Marvelous Math
by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
How fast does a New York taxi go?
What size is grandpa's attic?
How old is the oldest dinosaur?
The answer's in Mathematics!
How many seconds in an hour?
How many in a day?
What size are the planets in teh sky?
How far to the Milky Way?
How fast does lightning travel?
How slow do feathers fall?
How many miles to Istanbul?
Mathematics knows it all!
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1997. Marvelous Math: a book of poems. Illus by Karen Barbour.
New York: Simon and Schuster Books. ISBN 0689806582.
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Extension
A natural extension for this poem is to continue asking questions that math can answer.
Have the children write at least one question a piece that they need math to answer. Find these answers or post the
quetions and take time every week to answer at least one question. Answering a question before or after a math lesson
would be a good introduction.
Children could also create a list poem of reasons to love math.
