Paul Bunyan - A Folktale Full of Math

Designed by:   David K. Blackwell, Gibbes Middle School

GRADE LEVEL: 6th        SUBJECT(S):  Math  

1) CORE CURRICULUM OBJECTIVE(S): Develop and justify appropriate strategies for solving problems.

      B.      * use or make a table, chart, or graph   (6PS13B)

      G.      *use technology   (6PS13G)

      K.      *think of a similar problem   (6PS13K)   (optional)

RESTATEMENT: Using the story of Paul Bunyan, students will find the mathematical facts in the story and complete tables showing how much Paul's meals would cost today.

2) OVERVIEW: This lesson can be completed at any time during the year. The student will read the folktale, Paul Bunyan. They will complete Table I with details from the folktale and will make a table to show the costs of an average dinner eaten by Paul Bunyan. They will use newspaper ads and circulars to find the prices of the items from the dinner. Finally, they will create a similar word problem using a fairy tale or folktale of their choice and Microsoft Word.

3) FOCUS/ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S):

1. Have you ever heard the story of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox?

2. Where they real? What made them special?

3. What do you think Paul Bunyan would order if he stopped at one of our fast foods restaurants for lunch?

4. How much do you think it would cost?

5. Why is a table a good way to present information?

4) TIME FRAME:

One class period (45 to 50 minutes) for Day One

Another class periods or two for the optional assignment

5) RESOURCES:

Glencoe Course 1

Computers with Microsoft Word or other word processing software

Newspapers Ads and Circulars for Grocery Stores *

Paper/pencil

Markers

Rulers

Transparencies of tables found in the newspaper, etc.

Drawing Paper or poster board

ATTACHMENT 1

ATTACHMENT 2

ATTACHMENT 3

ATTACHMENT 4

*You can use the teacher-made circular, ATTACHMENT 4, to ensure that all students have the same prices or collect newspaper ads and circulars for grocery stores to use to complete ATTACHMENT 3.

6)  ASSESSMENT:

RUBRIC
for Paul Bunyan - A Folktale Full of Math  

7)  INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES:

DAY ONE

1.    Begin the lesson by focusing the students with the Focus/Essential Questions.

2. Show the students overheads of different tables of information. You can make copies of the tables from the newspapers, off of cereal boxes, etc.

3. Discuss what kinds of information are on these tables.

Activity 1

4. Divide students into pairs (counting 1 - 2 or allow students to choose partner).

5. Give each pair two copies of Paul Bunyan as told by David Blackwell and a copy of TABLE I.

6. Have a volunteer read the story.

7. Then tell the pairs to complete TABLE I using details from the story. The teacher will monitor students' progress and will assist where needed.

Activity 2

8. Let the students create TABLE II - Paul Bunyan's Dinner using details from the story. They can begin by drawing out the table on pieces of 12" x 18" drawing paper. The table should have four columns with the headings - Dinner Item, Amount Paul Ate, Estimated 1999 Cost, and Actual 1999 Costs - and as many rows as dinner items eaten by Paul Bunyan. The students will find the dinner items in the story.

9. Once they have completed TABLE II, they can then use Microsoft Word to complete a final copy of the table.

Activity 3

10. Then the students will write an explanation of how they came up with the estimated and actual costs of Paul Bunyan's dinner.

11. Have each student share his or her explanation with another student.

12. Their tables and written explanations will be displayed in the room.

Optional Activity

13. If you decide to have the students complete similar problems and share them with their peers, they will need an additional two or three class periods. They can use the Internet to find fairy tales or folktales from around the world that contain math data.

Paul Bunyan as Retold by David Blackwell            ATTACHMENT 1

     Paul Bunyan was a lumberjack. He wore a red and green checkered shirt, a green logging cap to match, and his blue jeans were held up with bright yellow suspenders. On his feet he wore heavy work boots, and in his hand he always carried an ax when he was outdoors. There are many stories about Paul Bunyan. The one thing these stories all told about was how Paul was the biggest and best lumberjack that had ever lived.

      Logging has always been a very important industry in America from the very beginning. In the beginning of the country, very dense forests of pine, spruce, mahogany, and oak covered the land. Just like today, there has always been a great need for lumber to build many things. That's where loggers like Paul Bunyan came into the picture.

      Folklore has it that Paul Bunyan was born in Bangor, Maine. There is some disagreement on that fact, but everyone agreed that Paul was a big baby! It's said that he weighed eighty-six pounds, give or take a pound or two. He grew very fast. Folks say that when he rolled over in his cradle, he would knock down all the trees for miles around.

      His Ma really had a hard time keeping Paul fed.  It is said that in a single day, Paul would eat seventy-four buckets of oatmeal with five gallons of maple syrup poured on them and drink at least fourteen gallons of milk.

      Paul's Pa tried to keep him in boots, but he had to make him a new pair everyday because Paul kept on growing and growing and growing! Finally, one day Paul stopped growing. Folks might be stretching the truth a bit, but it is said that most folks only came to his ankles!

      Finally, the day came when Paul said good-bye to his Ma and Pa. His Ma climbed a ladder to give him a kiss good-bye. His Pa gave him a gigantic pair of boots and a great big axe. Off Paul went to see the world and make his living as a logger.

      When he got to the logging camp, the boss was not interested in giving Paul a job. Paul did not have any experience and the fellow knew that a logger Paul's size would need an awful lot of food. Paul persisted and the boss gave him a chance. With a mighty "Timber!" Paul swung his mighty axe. Down came twenty trees with one sweep. The gush of air from the swinging of the axe knocked over the first two barracks of the camp. Men went scampering for cover. The boss was so impressed with Paul that he gave him the job on the spot.

      Paul did not receive any salary while he was at the camp. He worked for his breakfast, lunch and dinner. Why, for dinner Paul would have seventy pounds of fried potatoes, forty-five pounds of T-bone steak, sixty pounds of ham, sixteen large loaves of bread, thirteen dozen eggs, and to finish it all off, six hundred and seventy-two pancakes topped with two gallons of maple syrup. Paul would wash all of his dinner down with at least ten gallons of strong black coffee. So, you can see why he was not so popular with the camp cooks!

      Paul finally decided to leave the logging camp because if he had stayed he would have chopped down all of the trees and leave the other loggers without jobs to support their families.

      He decided to head farther to the northwest. It is while on this adventure that he met Babe the Blue Ox. However, that's another part of the story of Paul Bunyan, the biggest and best logging man that ever lived.          ATTACHMENT 1

TABLE I 
A Typical Paul Bunyan Breakfast for Baby Paul Bunyan

ATTACHMENT 2

PAUL BUNYAN'S DINNER

Student's Name ________________________ Date ___________________

ATTACHMENT 3    For Teacher Information or May Be Duplicated For Student Use

ATTACHMENT 4