If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Laura Numeroff - Felicia Bond, HarperCollins 2000

Teachers can use If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to motivate kids to learn about different types of
charts and graphs during an elementary math and science lesson.
Read more at Suite101: Math and Science Chart Lesson Plan: Teach Kids About Pie Graphs, Bar
Graphs, Line Graphs and Pictographs http://www.suite101.com/content/math-and-science-chart-
lesson-plan-a179814#ixzz11JxtlTDl

Elementary school students need to learn to use and identify different types of science and math
charts. Teachers can use a cookie taste test to teach kids about pie graphs, bar graphs, line
graphs, and pictographs.

The chart math and science lesson can be taught as part of an integrated unit based on If You
Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff. [HarperCollins, 2000] Teachers can introduce the
unit by reading the story to the class. During math or science class teachers can have the kids
pretend to be the mouse in the story and try different types of cookies and chart the results.

Elementary Chart and Graph Lesson Plan Objective

Students will identify pie graphs, bar graphs, line graphs, and pictographs.

Elementary Chart and Graph Lesson Materials

 If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

 4 types of cookies for each kid
 Small paper cups
 Milk
 Cookie rating slips
 Overhead projector with blank graph overheads
 Blank graph worksheets for each student

Classroom Cookie Taste Test Math and Science Lesson

The elementary teacher reads the story If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to the class during reading
class. After the students have read and discussed the book the teacher asks the class what kind of
cookie they think is the mouse’s favorite.
The teacher then brings out 4 different types of cookies and tells the class they will be
conducting a cookie taste test. She passes out slips of paper with each cookie on it and a spot to
rate the cookies from 1 to 10.

The teacher gives each student the first cookie to try and a small cup of milk to go with it. The
kids eat the cookie and then rate it from 1 to 10. This procedure is repeated with the rest of the
cookies. When all of the cookies have been rated the students circle the cookie with the highest
rating. The teacher collects the cookie ratings and tallies the results on the front board.

Teach Elementary Kids About Graphs

After the cookie taste test results are tabulated the teacher explains there are many different ways
they can display their results. She explains to the kids that scientists use charts and graphs to
show others the results of their experiments.

Read on 

 Elementary Snowman Glyph Math Lesson Plan

 How to Make Apple Pie Play Dough
 If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Lesson

The teacher shows the students an example of a bar graph and tells the class that they will be
making a bar graph to display the results of their cookie taste test. The teacher uses an overhead
projector to model how to label the x axis and y axis. She then demonstrates how to graph the
cookie results.

After the elementary students have watched the teacher construct a bar graph they make one on
their own. The teacher passes out a blank graph and prompts the students to label each axis. She
then walks them through how to graph the cookie results on the bar graph.

After the students have correctly graphed the cookie taste test results on a bar graph the teacher
explains to the class the definitions of a pie graph, line graph, and pictograph. She follows the
same procedure to teach the class how to chart the cookie taste test results using a pie graph, a
line graph, and a pictograph.

The class discusses how the same information can be charted in different ways and decides graph
they think should be used to represent the cookie taste test results. The students work together to
create a classroom bulletin board featuring their chosen graph.

Learning how to chart information on bar graphs, pie graphs, line graphs, and pictographs does
not have to be intimidating for elementary school students. Teachers can incorporate graph
lessons into an integrated unit featuring the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura
Numeroff. Kids can conduct a cookie taste test to practice graphing with a purpose.|