Title of Book: The Greedy Triangle
Author: Marylyn Burns
Illustrator: Gordon Silveria
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
ISBN: 978-0590489917
Grade Levels for Recommended Use: 1st grade
TEKS (not just numbers):
§111.3. Grade 1, Adopted 2012.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(6) Geometry and measurement. The student applies mathematical process
standards to analyze attributes of two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional
solids to develop generalizations about their properties. The student is expected
to:
(A) classify and sort regular and irregular two-dimensional shapes based
on attributes using informal geometric language;
(C) create two-dimensional figures, including circles, triangles,
rectangles, and squares, as special rectangles, rhombuses, and hexagons;
(D) identify two-dimensional shapes, including circles, triangles,
rectangles, and squares, as special rectangles, rhombuses, and hexagons
and describe their attributes using formal geometric language;
Brief Summary:
The book tells a story about a triangle that feels dissatisfied with its shape. He asks a
“shapeshifter” to change him into a quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon,
nonagon, and decagon. The triangle has difficulty keeping his balance with every side
and angle he adds. His friends were confused with the amount of angles and sides and
began to ignore him. His almost round shape caused him to fall down the hill. The
triangle felt tired and sad because no one would play with him anymore. Finally, he
comes back to the “shapeshifter” and asks to change back into triangle. He realizes that
he is happiest as a triangle and would not want to be any other shape. The triangle stays
busy by holding up a roof, being a slice of pie, half of a sandwich, and slipping into the
place when people put their hands on their hips.
Materials needed:
 The blackline master for the mini-book glossary
 Scissors
Suggested Activity:
 Making the mini-book “Picture Glossary of Polygons”, based on the shapes they
have learned in The Greedy Triangle. See pdf below.
 Watching a short video about shapes on schooltube.com. For link, go to blogspot
below
References and or websites:
http://cmc-math.org/family/PDF%20Documents/ExploringPolygons.pdf
http://fun-n-first.blogspot.com/2011/12/shapin-it-up.html
http://www.schooltube.com/video/778ec6dc57ddec8351ed/
Adapted by Noviana Puspita, 2012.