Children are like birds: at some point their wings grow strong enough that they must take flight in search of new horizons.
~ words from Norma that keep us thinking and wondering ~
Norma shares a brief moment about leaving an abusive first marriage. It is part of how she became the woman she is today, but you may want to read ahead before sharing with younger students.
Not hers. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
Notice what you notice. Wonder what you wonder. There is no quiz, no right way. Read until something stays.
this film has no words. notice what you notice. notice what you wonder. wonder out loud. and don't forget to notice what you feel, too.
Seeds Of Love
Now that I am older and reflecting on my life, I can tell you that raising kids is not easy. You must give them examples and provide them with more love than punishment when they do not behave. When I was growing up, my family had a difficult time with finances. I did not want the same for my children, and I made sure that they had good educational opportunities. Now I have 5 kids, and all of them have had formal education through universities. Some of them even have Master's degrees. I always wanted my children to pursue their own dreams. I never allowed them to work on my farm when they should be studying. I didn’t want them to experience what I had to do as a child after school. My children knew they had to earn good results with their grades, and I never allowed them to give me excuses. I avoided using physical force to scold my children because I believe it is better to teach through examples in my own life and by giving advice. I think that raising children is similar to raising plants. A plant needs water, fertilization, and you need to take away its dead branches– you also need to support the plant so that it can stand straight against strong winds or rains, so that it is not blown down. If you failed to give it support when it is in the early stages of life, then there is a risk it could be harmed. But you also want to make sure that your support does not limit the plant. The same goes for humans as they grow throughout their life experiences– they need assistance and support, but they also need their own space so that they can grow on their own.
Do you ever talk to your parents or other adults about what they think you will be when you grow up?
Do you agree with them, or have a different idea of what your future will look like?
If you disagree with them, how does that make you feel?
In what ways could you try to explain to them your perspective and motivation for why you want your life to turn out a certain way?
I have a daughter, and she is my best friend. Because she and I were the only females in the house when I was raising my children, we went everywhere together, both the fun outings and the trips to run errands. She was married when she was 30 years old, and it made me sad that she was leaving our home. I still miss her a lot, but this is the way life is sometimes. Children are like birds: at some point their wings grow strong enough that they must take flight in search of new horizons. My children now are all grown and have families of their own. In total, I have 11 grandchildren. My youngest son, Nixon, shares his time between his wife and children and my home. I am most attached to Nixon's daughter, who grew up with me until she was 10 years old. When she left, it was very hard for me because I thought of her as my beloved child. She still visits me once in a while, and when my other grandchildren come to my farm to see me, it fills my heart. When my whole family is gathered together, those are the happiest days for me. For those brief days, my home is filled with noise and joy.
Can you share with me some memories that you have of loved ones when you are all gathered together?
What is it about those times that make them so special?
Do you have any traditions when you are all gathered in the same place?
One thing I love is sharing a meal with my family, although I have to put a lot of tables together when everyone is over! How many seats do I need all together for my 5 children, their spouses, my husband and I, our 11 grandchildren, and our two full-time employees? Which of these numbers are prime and which are composite? Are any factors of the total number? My tables seat 4; if we connect all of them, how many tables do I need to put out?
After the days when my family is gathered together and my children have all left to go back to their own homes, it takes me a few days to go back to the normalcy of not having them present. Sometimes when I am alone, I think about how the lives of the children that I see today are so different from what I had growing up. My generation did not have television, and we could not even imagine cellphones. Kids today almost step over other people when they are walking while looking down at their phone screens! It is like the phone is another part of their body. I do not understand. It makes me wonder how much people can enjoy life, when they are so focused on the digital world that they forget to acknowledge and talk to the ones who are close to them. People need to find a balance between hard work, technology, and enjoying life with their loved ones. At the end of the day, what really matters is human relations and the people who are beside you.
I miss my children when they are gone and it takes time for me to get used to not having them at home.
Do you have any suggestions on how I can express and acknowledge how much I love and think about them when they are not here?
Can you think of some of the ways that the world has changed throughout your lifetime?
What are some of the changes you have noticed in your home?
How about in your school and community?
Do you think these changes are happening gradually, or are they sudden differences that you are noticing?
To create a focused, peaceful environment, begin with 5 minutes of yoga.
“What is one thing about being a guardian that may be challenging for the person raising you?” Let the class brainstorm silently or collectively, then share back.
