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EXPLORE OTHER 'PLACE VALUE' STORIES HERE

EARTH DAY - HOORAY!
​Author: Stuart J. Murphy
​Illustrator: 
Renée Andriani

Picture
Number of pages: 28
Publisher: HarperCollins (USA)
First published in: 2004
Format: Picturebook 

Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes
Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (MathStart) ​

Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, CAN ​​

Synopsis by the author/publisher
Members of Maple Street Save-the-Planet Club are cleaning up Gilroy Park when Ryan has a brainstorm: Instead of throwing aluminum cans in the garbage, why not bring them to the Recycling Center and use the money to buy flowers to decorate the park for Earth Day? Mrs. Watson, the club's advisor, figures out that they're going to need 5,000 cans, so the kids start a big collection campaign at school. Cans are grouped in bags of 10, 100 and 1,000. Recycling facts are sprinkled throughout the illustrations. Understanding place value is key to working easily with large numbers.
“At recess, they counted the cans. They ended up with six big bags of 100, three small bags of 10, and five single cans.”
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​Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Stuart Murphy’s (2004) ‘Earth Day – Horray!’ is part of the impressive 63-title MathStart series. In the story, Ryan, Luke and Carly – members of the Maple Street School Save-the-Planet Club – come up with a plan to raise enough money to buy flowers for their local park, and that is to sell 5,000 used cans to the recycling centre. To help keeping track of how many cans they have already collected, they devise a strategy whereby 10 cans are put in a small bag, and 10 of those small bags of cans are put in a medium-sized bag, and 10 of those medium-sized bags are put into a very large bag. Page illustrations by Renée Andriani help young readers to see how many cans have been collected at different points throughout the story. Like the other stories in the MathStart series, useful recommendations for teachers and parents on how mathematics learning opportunities can be extended from the story are offered at the back of the book. All in all, not only does ‘Earth Day – Horray!’ provide a useful context to demonstrate how knowledge of place value can be useful to help solve everyday problems, the story also lends itself nicely to lessons on environmentalism. Recommended for children aged 7+ years old. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher/author) ​

​Recommended age range: 
7+ years old 

Relevant mathematics topics: 
Place Value​

​
Possible teaching activities:
At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.

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ABOUT US

MathsThroughStories.org is a non-profit research-based initiative, based at the University of Reading's Institute of Education (UK).

It sets out to help mathematics learners around the world develop their conceptual understanding in mathematics and to help them foster positive attitudes towards the subject through  the power of storytelling.

Contact Us

  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • RESEARCH TEAM
    • On-line Contributors
    • Research Dissemination
    • Research Impact
    • SHOUTOUTS
    • Teacher Training / CPD Services
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  • RESOURCES
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
    • BLOG
    • NEWSLETTER
    • BOOK REVIEWS >
      • BOOK REVIEWS
      • INSPECTION COPIES
    • LESSON IDEAS
    • VIDEOS
    • CREATE YOUR OWN MATHEMATICAL STORIES >
      • GUIDELINE FOR MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS
      • INTERVIEWS WITH MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS
    • 'HOW TO' BOOKS
    • RESEARCH ARTICLES
    • PRACTITIONER-ORIENTED ARTICLES
  • COMPETITIONS
    • 2025 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2024 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2023 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2022 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
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