check it by touching, and count on from the space your marker is standing on until one marker reaches the end of the track.
Extension: Before you move, say the number of the space you will land on, then count on to check it. When you are wrong, say the space you actually landed on and how far off your call was.

English learners

Dot patterns are language-free and are the fastest thing in this lesson for a student new to English; the number words are the slow part, so say the word every time the pattern appears and let the two arrive together. Rehearse 'I saw ___. I counted ___. They are the same.' and the moving frame 'I was on ___. I moved ___. Now I am on ___.' Invite students to count on along the track in their strongest language first and then in English, with the marker staying where it is so only the words change.

Materials

A large-dot die per pair
A twenty-space track and two markers per pair
Word cards: count on, dots, spaces

Workbook

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

Word Cards card set

Word Cards

Mathis Does Not Like Math — See the Dots, Then Count On

count on

dots

spaces

Twenty-Space Track full page

Twenty-Space Track

Mathis Does Not Like Math — See the Dots, Then Count On

Stand your marker on a space. Move one space for each number word.

Say What You Saw and Where You Moved strip set

Say What You Saw and Where You Moved

Mathis Does Not Like Math — See the Dots, Then Count On

Use the first strip for the dots. Use the second strip for the move.

I saw ____________.

I counted ____________.

They are the same.

I was on ____________.

I moved ____________.

Now I am on ____________.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Say What You Saw and Where You Moved half page

Teacher Key — Say What You Saw and Where You Moved

Mathis Does Not Like Math — See the Dots, Then Count On

Expected responses

There is no single right answer: every number comes from the roll in front of the pair.
First strip: the two numbers are the number called on sight and the number reached by touching each dot. When they do not match, the student says so; the step asks whether they are the same, not that they must be.
Second strip: the first number is the space the marker was standing on, the second is the roll, and the third is the space it landed on. The third number is the first counted on by the roll.
Support pairs reroll anything bigger than three, so their middle number is one, two or three.

Read for

A close response says the two dot numbers honestly, including when they differ, and lands the third number of the moving strip on the space the marker is actually standing on. A loose response changes the number seen to match the number counted, or fills the last slot with the roll rather than the space reached, which is the sign of a count restarted at one instead of carried on from the space the marker was on.

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. Each Team, Not Both Teams Integrated · Students referee a throwing game with one stone per score, then carry out two nearly identical sentences about those stones and hear why a referee can only use one of them.

Students referee a throwing game with one stone per score, then carry out two nearly identical sentences about those stones and hear why a referee can only use one of them.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Referee with stones (6 min)
Students take turns refereeing a short throwing game in fours. The referee puts one stone on a team's plate every time that team scores and does nothing else, no counting and no totals, until every player has thrown three times.
2. Do what each team says (5 min)
Students hear the book's sentence and do exactly what it says: count one plate by sliding the stones off one at a time, then count the other plate the same way, and say both numbers aloud. Partners check each count by recounting the plate.
3. Do what both teams says (4 min)
Students hear the swapped sentence and do what it says instead: push all the stones into one pile and count them by ones, then say the single number. Both results now sit on the desk, two numbers from the first sentence and one from the second.
4. Say which sentence the referee needs (5 min)
Each student tells a partner which sentence a referee has to follow and why, putting their own numbers in the reason, and then says what the other sentence's number does tell you about the game. Partners say whether the reason used numbers or only words.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Do what each team says (5 min)
Students hear the book's sentence and do exactly what it says: count one plate by sliding the stones off one at a time, then count the other plate the same way, and say both numbers aloud. Partners check each count by recounting the plate.
2. Do what both teams says (4 min)
Students hear the swapped sentence and do what it says instead: push all the stones into one pile and count them by ones, then say the single number. Both results now sit on the desk, two numbers from the first sentence and one from the second.