Consider asking students, “What is one thing for which your guardian may be grateful about you? And vice versa?” Let’s explore reciprocal gratitude between students and their guardians and challenge ourselves to empathize with people of a different generation, while learning about factors, multiples, and patterns.
Watch the video I am Norma, then ask students, “How might caring for plants be similar to caring for children?” After the students reflect on the metaphor, introduce the story, “Norma Supports her Children.” On page 1 you’ll find her metaphor about how raising children is similar to caring for plants.
“How is our interpretation of this metaphor similar to or different from Norma’s? Who is someone who cares for you in this way? Have you ever cared for something or someone like this? How did it make you feel?” Remind the students that it does not necessarily need to be a guardian or plant, but could also be a pet, a teacher, or a friend. You could draw a web of this support system to visualize how these relationships are interconnected. For example, perhaps a student cares for her dog, and her mom cares for her, and her family doctor cares for her mom. “Do you see how the family doctor is important for the dog, even though they perhaps haven’t met?” Be sure to point out these interdependencies, highlighting how “Sometimes we can have an influence on another person without even meeting them, simply because our lives are connected by others.”
Practice recognizing prime and composite numbers, thinking about factors and multiples, and finding patterns in math by helping Norma figure out how many tables are needed to seat her family at dinner.
On page 2, Norma describes the happiness that her family brings her when they are all together. One thing she loves is having everyone together for a meal, although it takes a lot of tables! She shares various numbers of family members; starting here, you can practice thinking about factors and multiples by working together to calculate how many total family members she has. Use dots or another visual system to represent these members and look for factors and multiples of the total number (25). Next, you can use these same numbers to recognize prime and composite numbers. Once students are familiar with these numbers, move on to using a visual strategy to figure out how many tables she needs if they are all lined up together. Ask students, “What pattern do you see here? How might this help Norma in planning for her family meal?”
Debrief the lesson with your class by drawing connections to a larger system. Choose a system relevant to your community, such as your school or your local government.
Point out to students, “This system exists to support all of us, so in a way, we humans are the plants and they are the caretaker. Do you feel taken care of by this system in the way Norma describes? Would you want to be cared for differently? Why or why not?”
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Gender & Values
Growing up here in Ecuador, I always believed a woman could do the same things that a man can do. Why not? I was quite competitive in school, and I was always getting into trouble with my male classmates. I beat them in games, especially running. I particularly liked to compete with boys who did not like a female to beat them. As I helped out on my grandparents’ farm when I was younger, I completed every task asked of me. I was so persistent that I would eventually overcome any challenges that arose. I have always valued persistence, dedication, and hard work over pure talent, and I have taught my children these values. So if you are a man, I dare you to challenge a woman, because you don't know the potential she has. If you are a woman, don't ever feel inferior!
Do you find that you like to compete with other people?
Why is that?
What is your motivation?
Have you ever been told you may not be good at something because of who you are?
What was your reaction?
Do you think everyone should have the same opportunities, even if they may be different ages, or genders, or have different levels of knowledge?
Why or why not?
When I was 25 years old, I divorced my first husband because of physical and psychological abuse. At that time, I was young. I already had 5 kids to raise. It also was very difficult to be a woman in Ecuador during those years, because the role of a woman was to be at home and to take care of household tasks. Even though it was considered to be out of the question to challenge a man’s authority, I refused to accept that, especially when it was unhealthy for me to be in that kind of relationship.
Have you ever been in a situation where you needed courage to stand up for something you believed in, even if society expected something different?
Can you tell me about your experience?
How did it make you feel, to stand your ground when you disagreed with others?
Values such as respect and empathy have helped me in my later marriage. After I separated from my first husband, I met Octavio, who is now my husband. The truth is, I was fortunate to meet him because he has been a very considerate husband. We have learned to have mutual respect for each other and for our differences. There have not always been the best of times, especially when our farm was not doing well financially, but we try to be empathetic toward each other. Octavio is many years younger than me, but above all odds, this relationship has worked and we trust each other. When he returns home from work at the plantation, he helps me with the housekeeping. Sometimes I am busy and I have to go do paperwork of the property, return home, wash the dishes, clean the house, and feed the chickens and the dogs. I admire Octavio for helping me during these times, because he steps aside from the status quo of being a husband who only works on the farm.
I told you Octavio is younger than me– are you curious to find out by how many years?
Check out the relationship between X (my age at a given time) and Y (Octavio’s age at a given time) below, and then I bet you could write a rule describing this relationship!
