One Hundred Hungry Ants By Elinor J. Pinczes

Mathematical Strand:

Problem solving using pictures and models

Topic:

Students will represent 100 using various groupings of objects.

Grade Level:

1st Grade

Lesson created by:

Lina Guebert,1st Grade Teacher, Theodore Roosevelt Elem., Manhattan, KS

Lesson Description:

Materials:

• Book, One Hundred Hungry Ants, unifix cubes, multi-link cubes, centi-cubes, links, colored paperclips, or any material that is connectable, large paper for children to draw representations of models.
  

1. Launching the Lesson

1. Read the book
   
2. Show 100 links in a line, and 100 links in groups of 5. Ask if one is more than another; ask how they know
   
3. Talk about the parts that show different ways the ants lined up
   
4. Ask children to ways the ants could line up, using cubes or links as ants.
   
5. The rule: they have to have 100 "ants" and the ants have to be lines that have the same number (length could also be used if doing measurement)
   
6. Children will work in pairs to solve the problem.
   
7. When they think they have a solution, they are to draw it out and explain in words how they solved this problem
   
8. Students will share their solutions by having a "museum" time. This is when all children display their work neatly on the desks. Children walk from desk to desk at the ring of a bell and examine one another's solutions.
   
9. While watching students work, use checklist to see if students: are able to count to 100; count one by one, or are able to group objects in 2's, 5's as they count; can divide leftovers they did not expect to have into new groups by rearranging; start all over if the groupings do not work out evenly, or put leftovers in their own group.
   

2. Closure/Discussion/Elaboration

1. After the "museum" time children share which solutions they saw matched theirs, and which were different. Ask if they saw any solutions that looked like there were more than 100, less than 100, and what made it look like more, or less than 100.