Classroom Resource

What If We Changed the Book? Problem-Posing With Sixteen Cows

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

3, 4, 5

Overview

A piece of math-related children's literature, Sixteen Cows, is used to demonstrate the strategy of problem-posing. After hearing the story read aloud, students are invited to brainstorm some literary and mathematical observations to the story. With the teacher's guidance, students then turn those observations into "what-if" mathematical extensions. These extensions become mathematical problems that students solve, both individually and as a whole class. Since this strategy highlights changing attributes of a story, it underscores for children the range of choices that authors have.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.R3

Expand background knowledge and build vocabulary through discussion, reading, and writing.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.R3

Vocabulary

  • Background knowledge
  • Vocabulary
  • Discussion

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Relating experiences through discussions, reading, and writing will help build background knowledge and improve vocabulary.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Connect new concepts to prior experiences to increase background knowledge through discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Construct the meaning of words through discussions, reading, and writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Background knowledge can increase by relating experiences to new ideas, topics, and words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Vocabulary will increase by constructing the meaning of words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.4

Ask and answer questions using complete sentences and grade-level vocabulary.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.4

Vocabulary

  • Questions
  • Complete sentences
  • Grade-level vocabulary

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Asking questions in complete sentences with grade-level vocabulary is a strategy to learn information.
  • Answering questions questions in complete sentences with grade-level vocabulary is a method to provide others with information.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Ask clarifying questions using complete sentences and grade-level vocabulary.
  • Answer questions using complete sentences and grade-level vocabulary.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can demonstrate active listening skills by asking and answering questions using complete sentences and grade-level vocabulary.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.18

Demonstrate content knowledge built during independent reading of informational and literary texts by participating in content-specific discussions with peers and/or through writing.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.18

Vocabulary

  • Demonstrate
  • Content knowledge
  • Independent reading
  • Informational text
  • Literary text
  • Content-specific discussions

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Content knowledge is information learned about a specific subject.
  • Content knowledge can be learned by independently reading text.
  • Informational text is nonfiction text, and literary text is fictional.
  • Active listening skills.
  • Writing skills.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Build content knowledge from independently reading informational or literary text.
  • Use content knowledge learned from independent reading in content-specific discussions with peers.
  • Use content knowledge learned from independent reading in writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Content-specific discussions with peers can demonstrate the content knowledge they learned through independent reading.
  • They can produce writings that demonstrate knowledge of content-specific information.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.R1

Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.4.R1

Vocabulary

  • Active listening
  • Discussion
  • Conversation
  • Rules
  • Participation

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Active listening skills.
  • How to engage in discussions and conversations in a variety of settings.
  • Agreed-upon rules for participation.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings.
  • Converse in pairs, small groups, and large groups.
  • Practice the agreed-upon rules for participation.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Conversations and discussions follow agreed-upon rules which help us actively listen and gain understanding.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.14

Demonstrate comprehension of literary and informational text by utilizing its content when discussing or writing in response to the text.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.4.14

Vocabulary

  • Comprehension
  • Literary text
  • Informational text
  • Discussing
  • Writing
  • Response

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Comprehension of text can be demonstrated by referring to the text in discussions or written responses.
  • Informational text is nonfiction text, and literary text is fictional.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of literary and informational text by referring to the text in discussions.
  • Demonstrate understanding of literary and informational text by referring to the text in written responses.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can show that they understood literary and informational text by discussing or writing about specific content from the text.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.R1

Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.R1

Vocabulary

  • Active listening
  • Discussion
  • Conversation
  • Rules
  • Participation

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Active listening skills.
  • How to engage in discussions and conversations in a variety of settings.
  • Agreed-upon rules for participation.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings.
  • Converse in pairs, small groups, and large groups.
  • Practice the agreed-upon rules for participation.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Conversations and discussions follow agreed-upon rules which help us actively listen and gain understanding.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.9

Express ideas clearly and effectively to diverse partners or groups.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.9

Vocabulary

  • Express
  • Clearly
  • Effectively
  • Diverse

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Oral language and literacy skills.
  • Collaboration skills.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Clearly and effectively share ideas with others through speaking.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can communicate with a variety of people if they express themselves clearly.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.16

Demonstrate comprehension of varied literary and informational texts by utilizing its content when discussing or writing in response to the text.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.16

Vocabulary

  • Comprehension
  • Literary text
  • Informational text
  • Discussing
  • Writing
  • Response

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Comprehension of text can be demonstrated by referring to the text in discussions or written responses.
  • Informational text is nonfiction text, and literary text is fictional.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of varied literary and informational text by referring to the text in discussions.
  • Demonstrate understanding of varied literary and informational text by referring to the text in written responses.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can show that they understood a wide variety of literary and informational text by discussing or writing about specific content from the text.
Link to Resource
http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/what-changed-book-pr…

CR Resource Type

Lesson/Unit Plan

Resource Provider

ReadWriteThink
Accessibility
License

License Type

Custom

Custom License Type (URL)

http://www.readwritethink.org/util/legal.html

Approved Date

raulstoncg
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