John Vorberger Strategy Collection

I. Neuschwander, C., & Geehan, W. (2013). Sir Cumference and the Off-the-Charts

Dessert. United States: Charlesbridge.

Strategy: Cloze Passages (from class)

This resource is a narrative book relating to data collection and analysis in math. The

strategy, Cloze Passages, consists of a passage where words are left out, and students work to fill

in the blanks as they read the story or discuss it. Since this resource is a narrative where students

need to understand the plot as well as the math concepts used in the plot, I believe Cloze

Passages would be a very useful strategy for this resource. In particular, Cloze Passages are

useful because it allows students to see a framework of what the story is about while also

thinking about what words need to be in the blanks. I think Cloze Passages are perfect for this

because they both act as a review for students and also a way to get students to think. For this

specific story, I would create a Cloze Passage that focuses largely on the math concepts of the

story while also explaining the plot. This way, students can learn math while they follow along

with the plot of the story. I would have students work on the Cloze Passage after reading the

story, and perhaps while working with peers.

The handout I created highlights a key part of the plot and it also includes several of the

most important vocabulary terms from the book. By filling out the handout, students will both

learn about the plot and also what the terms mean. I think this is an opportunity where students

might “unintentionally” learn about math while just following along with a story plot. I think this

would be great because it would make math more engaging and students would hopefully be
interested in the plot. I think this handout would be best used after reading the text and during a

discussion, because that way, students have an understanding of the story and also have the

support of the teacher and the whole class discussion to help fill out the blanks.
Name: ____________________________

Sir Cumference Cloze Notes

Lady Di needs to figure out the size of a dessert called a royal pie. She

wants to figure out the ___________ of the Pi, which is the distance

all the way around the outside of the Pi. However, her string is not long

enough. Instead, she chooses to measure halfway across the pie, called

the __________. Lady Di also knows that if you multiply the

_________ by 2, you get the ____________.

The Knight Sir Circumference creates a tool to measure the outside of

the pie, and figures out a number which is the relationship between the

radius and circumference of the pie. The relationship is called

__________, and he figures out that the circumferences is exactly

________ times the radius, or __________ times the diameter. The

relationship, which is represented by a number called Pi, is equal to

about ________ [round to 2 digits].

Name: ____________________________

(ANSWER KEY)

Sir Cumference Cloze Notes

Lady Di needs to figure out the size of a dessert called a royal pie. She

wants to figure out the (circumference) of the Pi, which is the distance

all the way around the outside of the Pi. However, her string is not long

enough. Instead, she chooses to measure halfway across the pie, called

the (radius). Lady Di also knows that if you multiply the (radius) by 2,

you get the (diameter).

The Knight Sir Circumference creates a tool to measure the outside of

the pie, and figures out a relationship between the radius and

circumference of the pie. The relationship is called (Pi), and he figures

out that the circumferences is exactly (2 * Pi) times the radius, or (Pi)

times the diameter. The relationship, which is represented by a number

called Pi, is equal to about (3.14) [round to 2 digits].

 II. Walmsley, B. (1999). Construction geometry. Wellington, New Zealand: CC Press.

Strategy: Anticipation Guide (from class)

This resource presents some real-world ways for students to use geometry. Anticipation

guides consist of a series of questions (with simple answers like agree or disagree, or other easy

responses) that students answer in order to gauge their prior knowledge. I think an anticipation

guide is very useful here because it gives students the chance to think about possibilities of using

geometry in the real-world before they actually read the book and see the uses it highlights. I

think this is important because it makes students think about the concept and it gets them

engaged in the material. Also, anticipation guides can be useful to let the teacher know what

prior knowledge students have about the topic. This way, as the teacher, you can select parts of

the book that best complement students’ prior knowledge. I think the anticipation guide should

be implemented the day before you start reading the book, or it could perhaps be done as a take-

home assignment. This way, students get a chance to activate prior knowledge well before

actually reading the book, and it gives the teacher time to choose specific parts of the book to

focus on.

