Book #9 How Many Feet in the Bed?

Book #9
How Many Feet in the Bed? by Diane Johnston Hamm
Hamm, D. (1991). How many feet in the bed? New York: NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Summary:
This is a counting book that begins with a little girl asking her father, one morning when he wakes up, “How many feet are in the bed?” He answered, “I thought there were two.” But then the little girl climbs in the bed, followed by her brother Tom, baby Jane, and then her mother. Each time they figured out how many feet were in the bed and they continued their figuring as the bed emptied two by two.

Standards:
2-1.7 Generalize connections among mathematics, the environment, and other subjects.

2-2 The student will demonstrate through the mathematical processes and understanding of the base-ten numeration system; place values; and accurate, efficient, and generalizable methods of adding and subtracting whole numbers.

2-3 The student will demonstrate through the mathematical processes an understanding of numeric patterns and quantitative and qualitative change.

2-3.1 Analyze numeric patterns in skip counting that uses the numerals 1 through 10.

Objectives:
The student will be able to add and subtract as the number of feet grows and lessens.

Materials:
Hamm, D. (1991). How many feet in the bed? New York: NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Procedures:
Read the book aloud. Then re-read the book and as you read have the children figure out how many feet there are in the bed. To make it a bit more challenging, introduce the possibility that a pet dog or cat could also be in the bed. You could give them a number of feet in the bed and have them tell you how many people and/or animals, and what kind, are in the bed. Next have them figure out how many feet are in the class. Ask that they show their work and explain their reasoning. Have students present their methods to the class to help reinforce that there is more than one way to solve a problem.