What do you think are some ways to maintain healthy relationships?
Can you give me some examples of things you do for your loved ones to show them you care?
If Octavio spends 4.
5 hours helping me, can you fill in the table below with whole numbers to make 4.
5 four different ways?
I have a daughter, and she is my best friend. Because she and I were the only females in the house when I was raising my children, we went everywhere together, both the fun outings and the trips to run errands. She was married when she was 30 years old, and it made me sad that she was leaving our home. I still miss her a lot, but this is the way life is sometimes. Children are like birds: at some point their wings grow strong enough that they must take flight in search of new horizons.
I told you my daughter was 30 years old when she got married.
Tell me, is that the same as 3 x 101 or 3 x 102?
How do you know?
My children now are all grown and have families of their own. In total, I have 11 grandchildren. My youngest son, Nixon, shares his time between his wife and children and my home. I am most attached to Nixon's daughter, who grew up with me until she was 10 years old. When she left, it was very hard for me because I thought of her as my beloved child. She still visits me once in a while, and when my other grandchildren come to my farm to see me, it fills my heart. When my whole family is gathered together, those are the happiest days for me. For those brief days, my home is filled with noise and joy.
Can you share with me some memories you have of loved ones when you are all gathered together?
What is it about those times that make them so special?
Do you have any traditions when you are all gathered in the same place?
When it is just my husband and me eating together, we keep 2 chairs at our dining table. But when my 5 children come visit, and they each bring their spouse, along with 11 grandchildren, we have 23 chairs at our table! Can you help me figure this out: the value of the 2 when my entire family is together is how many times the value of the 2 when it is just me and my husband?
After the days when my family is gathered together and my children have all left to go back to their own homes, it takes me a few days to go back to the normalcy of not having them present. Sometimes when I am alone, I think about how the lives of the children that I see today are so different from what I had growing up. My generation did not have television, and we could not even imagine cellphones. Kids today almost step over other people when they are walking while looking down at their phone screens! It is like the phone is another part of their body. I do not understand. It makes me wonder how much people can enjoy life, when they are so focused on the digital world that they forget to acknowledge and talk to the ones who are close to them. People need to find a balance between hard work, technology, and enjoying life with their loved ones. At the end of the day, what really matters is human relations and the people who are beside you.
I miss my children when they are gone and it takes time for me to get used to not having them at home.
Do you have any suggestions on how I can express and acknowledge how much I love and think about them when they are not here?
Can you think of some of the ways the world has changed throughout your lifetime?
What are some of the changes you have noticed in your home?
How about in your school and community?
Do you think these changes are happening gradually, or are they sudden differences that you are noticing?
When I was young, I studied in a convent school and thought I would eventually become a nun. I am very devoted to the Christian religious figure of Mary, because I believe she has helped me through difficult times. For a while, I kept that idea of joining a religious organization, but then I changed my mind. Maybe my life would have been completely different if I had done so. I still teach religious lessons to children in church on weekends, and I love doing it. The most important thing I try to teach children is respect, for both ourselves and for others. That means respecting differences, always striving to do things the right way, and being honest with oneself and with others. For me, respect means more than saying hello to each other. It's also about understanding and appreciating others, no matter a person’s race, education level, background, or religion. For example, there is one employee at my plantation who is a different religion than I am, and we still get along very well. We both have our different beliefs concerning our religion, but we have mutual respect for one another.
To me, respect is one of the most important values a person can have.
What do you think about my definition of respect?
How about you come up with your own definition, and then share some examples of ways you respect people around you!
Want to create a calm and focused space to start the conversation? Set up desks or chairs in a circle and start the session with 2 minutes of collective silence. And read more about gender roles here .
“How might your life be different if you were born a different gender?” Encourage students to reflect silently, jotting down notes if they would like if it will help them remember.
After a few minutes, invite them to share their reflections by first sharing your own thoughts. Would you still be a teacher? Why or why not? What else might be different in your own life? You could ask students, “What might be more challenging in your life if you were born a different gender? What might be easier? Why do you think so?” Let’s explore some assumptions about gender roles in society and how our values come into play.
Explain to your class that a gender role refers to how a society or culture often holds certain expectations for what actions are appropriate for males and for females.