The anticipation guide handout I created is supposed to get students thinking about the

topics that they will read about. As a teacher, it also gives me a baseline for how much prior

knowledge students have. The reading and my lesson should hopefully explain all of the topics

on the handout, so after the lesson, students can have a chance to look back and reflect on what

they learned. I think this is a great way to boost student confidence, because they see

improvement. This particular handout is kept simple – agree or disagree – which makes it a non-
intimidating assignment that students can complete relatively stress-free in a short amount of

time.
 Reading Guide

Name______________________________________________

Statement
Agree or Disagree Agree or Disagree
I have used geometry
before to build
things.
I understand how
angles are important
for cutting lumber.
I understand how the
Pythagorean theorem
is used in
construction.
I understand how
square tools are used
in construction.
I can use my
geometry knowledge
to design a picture
frame.
I can use my
geometry knowledge
to measure angles in
designs.
 III. Orlin, B. (2018). Math with bad drawings. New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal.

Strategy: Guided Reading Tables for Organizing Information (from class)

This resource would be very useful to introduce at the beginning of the year or at the

beginning of a new major unit, because it provides a good overview of math and how it applies

to the real world. I think guided reading tables naturally complement this resource because they

allow students to organize information for future use and increase their understanding of the text.

Essentially, I would have students put key concepts and terms into a table and then write

descriptions of them. Students would do this as they read, and it could be done in groups or with

teacher guidance for the whole class. I think creating guided reading tables for this resource will

allow students to engage with the text, keep track of what they’re reading, and organize the

information for use later in the class. Since this resource is a very general overview of math, I

think it makes sense for students to keep those ideas in their head for the whole year because

most class content will likely tie back to those ideas somehow.

The handout I created for this is designed to be simple and easy-to-follow. It gives

students a simple framework for writing down ideas, while being minimalistic so as to allow

students creativity in how they approach ideas. I would pass this handout out before reading, and

students could fill it out as they read. Afterward, students could use this guided reading table to

help answer discussion questions, participate in a class discussion, or as a study tool later in the

lesson. I think this handout will allow students to organize important information from the text

and engage with the text in a meaningful way. An answer key is not necessary because students

can fill this out as they see fit.

 “Math With Bad Drawings” Reading Table

Name: __________________________________

What do you know What do you want to

What is the already? learn about it?
math concept
called?
 IV. Neuschwander, C., & Geehan, W. (2015). Sir Cumference and the Roundabout

Battle. United States: Charlesbridge.

Strategy: Discussion Webs (from book)

This resource is a narrative story about rounding and counting in math. Because of its

nature as a narrative story, I think discussion webs would be very useful. Discussion webs, as

described in the book, give students a framework for discussion and interaction with the text.

They allow students to explore the text, how it relates to math concepts, and how it relates to

prior knowledge. All of these are important for making a narrative story useful in a math

classroom. Also, this gives students some creativity and it allows students to hear ideas from

fellow students. These are all useful in developing an understanding of the story, and by

extension, the math concepts in the story.

The handout I created gives students a framework for building an understanding of an

idea for a topic. The handout tells students to come up with an idea and then explore various

aspects of it, as well as prompting students to think about what they want to learn. I think this

prepares students for discussion, and ensures that when the discussion actually starts, students

will be able to participate with well thought-out ideas. This handout should be passed out at the

start of the class, and students should be given time to fill it out before starting the discussion. I

think you could give students multiple copies of this handout if your lesson consists of students

coming up with multiple ideas/discussion points.

 I know… This relates to…

Write your idea for

discussion here:

I want to learn… I wonder what my

peers think about…
 V. Swanson, J. (2021). The Secret Science of Sports. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press

Adult.

Strategy: Active Comprehension (from book)

This is a resource that will interest many students and should provide for plenty of natural

discussion opportunities. The active comprehension strategy, as highlighted in our book,

perfectly fits this resource in my opinion. Active comprehension involves asking question to

students that elicit questions in return; this should start a discussion and prompts students to

think and engage. Because many students are interested in sports, this topic naturally lends itself

to discussions. Furthermore, I think the active comprehension strategy can get students

discussing math topics without it seeming like a math discussion. In other words, I think this

strategy can get students engaged in math while making it seem like a sports discussion. I think

this strategy and resource should be implemented at the beginning of a chapter or a lesson,

because it gets students thinking and can prime them for learning. Since this book has many

chapters and different topics, the teacher could choose specific chapters to be discussed prior to a

specific chapter.

This specific strategy is difficult to put onto a paper handout. Essentially, this is just a

discussion using leading questions. If I was teaching a lesson using this strategy, I would stay

flexible and would ask try to continue the discussion and get students talking. This strategy is

almost entirely verbal, and the only written component would be students taking notes if

applicable in the scenario.