Count Your Way Through Greece by Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson

Mathematical Strand:

Number Systems/Numeration

Topic:

Students will be exposed to the Greek alphabet and Greek numeration.

Grade Level:

4-6

Lesson Created by:

Jean Johnson, Fort Riley Middle School, Fort Riley, KS

LESSON Description

Materials

• Count Your Way Through Greece, by Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson, illustrated by Janice Lee Porter.
  

1.Launching the Lesson

1. Introduce the book, Count Your Way through Greece.
   

1. Read the book to the class.
   
2. Share illustrations with students.
   

3.Closure/Discussion/Elaboration

1. Write various Greek words and numbers on the board.
   
2. Allow students to practice pronouncing the various words and numbers.
   
3. Discuss origin of our number system and other early number systems.
   

Teacher notes:

• This is basically a counting book that gives important facts about Greece for each of the numerals one through ten. The book explains that there is "one" official religion in Greece, Greek Orthodoxy, which is similar to Catholicism, and there are "nine" stripes on the Greek flag, representing the country’s nine regions. The book also shows the Greek numerals one through ten, in numeral and word form. I used a transparency of the pronunciation guide and the students enjoyed trying to pronounce each number.