Elementary Snowman Glyph Math Lesson Plan
Teach Kids How to Follow Directions to Create a Non-Standard Graph
Oct 12, 2009
A glyph is a non-standard way to display data. It is a graph that can be used to tell a story about the person who constructed it. Elementary students learn to read a legend and follow directions to represent information using symbols during a glyph math lesson.
Elementary Snowman Glyph Math Lesson Objectives
- Students will read a legend to create a snowman glyph.
- Students will use the glyph to interpret data about their classmates.
Motivate Students with If You Take a Mouse to the Movies
The teacher will read the children’s book If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff [HarperCollins, 2000] to the students. She will have the kids recall the scene in the book where the mouse and the little boy built a snowman. She’ll ask the students if they have ever built or seen a snowman. The teacher will tell the class that they will be making a snowman glyph.
Teach Elementary Students What a Glyph Is
The teacher explains to the class that a glyph is a special kind of math graph that shows information in the form of a picture. She prompts the students to recall that a legend contains the directions that people need to use to read a graph or chart.
She tells the class that after they follow the directions in the glyph’s legend they will each have their own snowman. The teacher explains that not everyone’s snowmen will look the same because they will build the snowmen based on their responses to the prompts in the legend. She tells the kids that they will be able to use the snowmen to tell about story about the person who made it.
Snowman Glyph Math Lesson Procedure
The teacher sets out all of the materials needed to make the snowman glyphs. She displays the snowman glyph legend at the front of the room for everyone to see. The legend can be displayed on an overhead projector, large chart paper, or written on the front board.
The teacher reads the sections of the snowman glyph legend to the students one by one. She allows time for the students to correctly complete each step and provides assistance if anyone has a question. As the students follow the glyph’s legend they see that their answers are displayed as a snowman.
Snowman Glyph Legend
The Body
- I like the snow = white body
- I don’t like snow = gray body
- I haven’t ever seen snow = light blue body
The Eyes
- I like hot chocolate = black eyes
- I don’t like hot chocolate = brown eyes
The Nose
- I know the words to Frosty the Snowman = orange carrot nose
- I’ve never heard of Frosty the Snowman = green celery nose
The Hat
- I liked If You Take a Mouse to the Movies = black hat
- I didn’t like If You Take a Mouse to the Movies = snow cap
Once the snowmen have been created the teacher has volunteers come to the front of the room to tell the story of their snowman glyph using the legend. The completed snowmen and glyph legend are then displayed on a bulletin board in the classroom. The teacher can use the snowman glyph bulletin board to have the students practice interpreting data on the non-standard graphs.
For more winter themed lesson plans teachers can read How to Teach Elementary Kids to Make Predictions featuring The Mitten by Jan Brett, Language Experience Approach Reading Lesson Plan featuring If You Take a Mouse to the Movies and First Grade Bear Writing Project Lesson Plans featuring Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson.
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