Three levels

Support: Rehearse the two frames before any counting starts, saying them once with the plates empty: 'For each team I counted ___ and ___.' and 'For both teams together I counted ___.' The child then counts exactly as everyone else does and fills the slots aloud from their own plates. The arithmetic is untouched; only the sentence is prepared in advance.
At grade: Referee a full round, count each plate on its own and say both numbers, then count all the stones together and say that number, and tell a partner which sentence a referee must follow, with the numbers in the reason.
Extension: After both counts, take the referee's job for a spectator who arrives once the game has ended and can see only the stones. Say what that person can work out from two counts that they cannot work out from one, and then say what they still cannot know from either, given that the stones do not record who threw or in what order.

English learners

Number and counting transfer entirely here; the load is one word. Many languages mark each with a form that does not look like a separate word at all, and both teams and each team can translate into the same phrase, which is exactly the confusion this lesson works on. Keep the two plates in view while the two sentences are said, so the difference is visible before it is verbal. Rehearse the pair of frames with the slots empty, invite students to count their plates in their strongest language and report the numbers in English, and accept a reason spoken in either language as long as the numbers are in it.

Materials

A cup of 20 small stones per pair
Two paper plates marked with team colours per pair
A soft ball or bean bag per group of four
The book's sentence and the swapped sentence written large on two strips, shown one at a time

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 1–3

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.

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.

7. How Mathis Feels: Stomach Aches and Delight Discussion · Describing Characters' Feelings

Students find the words this book uses to show how one boy feels. They read the first page, where Mathis has a stomach ache and is wiggling and squirming, then meet the same feeling again in the classroom and its opposite at the reading lesson, where he is delighted. Describing characters' feelings here means naming the exact printed words that show the feeling, not guessing at it.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Find the feeling words in the first page (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud with your teacher. Underline the words that tell how Mathis's body feels: stomach, ache, wiggling, squirming. Say one sentence out loud: Mathis feels worried.
Word preview: stomach, ache, wiggling, squirming, delighted, worried
Mathis dislikes doing math, and today the first class in school is math. He has a stomach ache and he is wiggling and squirming all over the place. His mother knows very well that he is not play acting. Numbers always get mixed up in his head.
2. Match the same feeling later in the day (5 min)
Read the printed classroom sentences. Point to the words that come back from the first page. Tell a partner which feeling word appears again and what started it this time.
In the classroom, the teacher announces that the math class will be a magical coloring. Mathis' stomach ache starts again. He thinks the counting in his head is so complicated.
3. Find the opposite feeling (5 min)
Read the printed reading-lesson sentences. Circle the word delighted. Say aloud how this Mathis is different from the Mathis on the first page.
Mathis is delighted because it is now the reading lesson. He loves to read. It's easy for him. He has loads of books at home. He loves stories because he imagines himself as the hero, the knight or the astronaut in the stories.
4. Say and draw the two feelings (5 min)
Draw two boxes on your paper. In one box draw Mathis with a stomach ache; in the other draw Mathis delighted. Under each box write one feeling word and read both sentences to a partner.
Mathis is delighted because it is now the reading lesson. He loves to read. It's easy for him. He has loads of books at home. He loves stories because he imagines himself as the hero, the knight or the astronaut in the stories.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Find the feeling words in the first page (4 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Underline stomach, ache, wiggling and squirming, and say one sentence out loud about how Mathis feels.
Word preview: stomach, ache, wiggling, squirming, delighted, worried
Mathis dislikes doing math, and today the first class in school is math. He has a stomach ache and he is wiggling and squirming all over the place. His mother knows very well that he is not play acting. Numbers always get mixed up in his head.
2. Find the opposite feeling (5 min)
Read the printed reading-lesson sentences and circle delighted. Tell a partner how this Mathis is different from the Mathis on the first page.
Mathis is delighted because it is now the reading lesson. He loves to read. It's easy for him. He has loads of books at home. He loves stories because he imagines himself as the hero, the knight or the astronaut in the stories.

