SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS FOR ALL!
Author: Marilyn Burns
Illustrator: Debbie Tilley
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Number of pages: 40
Publisher: Scholastic (USA) First published in: 1997 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Marilyn Burns' Brainy Day Books) Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
Mr. and Mrs. Comfort are having a family reunion! Mr. Comfort starts cooking up his famous spaghetti and meatballs, while Mrs. Comfort carefully arranges eight tables and thirty-two chairs so that everyone will have a seat. The tables look lovely, the food is ready, and here come the guests--with their own seating plans! |
“"I say we divide the four pairs of tables into eight single tables," Mrs. Comfort's brother said. He and his wife moved one pair of tables apart. The triplets and their boyfriends moved the other three pairs.”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Marilyn Burns’ ‘Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!’ (1997) is a well-known mathematical story featuring Mrs. and Mr. Comfort who are organising a family reunion for 32 people altogether, and their guests will be served Mrs. Comfort’s famous spaghetti and meatballs. Mrs. Comfort has planned for a seating arrangement of eight tables with four chairs per table – a perfect configuration for 32 people. However, when their guests arrive one after another, the guests decide to join tables together and get rid of some chairs so they all can sit closer together. For example, when Mrs. Comfort’s daughter arrives with her husband and two children, they want to sit with Mrs. and Mr. Comfort, so they push two tables together leaving enough space for just six chairs around the tables as opposed to eight chairs. The tables continue to be rearranged into different configurations by guests at Mrs. Comfort’s despair, for example, one cluster of eight tables with only enough space for 12 chairs around them and one line of eight tables with only enough space for 18 chairs around them. Chaos unfolded. Regardless of the different configurations they try, it is Mrs. Comfort’s original seating plan of eight tables with four chairs per table that will ensure that there is enough space for all 32 chairs for all the 32 people. The story is great for showing visually the distinction between surface area and perimeter, specifically while the various configurations of the eight tables have the same surface area, the same cannot be said about the perimeter. There is also a note for teachers and parents at the back of the book with teaching activity ideas that can be facilitated following the reading of the story. We can easily see teachers and parents designing various hands-on investigative activities for children to extend their mathematics learning from this story, for example, by giving them a different number of guests or number of tables and chairs for them to work out which table configuration would be most appropriate. All in all, we highly recommend ‘Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!’ to introduce the concepts of surface area and perimeter to children, aged 9+ years old.
Recommended age range:
9+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Area & Perimeter
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.
Marilyn Burns’ ‘Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!’ (1997) is a well-known mathematical story featuring Mrs. and Mr. Comfort who are organising a family reunion for 32 people altogether, and their guests will be served Mrs. Comfort’s famous spaghetti and meatballs. Mrs. Comfort has planned for a seating arrangement of eight tables with four chairs per table – a perfect configuration for 32 people. However, when their guests arrive one after another, the guests decide to join tables together and get rid of some chairs so they all can sit closer together. For example, when Mrs. Comfort’s daughter arrives with her husband and two children, they want to sit with Mrs. and Mr. Comfort, so they push two tables together leaving enough space for just six chairs around the tables as opposed to eight chairs. The tables continue to be rearranged into different configurations by guests at Mrs. Comfort’s despair, for example, one cluster of eight tables with only enough space for 12 chairs around them and one line of eight tables with only enough space for 18 chairs around them. Chaos unfolded. Regardless of the different configurations they try, it is Mrs. Comfort’s original seating plan of eight tables with four chairs per table that will ensure that there is enough space for all 32 chairs for all the 32 people. The story is great for showing visually the distinction between surface area and perimeter, specifically while the various configurations of the eight tables have the same surface area, the same cannot be said about the perimeter. There is also a note for teachers and parents at the back of the book with teaching activity ideas that can be facilitated following the reading of the story. We can easily see teachers and parents designing various hands-on investigative activities for children to extend their mathematics learning from this story, for example, by giving them a different number of guests or number of tables and chairs for them to work out which table configuration would be most appropriate. All in all, we highly recommend ‘Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!’ to introduce the concepts of surface area and perimeter to children, aged 9+ years old.
Recommended age range:
9+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Area & Perimeter
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.
