Math Concept Reader MCR g4 diego’s perfect fit

Math Concept Reader

Diego’s Perfect Fit

Math Concept Reader

Expedition: Antarctica

by Aenea Mickelsen

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Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 13: 978-0-15-360191-0

ISBN 10: 0-15-360191-4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 179 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07

Math Concept Reader Diego’s

Perfect Fit

by Sarah Mastrianni

Photographs by Kay McKinley

DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

Diego is the newest student at Hollis Elementary School His family moved to the area after his mother started working at a new job Diego is eager to make some new friends Hollis Elementary School is a pretty big place, though, and Diego is nervous about how he will fit in His parents suggest that he join an after-school activity

Diego thinks this is a great idea He decides to do a little research about what activities are offered at his new school Then he will decide which activity to join He knows that joining an after-school activity will help him make new friends He likes the idea of playing a sport or maybe learning a new skill

Diego’s First Assignment

The principal asks Diego for a favor.



Diego stops by the school office to speak with the principal He asks permission to visit the various after-school activities so he can choose one to join The principal tells Diego that he may visit any activity that interests him

Then the principal asks Diego for a favor and he explains that there is a town council meeting next week At that meeting, the principal will share some highlights of Hollis Elementary School The principal will talk about some of the programs held at the school, including some of the after-school activities Diego can help by designing a visual aid that shows what after-school activities the school has and how many students participate in them

DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

Diego will gather data for the principal.



Diego is delighted by the principal’s request He can gather data about the activities for the principal’s presentation while he searches for the best activity to join He thinks about how he will collect the data

First, he will ask the school’s secretary for an overview

of each after-school activity Then Diego will choose five activities that interest him He can visit each of the activities and ask the students why they enjoy their activities

After he visits all five activities, Diego will find a good way to organize his data He will prepare his findings for the principal to share at the town council meeting Diego hopes his research will help him find an activity to join

Hollis Element

ary After-School Act

ivities

Activity

Number

Meeting

Why Student s

of

Days and

Enjoy Students Times

Their Act ivites Drama

Volleyball Art Homework Music

Diego makes

a chart for

the data he

will collect.

*

That night Diego brainstorms some ideas for gathering

information He is confident that planning ahead will help

him provide the right data for the principal

Diego lists five activities in a notebook He makes

columns for the information he will gather He labels

the first column “Number of Students.” He labels the

second column “Meeting Days and Times.” He labels the

third column “Why Students Enjoy Their Activities.” He

leaves plenty of space in the third column to write down

comments students share about each activity Diego thinks

this piece of his data collection will be very interesting,

and it will help him in making a decision about which

activity to join

Diego’s first visit this afternoon is the drama club The students meet in the auditorium Diego enters through the stage door where he sees a clothes rack with many colorful costumes The club members are preparing for their upcoming production

When Diego enters, the students and teacher invite him to join them on the stage Naturally, Diego feels a bit nervous with all this attention, but the students are eager

to answer his questions Soon Diego becomes so involved

in the discussion he forgets he was nervous at all He writes furiously to keep up with what students are saying about the drama club After he collects enough data, Diego thanks the club members and heads to the school gym



From Drama

to Drums

Hollis Element

ary After-School Act

ivities

Activity

Number

Meeting

Why Student s

of

Days and

Enjoy Students Times

Their Act ivites Drama

16

Mon

Enjoy making co

stumes

& Wed

Laugh a lot 2:30-3:30

Sing and d

ance Tues

Get to pretend you are 2:30-4:00

someone els

e

Volleyball 18

Mon &

Super exercis

e Thurs

Coach fun Get in s

hape

2:30-3:30

Lots of te amwork Sister plays volley

ball Meets Mond ay and Thursday Art

Homework Music

Diego adds

data to his

chart about

the drama

club and

volleyball

practice.

,

Diego watches students stretch and jog as they warm

up in the gym.The students are getting ready to play

volleyball.The volleyball coach is also Diego’s new

science teacher He smiles at Diego and invites him to

join the other students

Diego asks the students questions about playing

volleyball.They are eager to tell him about their practices

and their games.They tell Diego that they work hard at

practice so they can be prepared for their games

Diego is interested in what the students say about

practice and the games Choosing an after-school activity

might be a difficult decision Diego thanks the volleyball

team and heads down the hallway to the art room

Art club members tell Diego about the club.



The walls in the art room are covered with colorful paintings and fun drawings Diego is impressed by the artwork created by students at Hollis Elementary School

As Diego admires one painting, a student greets him The student introduces himself as James, the artist who created the painting

Diego explains that he is visiting the art room to gather information about students who participate in this activity Diego and James sit at a table covered with art supplies—paints and brushes, scissors, chalk, and colored pencils They speak for just a few minutes before other students join the conversation Diego takes notes on the different art projects and the yearly art show Diego is filling up his notebook quickly!