Three levels

Support: Support: give the student the four feeling words on cards and ask only that each card be matched to the printed sentence it came from, then read that sentence aloud.
At Grade: At Grade: find the feeling words in both printed passages, name the feeling in a full sentence, and say what started it each time.
Extension: Extension: explain aloud why the book uses wiggling and squirming instead of simply saying Mathis is worried, pointing to the printed words as evidence.

English learners

Feeling words often carry over from a first language, so invite students to name the feeling in their strongest language first and then in English. Body-part words help: stomach and ache are concrete and can be pointed to. Rehearse the frame Mathis feels ___ because ___ aloud with the step 1 and step 3 passages printed in front of the student. Wiggling and squirming do not translate one-for-one; act them out rather than defining them.

Materials

Printed passage: the first page about the math class
pencil
Printed passage: the magical coloring in the classroom
feelings chart
Printed passage: the reading lesson
drawing paper
crayons
Word cards: stomach, ache, wiggling, squirming, delighted, worried

Standards & curriculum

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

8. First, Next, Last: Retelling Mathis's Day Discussion · Retelling Events in Order

Students retell one boy's school day in the order the book tells it. They read three printed parts of the day - marbles before class, the Penguin's race at lunch, and carrying the treasure home - and build three sentence strips labelled First, Next and Last. Retelling here means putting events in the book's own order and saying them aloud with sequence words, not summarizing everything.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read the morning and put it first (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Say what Mathis does before class starts. Write the word First on a strip and draw what happens.
Word preview: first, next, then, last, morning, afternoon
Mathis arrives early at school so he can play marbles with Lou and Ella before going to class. At the end of the game, everyone counts their marbles.
2. Read the lunch part and put it next (5 min)
Read the printed lunch sentences aloud. Say what happens when Mom picks Mathis up. Write Next on a second strip and draw the penguin race.
Mom picks up Mathis for lunch. After reading, they play his favorite game, the Penguin's race. The little boy thinks penguins are so funny on their ice flows.
3. Read the afternoon part and put it last (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Say what Mathis carries home at the end of the day. Write Last on a third strip and draw the treasure.
Leaving school, Mathis is very proud to show to his mother the treasure he won with his friends. A picture of dragons and magicians to color. He earned it because it was really difficult and tiring to solve the mathematical puzzles.
4. Retell the whole day in order (5 min)
Lay your three strips in order and retell the day to a partner using First, Next and Last. Check the printed sentences again to make sure lunch comes before going home.
Mom picks up Mathis for lunch. After reading, they play his favorite game, the Penguin's race. The little boy thinks penguins are so funny on their ice flows.
Leaving school, Mathis is very proud to show to his mother the treasure he won with his friends. A picture of dragons and magicians to color. He earned it because it was really difficult and tiring to solve the mathematical puzzles.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read the morning and put it first (4 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud and say what Mathis does before class. Write First on a strip.
Word preview: first, next, then, last, morning, afternoon
Mathis arrives early at school so he can play marbles with Lou and Ella before going to class. At the end of the game, everyone counts their marbles.
2. Retell the whole day in order (5 min)
Read the printed lunch and going-home sentences aloud. Put your strips in order and retell the day to a partner using First, Next and Last.
Mom picks up Mathis for lunch. After reading, they play his favorite game, the Penguin's race. The little boy thinks penguins are so funny on their ice flows.
Leaving school, Mathis is very proud to show to his mother the treasure he won with his friends. A picture of dragons and magicians to color. He earned it because it was really difficult and tiring to solve the mathematical puzzles.

Three levels

Support: Support: give the student the three strips already written with First, Next and Last, and ask only that each strip be matched to the printed passage it retells before saying the three in order.
At Grade: At Grade: write the three strips, order them, and retell the day aloud using First, Next and Last with one detail from each printed passage.
Extension: Extension: add a fourth strip for a part of the day the three printed passages do not cover, and explain aloud where it belongs and how the printed sentences prove it.

English learners

Sequence words are among the earliest transfers, so accept First, Next and Last in the student's strongest language on a first pass and then in English. Point to each printed passage while saying its word so the order is visible as well as spoken. Rehearse the frame First Mathis ___. Next he ___. Last he ___. Morning and afternoon are the two hard words; anchor them to the printed lunch sentence, which sits between them.

