Minnie’s Diner: A Multiplying Menu

Through the repeated refrain of “Make it a double!” a family of brothers reveals the power of multiplication as they order from the menu at Minnie’s Diner. Starting with the smallest brother, who orders 1 of everything, the doubling sequence of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 is illustrated with humour and rhyming verse.

1.

Prior to reading, explore the idea of double with your students, ensuring that the concept of double as an exact replication of a set is understood. This can be illustrated by having several different sets and asking students to “Make it a double!” by creating another set exactly the same and then adding them together to get the double.

For example:

• Here are 4 dinosaurs. Make it a double! That’s right, 4 more, so we write 4 + 4, and double 4 is 8, so we write 4 + 4 = 8.

2.

Share the book with your students, and record each double as a math equation when it is illustrated in the story. Stress the terms “double” and “2 groups of” when recording the illustrations.

3.

After reading, challenge your students to figure out what the next two doubles in the sequence might be.

4.

In pairs or small groups, tell students that you are going to ask them to build ice cream cones to show they know how to “make it a double!”

5.

Show them the cones (triangles) and the scoops (circles). Give each pair or small group a number (between 1-9 or higher if that is appropriate for the ability of the student) and ask them to make the cone with that many scoops by glueing or stapling on the circles. When everyone is ready, say “Make it a Double!” and have each pair or group create a new cone with double the number of scoops. Attach the cones and their doubles to a display board, and have the students record the math equation for their double.