Watch the video, I am Norma, and then discuss with students, “What might be some of the gender roles Norma experiences?” To dive deeper into the example, next read the Learning Journey, “Norma as a Confident Woman.” Explain to the group that this was Norma’s experience with the expectations of those around her in Ecuador, and is not representative of the thoughts of all people in Ecuador. Once you have read the story, you can discuss: “What were some of the expectations that Norma faced as a woman in her society? How did she react to those expectations? Are there gender expectations in our culture, too? Do you think it affects everyone the same way, or differently? How do you think society is impacted by these assumptions about how people are ‘supposed’ to act?”
Let’s see how math can help us explore gender roles, gender equality, and expectations. First, let’s take a look at a common gender assumption about age and marriage in the story, “Norma as a Confident Woman”.
With your class, solve the math example about number patterns (page 2), and then ask, “Have you ever heard of any expectations about the age of the people in a marriage– if they should be similar in age, or if the male or female should be older? Do you think those assumptions ever affected Norma and Octavio’s relationship? Or do you imagine the couple didn’t let them get in the way? What context clues can you use to justify your opinion?” Norma’s daughter is also married, and your students can learn about this by looking at a math example about multiplying and dividing with powers of 10 (page 3). “In addition to the expectation of who is expected to be older in a relationship, are there also assumptions about the age when people should marry in our culture? Why do you think this is? Do you agree or disagree with it? Can you share why?” Then, check out another gender assumption- that women should do housework, and not men. Solve the question about regrouping decimal numbers (page 3) to see how Octavio also helps Norma do chores. Students can also compare decimal place values (page 4) and learn about Norma’s how family still gathers together, even though each person has their own life and path to follow.
Ask students to reflect on the following prompt: “Can you imagine what would happen if there weren’t assumptions about what type of work women and males should do or how they should act?” Encourage students to be creative with this -- they can write a poem about how it would make them feel, or draw what the gender equality might look like, or could even break into groups and act out a short play!
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Seeds Of Love
My dreams of owning my own house and farm were influenced by my grandparents’ lifestyles. What are some things that influence your dreams? Maybe other people, or stories you have heard, or your own experiences, or something else?
Have you ever shared your dreams with others? If so, what were some of the reactions of other people when you told them? How did that make you feel?
If the bowl contained 11.3 ounces of soup, and it was split between my step-father and me, how much would we each have?
What are some of the responsibilities you have in your own home? How did you get those responsibilities? Were they assigned to you, or did you volunteer?
Let’s say that my siblings and I were expected to work 71.5 hours in a day combined. If that were split evenly among 10 children, how much time would each child spend working?
Do you ever think the way you were raised by your parents or guardians might have been influenced by the way they were raised themselves? Can you share some examples of how?
Do you ever talk to your parents or other adults about what they think you will be when you grow up? Do you agree with them, or have a different idea of what your future will look like? If you disagree with them, how does it make you feel? In what ways could you explain to them your perspective and motivation for why you want your life to turn out a certain way?
Were talking about an imaginary plant, so I could compare it to a person… but I do enjoy taking care of real plants! One of my flower boxes has a volume of 648 cubic inches, its width is 9 inches, and its height is 6 inches. Tell me, what is the length of my flower box?
Each banana is so precious to me! If I have 5 bananas and they are each 7.3 inches in length, if I line them up how long with the total length be? What if I line up 3 bananas that are each 7.6 inches in length?
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt as if you were not in control? How did you react? What did you learn from the situation that you can apply as a lesson for the future?
To create a focused, peaceful environment, begin with 5 minutes of yoga
“What is one thing about being a guardian that may be challenging for the person raising you?” Let the class brainstorm silently or collectively, then share as a group.
You can also share your own personal experiences if you are a guardian or care for someone, or you can tell about your relationship with the people who raised you. Consider asking students, “What is one thing for which your guardian may be grateful about you? And a reason why you are grateful for them?” Let’s explore reciprocal gratitude between students and their guardians and challenge ourselves to empathize with people of a different generation!
Watch the video I am Norma. Then ask students, “How might caring for plants be similar to caring for children?” After the students reflect on the metaphor, introduce the story, “I am Norma”.
Later in the story you’ll find her metaphor about how she thinks raising children is similar to caring for plants. “How is our interpretation of this metaphor similar to or different from Norma’s? Who is someone who cares for you in this way? Have you ever cared for something or someone like this? How did it make you feel?” Remind the students that it does not necessarily need to be a guardian or plant, but could also be a pet, a teacher, or a friend.