Materials

Printed passage: marbles before class
sentence strips
pencil
Printed passage: lunch and the Penguin's race
Printed passage: leaving school with the treasure
Word cards: first, next, then, last, morning, afternoon

Standards & curriculum

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

9. Timidly and Excitedly: Words That Tell How Vocabulary · Words That Tell How

Students learn the words that tell HOW a character speaks or acts. The book gives two clear pairs in one line each - he timidly says and he says excitedly - and students read those lines aloud in the voice the word calls for. The skill is noticing that a single word changes how a sentence sounds, and using that word to read with expression.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Find the word that tells how he speaks (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Find the words he timidly says. Say the same sentence twice, once in a timid voice and once in a loud voice, and tell which one the book's word asks for.
Word preview: timidly, excitedly, proud, anxious, quickly, easily
There's only one more riddle to solve. The treasure is hidden in the room with the most windows. Lenny and Lou start counting the windows on the plan while Ella does some calculations. Mathis doesn't know what to do. Maybe we could go to the biggest room in the school, he timidly says. That's the gymnasium. There must be a lot of windows, right? His friends congratulate him.
2. Find a different how-word (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Find the words he says excitedly. Read that line the way the word tells you to, then tell a partner how it is different from timidly.
The game isn't finished, but Mathis has to go back to school. I almost won, he says excitedly, will continue the game tonight.
3. Sort the how-words (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Find the words anxious, quickly and proud. Sort your word cards into two piles: words that show a happy feeling and words that show a worried feeling.
Back in the classroom, everyone is anxious to find out what their teacher's surprise is. We are going on a treasure hunt, she explains. You'll have to figure out some mathematical puzzles and riddles. Here is a plan to help you. The children shout with joy. Mathis is a little worried, but everyone is quickly invited to team up.
Leaving school, Mathis is very proud to show to his mother the treasure he won with his friends. A picture of dragons and magicians to color. He earned it because it was really difficult and tiring to solve the mathematical puzzles.
4. Read two lines the way the words say (5 min)
Choose two printed lines that carry a how-word. Read each one aloud to a partner in the voice the word asks for. Your partner names the how-word they heard.
There's only one more riddle to solve. The treasure is hidden in the room with the most windows. Lenny and Lou start counting the windows on the plan while Ella does some calculations. Mathis doesn't know what to do. Maybe we could go to the biggest room in the school, he timidly says. That's the gymnasium. There must be a lot of windows, right? His friends congratulate him.
The game isn't finished, but Mathis has to go back to school. I almost won, he says excitedly, will continue the game tonight.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Find the word that tells how he speaks (4 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud and find the words he timidly says. Read that line in a timid voice.
Word preview: timidly, excitedly, proud, anxious, quickly, easily
There's only one more riddle to solve. The treasure is hidden in the room with the most windows. Lenny and Lou start counting the windows on the plan while Ella does some calculations. Mathis doesn't know what to do. Maybe we could go to the biggest room in the school, he timidly says. That's the gymnasium. There must be a lot of windows, right? His friends congratulate him.
2. Find a different how-word (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud and find the words he says excitedly. Read that line the way the word tells you to, then tell a partner how it differs from timidly.
The game isn't finished, but Mathis has to go back to school. I almost won, he says excitedly, will continue the game tonight.

Three levels

Support: Support: read only the two printed lines that carry timidly and excitedly, echo the teacher's reading of each, and point to the how-word in each line.
At Grade: At Grade: find each how-word in the printed passages, read its line aloud in that voice, and say what the word tells you.
Extension: Extension: choose one printed line and reread it swapping timidly for excitedly, then explain aloud what changes about Mathis when the word changes.

