Page 1
Messer’s Mastering Math
Welcome
Student #1: Welcome to the Room 24 Class Play.
Student #2: During our play we ask that you please refrain from talking on your cell phones…
Student #3: Texting on your cell phones…
Student #4: Tweeting on your cell phones…
Student #5: Taking selfies…
Student #6: Playing Minecraft, Candy Crush, Angry B…
Student #7: (cutting off student #6) I think they get the idea. All they have to do is...
ALL:
Stop. Cooperate and listen.
Student #1: So without further ado…
ALL:
Ms. Messer’s Mastering Math!
CLASS:
This is a show about Sherlock Holmes
And how he got his start
This is a show about Sherlock Holmes
And how he got so smart.
This is the story of Sherlock Holmes
And his first mystery
This is the story of Sherlock Holmes
So sit back and you’ll see –
He’s mastering math
Mastering math
It’s just a matter of finding the path
Mastering math
He learns more each day
He’s problem-solving the problems away.
He’s mastering math
Mastering math
It’s just a matter of finding the path
Mastering math
He learns more each day
He’s problem-solving the problems away.
Oooh
Aaaah
Oooh
Ohhh
Oooh
Aaah
Oooh
Ohhh
SONG #1
Messer’s Mastering Math
Page 2
He’s mastering math
Mastering math
It’s just a matter of finding the path
Mastering math
He learns more each day
He’s problem-solving the problems away.
He’s solving the problems away.
(SHERLOCK HOLMES #1 is walking around
the room looking at things through what
should be a large magnifying glass. WATSON #1 enters.)
WATSON #1: Ah, there you are, Holmes. What are you examining?
HOLMES #1: Come over here, Dr. Watson. I’ve discovered something most peculiar. Everything I see
through this magnifying glass looks the same.
WATSON #1: How odd. May I have a look?
HOLMES #1: (hands it over to WATSON #1, who begins to look): No matter where I point, I see the
same thing. It’s like some silly face is staring back at me.
WATSON #1: This isn’t a magnifying glass. It’s a mirror.
HOLMES #1: It is?
WATSON #1: Take a look.
(Hands mirror to HOLMES #1, who looks into it.)
HOLMES #1: Aaaach. By Jove, you’re right! I never knew I had such large nostrils. It’s horrifying.
WATSON #1: Nonsense, Holmes. You have perfectly normal nostrils. Delightful nostrils. British
nostrils!
HOLMES #1: Don’t try to cheer me up. I’m just not getting the hang of this detective stuff.
WATSON #1: You’ll make a wonderful detective. You just need more practice. What do you say we
do some word problems?
HOLMES #1: No, please, Watson. You know what happens when there are word problems lurking.
WATSON #1: Just one. Really, you can do it. Here. A train leaves London going west forty miles an
hour. Another train leaves on the same track from fifty miles west of London going 30 miles an hour.
How long is it before they crash?
(HOLMES #1 is silent. He looks as if he is thinking deeply – or is
great pain – but he is not moving. After a few seconds, WASTON speaks.)
WATSON #1: Holmes? Holmes?
(HOLMES #1 passes out, collapsing on the floor. WATSON revives him.)
WATSON #1: Wake up. Come on, let me help you up.
HOLMES #1: It’s no use. No one will hire me as a detective. I’ll never learn how to solve problems…
Page 3
Messer’s Mastering Math
SHERLOCK #1:
SONG #2
I, I just want to solve a mystery
What a great detective I could be
But when problems have a number
I cannot get any dumber
CLASS (suddenly sitting up straight ad facing audience):
Woh oh oh oh oh oh
Woh oh oh oh oh oh
HOLMES #1:
I, I just want to solve a mystery
Solve a famous crime or two or three
But my brain just stops and fidgets
When I have to work with digits.
HOLMES #1 and WATSON #1:
I don’t know what to do
I haven’t got a clue.
My palms get cold and wet
My eyeballs, my eyeballs, my eyeballs start to sweat.
I, I just want to solve a mystery
What a great detective I could be
But when problems have a number
I cannot get any dumber.
HOLMES #1, WATSON #1 and CHORUS:
I don’t know what to do
I haven’t got a clue.
My palms get cold and wet
My eyeballs, my eyeballs, my eyeballs start to sweat.
My eyeballs, my eyeballs, my eyeballs start to sweat.
(Three CLIENTS enter.)
CLIENT #1: Is one of you Sherlock Holmes?
HOLMES #1: I am. Unless you’ve come to repossess my hat. In that case…
(Points to WATSON #1.)
… HE is.
CLIENT #2: We need your help, Mr. Holmes.
HOLMES #1: You do? Are you sure?
CLIENT #3: There has been a crime.
CLIENT #4: (dramatically) Oh, the horror!
CLIENT #1: (trying to ignore #3, addressing HOLMES #1): And we need you to solve it.
Page 4
Messer’s Mastering Math
CLIENT #2: We work for the King of Plutopia. A Top Secret Document has been stolen form the
royal vault.
CLIENT #4: Oh, the horror!
CLIENT #1: (giving #3 a look, then to HOLMES #1): And we must get it back immediately.
HOLMES #1: What’s in the document?
CLIENT #3: How should we know?
ALL CLIENTS (shout): It’s a secret!
CLIENT #1: The thief left behind a clue. (producing a large key) A key to a safe-deposit box in the
Bank of London.