Let’s see how multiplying and dividing decimals, as well as finding volume, can be used to take care of and nurture others! With students, look at the concepts of dividing decimals and multiplying and dividing decimals by 10, 100, 1000 in the story linked here: “I am Norma”.
“What are some ways decimals can help us understand how we can ‘break things down’ into smaller parts? What are some other examples - besides sharing soup and sharing a workload - where this can be really useful?” Before you check out the examples of dividing decimals and finding volume, ask students to reflect on how their understanding of math has grown throughout the years.
Debrief the lesson with your class by drawing connections to a larger system. Choose a system relevant to your community, such as your school or your local government.
Point out to students, “This system exists to support all of us, so in a way, we humans are the plants and they are the caretaker. Do you feel taken care of by this system in the way Norma describes? Would you want to be cared for differently? Why or why not?”
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Go Bananas
First, we must get into this hanging cart that is attached to a strong wire line that goes from my home to the banana farm, so that we can cross above the river that flows between them. Take a seat, and I will pull us across.
On the farm that I own there are 4 hectares of property and about 1,400 banana plants per hectare. My son and husband work in the plantation every day, and there are 2 full-time employees who are in charge of planting, fertilizing, weeding, and irrigating the banana plantation. However, many more people are employed when it is time to harvest and pack the bananas. The harvest takes place every Tuesday, and on those days we employ an additional 11 people to help.
On the farm, there are a lot of schedules that we maintain, such as always harvesting on Tuesdays.
Can you tell me about some of the schedules that are in your life?
In what ways are they helpful or unhelpful to organize your time?
Are they ever difficult to stick to?
It is also important we think carefully about what is happening every day.
Every day but Tuesday, our two full-time employees divide the work of caring for the bananas plants.
Now that you know how many banana plants we have per hectare and the size of our farm, can you help me calculate how many banana plants there are in total?
If I’m going to ask my two employees to divide their work evenly by number of banana plants, how many banana plants are each in charge of?
What are some other ways they might be able to divide up their important tasks?
What are some daily tasks important in your life?
Before harvesting, one of our employees goes to the plantation to see how many clusters there are and marks those that are ready to be harvested. Each one has to be in a specific stage of growth, and it is important to keep track so that the harvest goes smoothly. On the day of harvesting, one person is responsible for cutting all the bananas that have been marked, while another person loads them very carefully to avoid any damage. Bananas are then brought into the transporting line where they are then processed. Before being cut, the clusters are disinfected and immersed in water to shed any impurities such as dirt. After being dried and inspected again to avoid imperfections, they are packaged and transported to the port.
From there, the bananas are sent to several countries around the world. In addition to the employees who work directly for me, there are a ton of others who make sure the bananas reach your grocery store from my plantation. There are all of the people who receive the boxes of fruit at the port warehouse– the forklift driver, the person who registers the boxes, the quality inspector, the warehouse keeper, and the people who help load the boxes onto the ship. Then there are the sailors who work on the ship and transport the bananas around the world. Once the boxes arrive at their destination, the people at that port unload the boxes from the ship, and they are inspected by the quality checkers there.
A truck driver then brings the boxes from the port to the place where the bananas will be ripened, where people assist in that process, and then there is a truck driver who takes the bananas to the shop. Finally, someone takes the bananas out of their boxes and places them on the grocery store shelf, where you might pick one up and bring it to a cashier before taking it home. Even after telling you about all of those people, I am sure that there are even a few more people involved whom I am forgetting!
Wow, there is so much work to be done before a banana arrives to you!
Have you ever thought about how many people it takes to get a product from where it was created to where it ends up?
What are some other examples of things that take a lot of effort to produce?
How might an assembly line, where different people have different roles in the production, be useful?
What might be some downsides?
This whole banana process is a chain from which a lot of people benefit financially. For example, the 2 employees who are full time workers are each paid $130 every week. Workers who help us on the day of the harvest get paid $15 dollars, and the truck that we hire to drive the bananas to the port is paid $80. There are also other costs to consider, and I need to improve my ability to track the costs that are not directly paid to the workers.
If there are 2 employees that are each paid $130 per week, how much money do I owe them collectively each week? How much would I owe them collectively in a month (you can assume that a month has 4 weeks)? (Bonus: research what currency is used in Ecuador and why!)
I mentioned that I have difficulty keeping track of all of the costs of running a farm.
Do you have any suggestions of ways that I could keep records of the different expenses?
What could be some of the other financial categories to consider, in addition to paying the employees’ salaries?
