FREE

Math Curse
Mini-Unit
SAMPLE
Lesson Plan
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 Lesson 1: Engage
Lesson Objective:
• I can solve word problems by representing the problem and utilizing problem-
solving strategies.
LANGUAGE OBJECTIVE:
• I will discuss various ways to solve one problem with an elbow partner.
Student Prior Knowledge:
• In grade 2, students learned how to solve one and two-step word problems
involving addition and subtraction.
• It is recommended that students already know the basic skills and concepts
that the word problems in the book cover, such as addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, time, and fractions.
• However, if students are unfamiliar with one or more of those skills then the
teacher may modify the lesson at his/her discretion to eliminate word problems
involving any unknown topics.
Materials & Resources:
• Book - The Math Curse by Jon Scieszka OR link to YouTube read aloud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq3pFVhqy1Q (students always love the
YouTube version)
• Math journals (optional)
• Whiteboard & whiteboard marker, or other way to display teacher model of
writing such as an anchor chart, SMART board, or document camera & projector.
• Pencils
• Notebook paper or student whiteboards & markers
• Optional: Math problem worksheets, at end of this lesson (1/student)
Introduction:
• Begin with the journal prompt or discussion question “You can think of almost
anything as a math problem. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why
or why not?” Give students ample time to think, write down their responses, and
share with a neighbor.
• Call on a few students to share their thoughts with the class.
• Encourage students to use complete sentences using the stem “I agree/
disagree because…” The sentence stem can be displayed for easy reference.
Teacher Modeling & Guided Practice:
• Read part of “The Math Curse” by Jon Scieszka aloud to the class (or play the
read aloud on YouTube, see link above).
• Pause/stop the read aloud after a word problem of your choosing, preferably
one with content that the students already are familiar with.
o For the next few parts of the lesson, I’ll use the first word problem
about elapsed time as an example (“I wake up at 7:15. It takes me 10
minutes to get dressed, 15 minutes to eat my breakfast, and 1 minute to
brush my teeth. If my bus leaves at 8:00, will I make it on time?”).
• Model how to solve the chosen word problem step-by-step by using a problem-
solving strategy on the white board, an anchor chart, or a document camera.
o If your school has a recommended problem-solving strategy that it
prefers students to use, feel free to implement that here!
o Two problem-solving strategies that I suggest using are “SPDR” and
“CUBES”. You can find information and examples of these at the end of this
lesson. This time in the lesson would be a great time to teach the
students a problem-solving strategy.
o One great question to ask here: “What’s another way to solve this
problem?” It’s great for students to see that there is more than one
correct way to arrive at the same answer!
• Read the rest of the book to the class. If you chose to use the first elapsed
time problem, the answer will be revealed at the end of the book!
• Optional: Discuss the book using the Bloom’s Taxonomy questions below:
o Retell the book in your own words (summary).
o What is the main idea of the story (main idea)?
o Could this story have happened in real life (fiction or non-fiction)?
o What do you predict will happen next at the end of the story (inference)?
o What is your opinion of this book? Did you enjoy it?
Independent Practice:
• Present a different word problem to students for them to solve either
independently or with a partner. Students can use their math journals, notebook
paper, or whiteboards (teacher’s choice). You may use one from the Math Curse
book, or create one that is similar to the problem used earlier.
o For example, a similar word problem to the elapsed time one from the
beginning of the book might be, “I get home from school at 3:20. It takes
me 15 minutes to eat a snack, and 45 minutes to do my homework. If my
homework has to be done before I’m allowed to watch TV, will I be able to
watch my favorite show at 4:00?” (see worksheet at end of lesson)
 o Be sure that any word problems you create are relevant to the
students’ lives.
o Monitor students as they work to answer any questions that may arise.
You may choose to spend more time with struggling students. Be sure
that they are using a strategy to solve the problem!

Closure/Wrap-Up:
• Call on a few students to share their work with the class. The work can be
displayed using a document camera if you have one.
• Praise students for showing their work, it’s not always about a correct answer.
Once students get into the habit of thinking critically and using strategies, the
right answers will come later.
• After the students are done sharing, celebrate their willingness to share with
two claps, two snaps, a “YEE-HAW!”, or some other silly action.

Informal Assessment:
• For this lesson, the teacher will observe students’ strategies used & answers
to the Independent Practice word problem.
• Take mental notes about each student’s struggles or successes. Where are
they having difficulty? Are they not showing their work? Are they making silly
mistakes in their computations? Are they using the wrong operation? Did they
arrive at the correct answer? This information will be useful to know for the
remainder of the mini-unit.

Teacher Notes:
Use this space to reflect on how the lesson went. What worked well? What would
you do differently in the future?
SPDR - See, Plan, Do, Reflect
• See:
o Students record any important numbers and information found
in the word problem here, as well as the question that the
problem wants them to solve.
o Using shorthand or abbreviations is definitely OK! The intent
isn’t to take forever writing down long names or complete
sentences here. Remember, this is math class, not writing class!
• Plan:
o Students write a number sentence to plan how they are going
to solve the problem.
o If a number sentence isn’t applicable, they can draw a picture
or some kind of diagram to aid in solving the word problem.
• Do:
o This is where the students execute their plan and solve the
problem, being sure to show every step.
• Reflect:
o Students ask themselves “Does the answer I got make sense?
Is it reasonable?” For example, if they were subtracting but
their answer was larger than the original number then they
most likely made an error in computation.
o This is also where the students could solve the problem in a
different way to double-check their answer.
• Example:

o
 CUBES – Circle, Underline, Box, Evaluate/Eliminate, Solve
• Circle:
o Students will circle key numbers and units.
o What information do they need to know to solve the problem?
• Underline:
o Students will underline the question being asked.
o What problem are they being asked to solve?
• Box:
o Students will put a box around math “action” words.
o Students will write the math action sign near the boxed-in
word(s).
o Are they going to add, subtract, multiply, divide, etc.?
• Evaluate/Eliminate:
o Students will formulate a plan to solve the problem.
o What steps need to be taken?
o What information is not needed?
• Solve:
o Students will show their work and check their answer.
o Can they solve the problem in a different way?
o Does the answer make sense?
• Example:

o
Name: _______________________________ Date: ____________

1) I wake up at 7:15. It takes me 10 minutes to get dressed,

15 minutes to eat my breakfast, and 1 minute to brush my
teeth. If my bus leaves at 8:00, will I make it on time?

2) I get home from school at 3:20. It takes me 15 minutes to

eat a snack, and 45 minutes to do my homework. If my
homework has to be done before I’m allowed to watch TV, will
I be able to watch my favorite show at 4:00?
 Want More Math Curse?
Purchase the rest of the Math Curse Mini-Unit HERE!
Includes:
• 5 days (1 week) of extremely
detailed lesson plans revolving
around the 5E model –
Engage, Explore, Explain,
Elaborate, & Evaluate.
• ALL necessary materials,
answer keys, and rubrics
included.
• Fully EDITABLE so you can
modify the problems to suit
your students.
• Ideas for how to extend the
unit into other subjects,
such as writing and science.
Credits
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