English learners

Adverbs of manner are late-acquired in English and often carried by a verb or a separate phrase in other languages, so accept a phrase like in a small voice before the single word timidly. Voice and gesture do most of the teaching here: model each printed line twice, once flat and once in the word's voice. Rehearse the frame He says it ___. Evaluate the reading for the manner conveyed, not for accent.

Materials

Printed passage: the window riddle
pencil
Printed passage: the unfinished penguin race
Printed passage: the teacher's surprise
Printed passage: leaving school with the treasure
word sorting mat
Word cards: timidly, excitedly, proud, anxious, quickly, easily

Standards & curriculum

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

10. Who, What, Where: Questions About the Treasure Hunt Discussion · Asking and Answering About Key Details

Students ask and answer questions about the treasure hunt using only the sentences printed in front of them. Each step gives one question word - Who, What, Where - and every answer must be pointed to or underlined in the printed passage. The skill is grounding an answer in the words of a text rather than in memory or guessing.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Ask a who question (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Ask your partner a Who question about them and answer it by pointing to the words in the passage.
Word preview: who, what, where, when, why, riddle
Back in the classroom, everyone is anxious to find out what their teacher's surprise is. We are going on a treasure hunt, she explains. You'll have to figure out some mathematical puzzles and riddles. Here is a plan to help you. The children shout with joy. Mathis is a little worried, but everyone is quickly invited to team up.
2. Ask a what question (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Ask a What question about the riddle and answer it with words from the passage.
There's only one more riddle to solve. The treasure is hidden in the room with the most windows. Lenny and Lou start counting the windows on the plan while Ella does some calculations. Mathis doesn't know what to do. Maybe we could go to the biggest room in the school, he timidly says. That's the gymnasium. There must be a lot of windows, right? His friends congratulate him.
3. Ask a where question (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Ask a Where question and find the answer in the passage. Write your answer as one sentence.
They all run to the gym, hoping to be the first to find the treasure. Once there, they search in every corner. I found it, says Ella. In the locker for the balls, come see.
4. Trade questions with a partner (5 min)
Choose one printed passage. Write one question with a question mark and trade papers. Your partner answers by underlining the words in the printed passage that give the answer.
They all run to the gym, hoping to be the first to find the treasure. Once there, they search in every corner. I found it, says Ella. In the locker for the balls, come see.
There's only one more riddle to solve. The treasure is hidden in the room with the most windows. Lenny and Lou start counting the windows on the plan while Ella does some calculations. Mathis doesn't know what to do. Maybe we could go to the biggest room in the school, he timidly says. That's the gymnasium. There must be a lot of windows, right? His friends congratulate him.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Ask a what question (4 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Ask a What question about the riddle and answer it with words from the passage.
Word preview: who, what, where, when, why, riddle
There's only one more riddle to solve. The treasure is hidden in the room with the most windows. Lenny and Lou start counting the windows on the plan while Ella does some calculations. Mathis doesn't know what to do. Maybe we could go to the biggest room in the school, he timidly says. That's the gymnasium. There must be a lot of windows, right? His friends congratulate him.
2. Ask a where question (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Ask a Where question, find the answer in the passage, and write it as one sentence.
They all run to the gym, hoping to be the first to find the treasure. Once there, they search in every corner. I found it, says Ella. In the locker for the balls, come see.

Three levels

Support: Support: give the student two question stems already written - What is hidden? and Where is it? - and ask only that the answer be underlined in the printed passage and read aloud.
At Grade: At Grade: form a question with each question word, ask it aloud, and answer it with words underlined in the printed passage.
Extension: Extension: write a question the printed passages cannot answer, then explain aloud what the text would need to say for the question to be answerable.

English learners

Question formation in English inverts word order, which many languages do not, so accept rising intonation on a statement before requiring inversion. The question word cards give a visible menu; let students point to a card while asking. Rehearse the frames Where is ___? and It is in ___. Answering by underlining in the printed passage lets a student show understanding before producing the full English question.

