Excerpts From Bridges in Mathematics
©2001, The Math Learning Center
by Donna Burk & Allyn Snider illustrated by Tyson Smith Bridges Breakout Units
Bugs Across the Curriculum
Crossing the Pond: A Probability Game
Exploring Money: Adding, Counting, Sorting and Patterning Exploring Time: Hours, Minutes and Paper Clocks
Frogs Across the Curriculum
Geometry: Pattern Blocks, Polydrons and Paper Quilts (Grade 1) Geometry: Shapes, Symmetry, Area and Number (Grade 2) Math Buckets: Sorting and Patterning
Math with a Sock: Probability and Fractions My Little Farm: Money, Place Value and Mapping Penguins: Measuring, Sorting, Computation and More Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum
P0201
Copyright © 2001 by The Math Learning Center, PO Box 12929, Salem, Oregon 97309.
Tel. 800-575–8130. All rights reserved.
The Math Learning Center grants permission to classroom teachers to
reproduce blackline masters in appropriate quantities for their classroom use.
This project was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation. Opinions ex- pressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation.
Prepared for publication on Macintosh Desktop Publishing system.
Crab Poem 1
Sea Star Poem 7
Lobsters 16
Whale Song 22
Whales 27
Sharks 31
Seals & Sea Lions 37
Crab Poem
by Donna Burk
illustrated by Tyson Smith
Deep down in the sand, Dwell ten-legged creatures
With features quite grand!
They have two beady eyes, Each one on a stalk,
They can look all around Wherever they walk.
cheliped
walking legs
abdomen
They often walk sideways And many can swim.
They molt and grow shells When the old ones get slim.
cheliped stomach testes
mouth
antenna antennule
eyestalk
gills
heart intestine
cartilage
hepatopancreas
swimming leg carapace
Through gills in their sides.
They eat shrimp, clams, and mussels Whatever the tides.
There’s a mouth in the front, Two antennae help them feel, Antennules help to smell and taste
And find a juicy meal.
cheliped
mouthparts
eye
abdomen
All have special features:
The pincers on the front
Help them snatch other creatures,
Three sharp-pointed pairs
Help them walk here and there, A pair of paddles behind
Help them swim everywhere.
If they’re lucky enough To avoid the crab pot, They might live 13 years And not be served hot.
There are 4500 kinds, Many good to eat,
They have to be boiled and cracked, their meat’s a special treat.
Snow Crab
n† 7 Sea Star Poem Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Sea Stars
by Donna Burk
illustrated by Tyson Smith
n† 8 Sea Star Poem Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Under the water, On rock or in sand
Dwell five “legged” Sea Stars With features quite grand.
n† 9 Sea Star Poem Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Their skin is quite spiny,
Their skeletons have plates, When they lose an arm,
The body regenerates.
n† 10 Sea Star Poem Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
They spit out their stomachs To digest what they eat:
Mussels, worms, clams, snails—
While they move on tube feet.
n† 11 Sea Star Poem Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
The sea water enters
Through holes in their skin, It reaches their tube feet
From pressures within.
n† 12 Sea Star Poem Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
eye spots
At birth they’re the same
On their left and their right, The “eye spots” on the ends Of their arms “see” light.
n† 13 Sea Star Poem Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Twenty inches per minute
They can move at high speed, They pile up on each other
When one starts to feed.
n† 14 Sea Star Poem Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
seastar
Fish have a backbone, And fish have a brain.
Many folks call them starfish,
But that name’s down the drain.
n† 15 Sea Star Poem Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Sea Stars are orange, red, Blue, green and more,
Take time at a tide pool
To find one near the shore.
n† 16 Lobster Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
There are some creatures in the sea Who smell with four antennae.
They hide in holes or under rocks, They hide in holes or under rocks, They hide in holes or under rocks,
These creatures are crustaceans.
Lobsters
(to the tune of “B-I-N-G-O”)
n† 17 Lobster Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
To catch their prey and crush it.
Two claws to catch their prey, Two claws to catch their prey, Two claws to catch their prey, These creatures are crustaceans.
n† 18 Lobster Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
And two big claws in front.
8 + 2 that makes 10, 8 + 2 that makes 10, 8 + 2 that makes 10,
These creatures are crustaceans.
n† 19 Lobster Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
These creatures have two eyes on stalks To search for food or danger.