How do you remember how much money you personally have and how you spend it?
A few years ago, I decided to become part of a cooperative that is mainly engaged in producing organic bananas. Being a part of a cooperative, which is a business organization that is owned and operated by the members for the mutual benefit of all, has many benefits. There are trainings, such as how to perform first aid if there is a medical emergency on the farm and how to safely use different chemicals. We also have the opportunity to participate in large meetings, where we make collective decisions about financial matters affecting the cooperative group and share information.
Another major aspect of being part of this group is that prices remain stable– because the organization is Fair Trade Certified, it guarantees at least a minimum price paid for bananas and contracts are for the whole year. Because of this, we can make sure to pay our employees on time. I have always maintained a friendship with the farm employees. I like to take my work seriously because it is important to me and to my family, but I do not have a serious and stern personality when I am working.
Now that I am old, I do not visit the farm often, but once every week I like to go and see how everyone is doing. The workers already know which tasks are their responsibilities, and my husband and son manage the farm since they are there every day. I am in charge of the finances and taking care of the house. The workers sometimes make mistakes and so it is important that someone provides oversight, but they are my friends and we respect each other.
Even though I am in charge of the farm, I still am friends with the workers.
Think of a leader that you know– even though they may be in a position of authority, are you still friends with them?
How does respect affect how you see other people?
How is respect incorporated into the friendships that you have?
Is there anything in your life that you participate in that is similar to a cooperative?
If so, what are some of the benefits you have seen?
Can you think of any potential downsides to this type of organization?
To create an engaging space with your students for discussion, ask them to help set up their chairs in a circle.
“What do you think a banana’s life looks like before you eat it?” Capture your students’ attention with a silly yet realistic question about a culturally relevant fruit with which they’re familiar.
Encourage them to be imaginative; they could personify the banana by considering the fruit’s “birth” and the people it “meets” along the way. Ask, “What all do you think goes into a banana’s production?” Let them know you’ll be learning about an Ecuadorian banana farmer’s life.
Before showing students the video I am Norma, ask them, “What do you imagine a banana farmer to be like?” After watching the video, explore some of their previous ideas about banana farmers.
Ask them things like, “Do you want to change or take away anything from what you imagine a banana farmer to be like? Why did you think that before?” Next, read the story, “Norma Runs a Farm.” In the story, Norma highlights the many layers to banana farming. Facilitate a discussion with students about what surprised them and what didn’t. Together, make a list of the different jobs Norma describes that go into getting one banana to your school or home, and brainstorm any others that may be missing. Ask students, “What are some things we might do that impact one of these people helping get bananas to us?” Next, share with your students a list of foods common in your community. Ask them to help label where they come from: “Nearby, or from another country? Which one?" Then choose a common product that comes from far away to trace to your doorstep. Use a class mind map to collectively brainstorm what goes into each phase of that product’s production. For example, the transportation phase may include a driver, fuel, or even the people who built the vehicle. When your mind map is complete, step back and ask, “Where are all the places we come into the picture? And our families?” Mark the phases or tasks to which students and their families may contribute or influence. If a child’s mother works in the oil industry, you could mark the fuel phase, for example.
Practice multi-digit multiplication and division by helping Norma determine tasks and budget for her employees.
Norma describes the type of schedule her various employees follow and then requests help figuring out just how many banana plants her two full-time employees need to care for. This offers an opportunity to practice both multi-digit multiplication and division, as well as to think critically about different ways to divide up tasks. Norma’s math problem assumes that each of the two full-time employees will do all listed tasks for half of the banana plants. After doing this math, ask the class, “What are some other ways Norma could divide the tasks for her employees? If you were the boss, what might be your approach? Why?” Guide them toward recognizing that some tasks may take longer than others, and then ask them to make a schedule for each of the two full-time employees. Additional practice with multi-digit multiplication comes up, where Norma discusses budget. Consider placing students in small groups to work together to come up with a chart that Norma can use to record her various monthly expenses.
To wrap up the lesson, ask students to either write or illustrate a creative story about the production process of an item of their choice.
Ask them to be sure to include themselves in the story in terms of how they influence the process. Invite students to share their finished story with the class.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Not hers. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
If a moment stayed, follow it. If a question rose up, hold it. The quiet teaching is still teaching.
Three or four real stories woven into one lesson, your topic, your time. Norma is one. The weaver finds the others, threads the math, the literacy, the values, the reflection.
Open the weaver →