Diego gathers information about the homework club.



Diego thanks the artists for their time and then makes his way to the library As Diego approaches the doorway,

he hears laughter He notices students crowded around tables filled with objects Diego recognizes many of the objects from his math class

Diego approaches one table and introduces himself

to the students The students explain that they stay after school to get help with homework They can work with partners, and teachers and tutors are available to answer any questions One student says that she often has her homework finished by the time her parents arrive to take her home Then she has her evenings free to enjoy other things Diego thinks this sounds like a good use of time

DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

Diego talks to members of the music club.

10

Now Diego heads to the last stop of the day—the music room The classroom door is closed, but Diego hears music playing He knocks on the door, but no one answers When Diego opens the door the music stops abruptly Diego is a little embarrassed for causing the disruption The teacher invites Diego into the classroom

Some students say they have been playing their instruments for several years Others tell Diego that they are beginning musicians The students like being at different skill levels because it allows them to help each other with the music Twice a year the students pick their favorite songs and hold a concert in the auditorium

Diego records their comments in his notebook

Diego heads home with a notebook full of data.

11

Diego glances at a clock It is getting late, and he promised to meet his father in front of the building at 4:30 He thanks the music students and walks to the front

of the school

Diego heads home to review his notes and create a visual aid from the data he collected He first needs to organize the data in a way that will help him understand the information better By choosing a good visual, he will be better able to see his data It will also help the principal with his presentation for the town council meeting

Diego will have to think carefully about the after-school activity he would like to join It will be a difficult decision

DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

After dinner, Diego goes to his bedroom to review his notes and organize the data he collected from school He thinks the best way to share what he has learned with the principal is to make a diagram or graph He could present the data in many different ways—a Venn diagram, a bar graph, or a pictograph Any of these visuals would help him share the information with the principal

Diego thinks it would be fun to make a pictograph

Diego chooses the pictograph In the pictograph, he will show five activities and how many students participate in each one He will put the student comments in a separate table and use the table to help him decide which activity

to join It will also provide interesting information for the principal Diego gets to work organizing his data and creating his pictograph

Decision Time

Student Participants in Hollis After-School Activities

Activity

Key: Each = 2 students.

Diego creates a pictograph about Hollis Elementary after-school activities.

1

After several hours, the pictograph is complete Diego heads downstairs to share his findings with his parents

He explains to his parents that of all the students he met most stayed after school to get help with homework The students who enjoy acting, met most frequently and for the longest amount of time

Diego thinks the students’ comments are interesting

Most of the students joined an activity because they liked

it Some students chose an activity that met on certain days, and others had a sibling who encouraged them to try an activity A few students joined an activity because it was something new for them to try Diego’s parents listen carefully as Diego describes the different after-school activities

DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

Diego tells his mom about his afternoon at school.

1

As Diego’s mom looks at the graph he created, Diego shares information about his new school He tells her stories about meeting new classmates Diego explains that the principal asked him to make this graph for the town council meeting next week He also tells her details about the after-school activities he visited and how all of the students were very friendly

Finally, Diego takes a breath from telling his stories

His mom asks him which club he will most likely join

“I’m still not sure,” he says “It is hard to decide when all

of the students enjoyed all of the activities.” Diego realizes

he needs a little more time to think about which activity would be best for him

Diego wants to learn to play drums He practices with his toothbrushes first!

1

Tomorrow Diego will share his pictograph with the principal He will share his table with the student comments, too He is confident the graph he created will

be perfect for the principal’s presentation

Diego feels happy because he learned more about his new school, and he met many friendly students He thinks maybe Hollis Elementary School is not such a big place after all

Just before bedtime, Diego makes one minor change

to his graph There are 14 students who play music after school Diego changes that number to 15 students He wonders what his parents will say when he tells them he wants to learn to play the drums He will tell his parents,

“It is a perfect fit!”

DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

collect to bring or put together

data information collected about people or things

organize to put in order

pictograph a graph that uses pictures to show and

compare information

Venn diagram a diagram that shows relationships

among sets of things

Think and Respond

Look at the pictograph that Diego created after he visited after-school activities at Hollis Elementary School.Answer the questions below using the information in the

pictograph on page 13

1 How many students did Diego collect data from?

2 Which activity had the fewest students?

3 How many students in all take part in drama

and volleyball?

4 Suppose you interview 30 students about after-school activities.What information would help you decide which after-school activity you might join? Explain your answer