Eyes turning here and there, Eyes turning here and there, Eyes turning here and there, These creatures are crustaceans.
n† 20 Lobster Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Which then turn into larvae, Very few of them grow up, Very few of them grow up, Very few of them grow up,
These creatures are crustaceans.
n† 21 Lobster Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
And folks cook them for dinner.
They turn bright red when they’re cooked, They turn bright red when they’re cooked, They turn bright red when they’re cooked,
Would you eat one for dinner?
n† 22 Whale Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Did you ever see a whale, a whale, a whale, Did you ever see a whale with 2 flukes on its tail?
It uses those flukes to push up and push down,
Propelling through the oceans past country and town.
Whale Song
(to the tune of “Did You Ever See A Lassie?”)
n† 23 Whale Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Did you ever see a whale with flippers on its sides—
To turn and to balance on top or down deep?
A whale breathes on the surface, awake or asleep.
n† 24 Whale Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Did you ever see a whale without any teeth?
Plates in its mouth filter food like a screen;
Plankton, fish, and shrimp get caught in the baleen.
n† 25 Whale Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Did you ever see a whale whose teeth grab and tear?
They eat fish and squid, a whole lot each day.
As much as ten elephants is what one might weigh.
n† 26 Whale Song Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Did you ever see a blue whale, a blue whale, a blue whale, Did you ever see a blue whale with a calf by her side?
She gives birth to her calf and feeds it her milk, A newly born blue whale is seven meters long.
ˇ† 27 Whales Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Whales
(to the tune of
“Are You Sleeping?”)
Whales are swimming, whales are swimming, They’re headed south, they’re headed south,
Seeking warmer water To give birth to a baby,
Mothers and calves, Mothers and calves.
ˇ† 28 Whales Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Newborn whales, newborn whales, Coming up for air, coming up for air,
Spouting out the old air, Breathing in some fresh air,
Mothers and calves, Mothers and calves.
ˇ† 29 Whales Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Whales are swimming, whales are swimming, Babies drink milk, babies drink milk,
Moms protect their calves from harm, Swimming right beside them,
Mothers and calves, Mothers and calves.
ˇ† 30 Whales Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Whales have blubber, whales have blubber, To keep them warm, to keep them warm,
Their noises sound like singing, Their noises sound like singing,
Mothers and calves, Mothers and calves.
by Donna Burk, illustrated by Tyson Smith
Sharks
(to the tune of “Did You Ever See a Lassie?”)
Did you ever see a shark, a shark, a shark,
Did you ever see a shark with a fin on its back
And two on its sides For balance as it glides?
Did you ever see a shark with a fin on its back?
Did you ever see a shark, a shark, a shark,
Did you ever see a shark that was swimming quite fast?
Its tail helps it
Swim at a very high speed, Did you ever see a shark that
was swimming quite fast?
Did you ever see a shark, a shark, a shark,
Did you ever see a shark with nostrils on its head?
They’re not used for breathing, They smell food instead,
Did you ever see a shark with nostrils on its head?
Did you ever see a shark, a shark, a shark,
Did you ever see a shark that was searching for food?
They eat mostly fish
But large ones eat seals, Did you ever see a shark that was searching for food?
Did you ever see a shark, a shark, a shark,
Did you ever see a shark in an underwater cave?
It sinks to the bottom
Unless it keeps swimming, Did you ever see a shark in
an underwater cave?
Did you know that sharks have babies, have babies,
have babies,
Did you know that sharks have babies? Some give
live birth,
Others lay eggs in
“mermaid purse” cases.
Did you know that sharks have babies? Some give
live birth.
by Donna Burk, illustrated by Tyson Smith
ˇ† 37 Seals & Sea Lions Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
Seals and sea lions in the sea Eating fish, sea birds, and squid.
They have sharp teeth but cannot chew, Some have ears but not all do.
Seals and sea lions in the sea Eating fish, sea birds, and squid.
Seals & Sea Lions
(to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”)
ˇ† 38 Seals & Sea Lions Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
They can “walk” on ice or shore With their flippers, they have four,
Two in front and two in back,
Along with stomach muscles strong.
They can “walk” on ice or shore, With their flippers, they have four.
ˇ† 39 Seals & Sea Lions Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum: Poems & Songs © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts
When males return to the rookery, They roar and bellow and disagree.
They claim a space for their own place, Then wait for the females to come on shore.
When males return to the rookery, They roar and bellow and disagree.