Pigs will be Pigs

Title: Pigs will be Pigs

Author: Amy Axelrod
Illustrator: Sharon McGinley-Nally

Recommended Grade Level: Ages 5-8, Grades 1-3

Common Core Mathematics Standards Addressed:

1.MD- Measurement and Data

Recognize and identify coins, their names, and their value.

2.MD- Measurement and Data
Solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, using $ and ¢ symbols appropriately.

Summary: After gobbling up all the groceries, Mr. Pig, Mrs. Pig and their two piglets are hungry again after raiding the refrigerator empty, but the Piggy bank is empty. Deciding to hunt for money, the four swine gesture excitedly; then they feverishly root through their home for loose change and bills. Readers are meant to keep a tally of the all the money the Pigs locate. Finally, after finding a grand total of $34.67, the Pigs spend almost all of it at a Mexican restaurant-math whizzes can calculate the amount located by keeping a record of the collected sums of money.

Rating: **** Developmentally appropriate and correlated to school grade levels and the curriculum standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The book provides real-life connections for students and motivates them to master money skills.

Classroom Ideas: Students will tally the amount of money collected using a worksheet while the teacher reads the story to figure out how much money did the Pig family find throughout the story. This activity will introduce and/or reinforce money skills as well as listening skills.