Bigger, Better, Best!

In Bigger, Better, Best! the math concept is area. Area is a basic concept in geometry. It is measured in square units. As children learn about area, they are learning to visualize and calculate the number of square units that would be needed to completely cover the inside of a shape.

If you would like to have more fun with the math concepts presented in Bigger, Better, Best! here are a few suggestions:

• As you read the story, have the child count the number of pieces of paper needed to cover teh windows and the floor in teh illustrations. Tell the child that the children in the story are finding the area of the windows and the floor.

• Reread the story and point out that the children use paper of the same size when comparing the area of the two windows, and then use sheets of the same newspaper to find the area of the two bedrooms. To compare the area of shapes accurately, a consistent unit of measure must be used.

• Have the child draw a shape on a piece of graph paper. Together, count the squares inside the shape to find the area. Then help the child draw another shape that has the same area.

• Cut a piece of string as long as the child's arm. Use the piece of string to make a rectangle or a square. Have the child use square blocks to find the area of the shape. (All the blocks might not fit completely inside the string. In that case, the area can be expressed as a fraction--for example, 5 1/2 blocks.) Use the string to make other shapes and find their areas. Ask the child to find the shape with the largest area that can be made with the same piece of string.

Following are some activities that will help you extend the concepts presented in Bigger, Better, Best! into a child's everyday life:

Biggest Room in the House: Use newspaper to help the child find the area of his or her bedroom. Compare the area of the bedroom to the area of other rooms in the house. Remember to use the same size paper when comparing rooms.

In the Kitchen: Make brownies in two pans that are different sizes. Ask the child which pan is larger. Cut the brownies in each pan into squares that are the same size. Then have the child compare the area of each pan.

Refrigerator Art: Tape a piece of the child's art to the refrigerator. Have the child estimate how many projects of the same size it would take to cover the entire refrigerator door. Using the same size paper as the original piece of art, have the child figure out the solution.