Materials

Printed passage: the teacher's surprise
question word cards
Printed passage: the window riddle
Printed passage: finding the treasure in the gym
pencil
Word cards: who, what, where, when, why, riddle

Standards & curriculum

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

11. Easy for Him, Hard for Him: Comparing with But Discussion · Comparing What a Character Finds Easy and Hard

Students compare two sides of the same character using the book's own words. One printed passage says counting is something Mathis hates; another says reading is easy for him and that he loves it. Students sort short printed phrases into a Hard column and an Easy column and then join the two sides aloud in one sentence with but. The skill is comparing within a text and signalling the contrast with a connecting word.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read what is hard for Mathis (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Find the word hates and the words he would have preferred. Say one sentence: Counting is hard for Mathis.
Word preview: hard, easy, hates, loves, but, difficult
At recess, Mathis's friends invite him to play hide and seek. Great, he loves this game! The one who picks the short straw is the counter. Bad luck for Mathis, he's the counter. He would have a thousand times preferred to hide. He hates counting.
2. Read what is easy for Mathis (5 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud. Find the words It's easy for him and He loves to read. Say one sentence: Reading is easy for Mathis.
Mathis is delighted because it is now the reading lesson. He loves to read. It's easy for him. He has loads of books at home. He loves stories because he imagines himself as the hero, the knight or the astronaut in the stories.
3. Fill in the two columns (5 min)
Write Hard at the top of one column and Easy at the top of the other. Copy one short phrase from each printed passage into the column where it belongs.
At recess, Mathis's friends invite him to play hide and seek. Great, he loves this game! The one who picks the short straw is the counter. Bad luck for Mathis, he's the counter. He would have a thousand times preferred to hide. He hates counting.
Mathis is delighted because it is now the reading lesson. He loves to read. It's easy for him. He has loads of books at home. He loves stories because he imagines himself as the hero, the knight or the astronaut in the stories.
4. Say the comparison out loud (5 min)
Read the printed ending aloud. Tell a partner one sentence using but: Reading is easy for Mathis, but counting is hard. Point to the words in the printed passages that show you are right.
Mathis would like so much that the numbers would no longer get mixed up in his head. Quick Mom, we have to hurry. We have a penguin race to finish.
Mathis is delighted because it is now the reading lesson. He loves to read. It's easy for him. He has loads of books at home. He loves stories because he imagines himself as the hero, the knight or the astronaut in the stories.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read what is easy for Mathis (4 min)
Read the printed sentences aloud and find It's easy for him and He loves to read. Say one sentence: Reading is easy for Mathis.
Word preview: hard, easy, hates, loves, but, difficult
Mathis is delighted because it is now the reading lesson. He loves to read. It's easy for him. He has loads of books at home. He loves stories because he imagines himself as the hero, the knight or the astronaut in the stories.
2. Say the comparison out loud (5 min)
Read the printed recess sentences aloud. Tell a partner one sentence using but: Reading is easy for Mathis, but counting is hard. Point to the printed words that show you are right.
At recess, Mathis's friends invite him to play hide and seek. Great, he loves this game! The one who picks the short straw is the counter. Bad luck for Mathis, he's the counter. He would have a thousand times preferred to hide. He hates counting.

Three levels

Support: Support: give the student four phrase cards cut from the two printed passages and ask only that each be placed in the Hard or Easy column and read aloud.
At Grade: At Grade: fill both columns from the printed passages and say the comparison aloud in one sentence using but.
Extension: Extension: say what the two columns together show about Mathis, and point to the printed last page as evidence that he still wants the hard side to get easier.

English learners

The contrast connector but transfers from most languages, so this frame is usually available early; the two-column chart makes the contrast visible before the sentence is produced. Easy and hard are high-frequency and worth pre-teaching with gesture. Rehearse the frame ___ is easy for Mathis, but ___ is hard for Mathis. Accept the two halves as two separate sentences first, then join them.

Materials

Printed passage: hide and seek at recess
two-column chart
Printed passage: the reading lesson
pencil
Printed passage: the last page
Word cards: hard, easy, hates, loves, but, difficult

Standards & curriculum

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