HAMPSTER CHAMPS
Author: Stuart J. Murphy
Illustrator: Pedro Martin
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Number of pages: 31
Publisher: HarperCollins (USA) First published in: 2005 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (MathStarts) Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
With a few blocks, a board, and a protractor to measure the angles, the hamster champs have built a ramp that lets them fly high! But will this stunt be good enough to outwit Hector the cat? |
“Chuckles moved the ramp so that the angle was steeper. Again, Pipsqueak measured it with the protractor. "The bigger the angle, the higher we'll fly," she said. "That's forty-five degrees."”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Stuart Murphy’s (2005) ‘Hamster Champs’ is part of Stuart’s impressive 63-title MathStart series. The story provides a fun and imaginative context to introduce children to angle measurement, particularly the use of protractors. The story follows three hamster pals who try to entertain a mean cat by coming up with a stunt that would impress the cat so he would leave them alone. The hamsters’ stunt is to show the cat how high their car can fly off a ramp. Using their knowledge of angle measurement and of how to use protractors, they systematically adjust the ramp’s angle so their car can fly off as high as possible. As far as we are aware of, this story is currently the only mathematical story with an explicit focus on angle measurement and on the use of protractors, which makes it an extremely valuable story to use when introducing those topics. The illustrations of the hamsters using the protractor are also very useful as they clearly show young readers how to use protractors. Children will likely become much more engaged to try to use a protractor once they have heard 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, we highly recommend ‘Hamster Champs’ to teachers and parents of children, aged 8+ years old.
Recommended age range:
8+ years old
Relevant topics:
2D shapes
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.
Stuart Murphy’s (2005) ‘Hamster Champs’ is part of Stuart’s impressive 63-title MathStart series. The story provides a fun and imaginative context to introduce children to angle measurement, particularly the use of protractors. The story follows three hamster pals who try to entertain a mean cat by coming up with a stunt that would impress the cat so he would leave them alone. The hamsters’ stunt is to show the cat how high their car can fly off a ramp. Using their knowledge of angle measurement and of how to use protractors, they systematically adjust the ramp’s angle so their car can fly off as high as possible. As far as we are aware of, this story is currently the only mathematical story with an explicit focus on angle measurement and on the use of protractors, which makes it an extremely valuable story to use when introducing those topics. The illustrations of the hamsters using the protractor are also very useful as they clearly show young readers how to use protractors. Children will likely become much more engaged to try to use a protractor once they have heard 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, we highly recommend ‘Hamster Champs’ to teachers and parents of children, aged 8+ years old.
Recommended age range:
8+ years old
Relevant topics:
2D shapes
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.
