Math songs: reinforce essential math knowledge with these familiar tunes

Instructor, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Kay Aileen Smitherman

Old MacDonald's Polygon Barn

[TUNE: "OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM"]

Old MacDonald had a barn, full of polygons!
And in that barn a polygon, called a triangle.
Three sides here,
Three sides there,
Triangle, triangle,
Three-sided triangle.
Old MacDonald had a barn, full of polygons!

Old MacDonald had a barn, full of polygons.
And in that barn a polygon, that we call a square.
With four sides here
Just alike.
Here a square; there a square,
All the sides just alike.

Three sides here,
Three sides there,
Triangle, triangle,
Three-sided triangle.
Old MacDonald had a barn, full of polygons.

Old MacDonald had a barn, full of polygons.
And in that barn a polygon, called a rectangle.
With two short sides
And two long sides,
Short sides, long sides,
Call it a rectangle.

Four sides here
Just alike.
Here a square; there a square,
All the sides just alike.

Three sides here,
Three sides there,
Triangle, triangle,
Three-sided triangle.
Old MacDonald had a barn, full of polygons.

Pyramid Volume for Bears

[TUNE: "THE BEAR WENT OVER THE MOUNTAIN" OR "FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW"]

To find a pyramid's volume,
The rule for finding the volume
Is find the area of the base ...
Times height. Divide by three.

Mean: M-E-A-N

[SING AS A "ROUND" TUNE: "ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT"]

Mean: M-E-A-N.
Add the numbers, then
Count the numbers and divide.
Mean: M-E-A-N!

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Adding Decimals

[SING AS A "ROUND" TUNE: "ARE YOU SLEEPING?"]

Adding decimals,
Adding decimals,
Line them up.
Line them up.
Every number has one,
Has a decimal, has one.
Line them up.
Line them up.

Now, subtract them.
Now, subtract them.
Line them up.
Line them up.
Every number has one,
Has a decimal, has one.
Line them up.
Line them up.

When you're adding,
Or subtracting,
Line them up.
Line them up.
Line up all the decimals.
Every number has one.
Line them up.
Line them up.

RELATED ARTICLE: TIPS FOR SING-ALONGS

* THE RIGHT LEVEL: Find a song that covers your grade level curriculum.

* REPETITION: Sing the song several times, fitting the words to the tune, until you know it well enough to teach it to your students.

* VISUAL AIDS: Make an overhead copy of the song, or put the words on a poster.

* PRACTICE, PRACTICE: Have your students sing the song along with you from the overhead or poster copy several times a day for two to three weeks. (Be sure you don't sing the original words or hand out copies of the song.)

RELATED ARTICLE: INTERACTIVE CYBERHUNT

WWW.SCHOLASTIC.COM/CYBERHUNTKIDS

EXPLORING SATURN

Check out Saturn's amazing moons and rings on a journey into space! Begin at www.scholastic.com/cyberhuntkids. Click on the links to find each answer.

Name __________

1. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest planet in our solar system. Only the planet __________ is larger. In fact, Saturn is so big that more than _____ Earths, lined up next to one another, could fit across its diameter! HTTP://SATURN.JPL.NASA.GOV/KIDS/FUN-FACTS.CFM

2. Unlike Earth, Saturn does not have a solid surface. It is known as a gas giant planet because it is made up mostly of simple __________ and __________ molecules. Inside Saturn, these gases actually become liquids. WWW.WINDOWS.UCAR.EDU/TOUR/LINK=/SATURN/PLANET_STRUCTURE.HTML&EDU=ELEM

3. Saturn is best known for the enormous, beautiful rings that orbit it. These rings aren't solid; they are made up mostly of ____________________. Some of these are as tiny as grains of sand, while others are much larger than skyscrapers. HTTP://SATURN.JPL.NASA.GOV/KIDS/FUN-FACTS-SATURN.CFM

4. In 1610, Galileo became the first person to observe the rings--although at the time, he thought they were two "handles" or large _____ next to the planet! Saturn's ring system actually has _____ major divisions, each of which has thousands of individual ringlets. WWW.SOLARVIEWS.COM/ENG/SATURNRINGS.HTM

5. So far, scientists have discovered at least _____ moons of all different sizes orbiting Saturn. One of the most well-known of these, the icy __________, looks like the "Death Star" space station from the Star Wars movies! WWW.WINDOWS.UCAR.EDU/TOUR/LINK=/SATURN/MOONS_AND_RINGS.HTML&EDU=ELEM

6. Titan is the largest of Saturn's moons. It is unique because it is the only moon we know of that has a thick __________. Scientists believe this means Titan might be able to support life. However, this also makes it hard for scientists to see this moon from Earth. WWW.NINEPLANETS.ORG/TITAN.HTML

7. Scientists have always wanted a closer look at Saturn. In 1997, NASA launched the spacecraft Cassini, named after ____________________. Cassini arrived at Saturn in __________. It is the first craft to study Saturn in depth from orbit. WWW.WINDOWS.UCAR.EDU/TOUR/LINK=/MISSIONS/CASSINI.HTML

8. The Cassini mission includes a special probe called Huygens. NASA expects Huygens to parachute from Cassini down to ____________________ early in 2005. During its rapid descent, Huygens should take at least _______________. HTTP://SATURN.JPL.NASA.GOV/KIDS/FUN-FACTS-MISC.CFM