WATSON #1: Why don’t you just go to the box and open it?
CLIENT #2: There’s no number on the key. And there are thousands of boxes.
CLIENT #4: Oh, the horror!
CLIENT #1: (#1 and #2 stare at #3): But the thief left a note with a puzzle telling us the number of
the box.
HOLMES #1: Did you say a puzzle? Oh, the horror!
CLIENT #2: Here’s what the note says. (reading) “The prince is now 1 years old. The king is 35.
How old was the prince when his father was four times older?”
(HOLMES #1 has that pained look again.)
WATSON #1: Holmes?
(HOLMES #1 passes out. WATSON helps him revive.)
CLIENT #1: Can you help us?
HOLMES #1: Are you crazy? It could take months to solve. Years, even.
CLIENT #3: Why don’t you try the Guess and Check method?
CLIENT #4: Oh, how fun! I guess 6!
CLIENT #2: It’s not 6.
CLIENT #4: How do you know?
CLIENT #2: I just know.
CLIENT #3: The Guess and Check method can help us figure it out. Let’s try some numbers.
(The problem appears on the projection. As each number is
“ tried out” we see it on the projection.)
CLIENT #1:
Take a shot
Try a ten
That’s too high?
Then try again.
SONG #3
Messer’s Mastering Math
Page 5
CLIENT #4: How ‘bout six?
CLIENT #1: That’s too low.
CLIENT #4: Not a six?
CLIENT #1: I told you so!
CLIENT #1:
Guess and check
Guess and check
Don’t use hunt and peck
Grope and hope leaves things a wreck
Zero in with guess and check.
Try a nine
Let’s explore
Still too high?
Then try once more.
How ‘bout eight?
Take a look
Hey it works
You’ll catch the crook!
ALL CLIENTS:
Guess and check
Guess and check
Don’t use hunt and peck
Grope and hope leaves things a wreck
Zero in with guess and check.
HOLMES #1: The answer is eight! Amazing. Come on, Watson. Let’s get to the bank and check out
safe-deposit box number eight…
(To CLIENTS)
We’ll be back in a flash with the document.
(CLIENTS exit. HOLMES #1 and WATSON walk across stage,
And then back to where the BANKERS have entered.)
WATSON #1: Here we are. The Bank of London. Let’s ask these bankers.
BANKER #1: May I help you gentlemen?
HOLMES #1: Yes. We would like to get into safe-deposit box number eight.
(HOLMES hands over KEY.)
BANKER #2: Yes, of course.
(BANKER walks to side of stage, grabs a box, and returns,
and hands it to HOLMES #1.)
HOLMES #1: You look, Watson. I’m too excited. My first case, already solved!
WATSON #1: I’m afraid not. There are two shillings in here, and what appears to be another note
from the thief.
Messer’s Mastering Math
Page 6
HOLMES #1: What?
BANKER #1: If I may, sir.
(BANKER takes the note from WATSON #1.)
It’s addresses to you, sir.
(Reads it aloud.)
“Dear Sherlock. Are you having fun yet? Here’s where you can find me. This morning I found some
money in my basement. I went to the Bicycle store and spent half of it. Then I went to the bakery
and bought a muffin for two shillings. Blueberry – it was delicious. As I was eating it I walked across
the bridge, where I found one shilling on the ground. Delighted, I celebrated my new wealth by going
bowling, which cost me half my money. By the time I got to the bank, all I had left was the two
shillings Dr. Watson now holds in his hand. So where am I now? I can be found at the place where I
first had exactly five shillings this morning. Catch me if you can.”
(HOLMES #1 has that look again.)
WATSON #1: Holmes, are you alright?
HOLMES #1: Yes, yes, I’m fine.
(A second passes, then HOLMES passes out. WATSON #1 helps him up.)
BANKER #3: If I might suggest, sir. This kind of problem can often be solved by working backwards.
HOLMES #1: Backwards? Are you sure?
BANKER #4: It seems to do the trick.
HOLMES #1: Well, if you say so.
(To WATSON #1)
Come on, Watson. You heard the man,
(HOLMES begins walking backwards. WATSON then
does the same. After a bit of this, the BANKER speaks.)
BANKER #3: No, sir, I mean work through the problem in reverse.
BANKERS:
Work backwards
Work backwards
You do the very last things first
Work backwards
Back-trackwards
To solve the case, head in reverse.
Work backwards
Work backwards
You put the cart before the horse
Want answers?
Work backwards
Until you work back to the source.
SONG #4
Messer’s Mastering Math
Page 7
The hounds are running from the fox
Your shoes go on before your socks
You paint and then you build the wall
You eat dessert first thing of all!
Work backwards
Work backwards
You do the very last things first
Work backwards
Back-trackwards
To solve the case head in reverse.
(instrumental – all do the Backwards Dance)
BANKERS and CHORUS:
Work backwards
Work backwards
You put the cart before the horse
Want answers?
Work backwards
Until you work back to the source.
Want answers?
Work backwards
Until you work back to the source.
(The problem appears projected. The following dialogue can be used, but
students may wish to describe the process in their own words.)
HOLMES #1: Excellent! I LOVE dessert. Let’s start with that. I’ll have some chocolate mousse. You
don’t think they use a real moose in that, do you Watson?
WATSON #1: Perhaps we should start with the puzzle.
HOLMES #1: The puzzle! Of course. I knew that.
BANKER #1: Here’s how to do it. We’ll start at the end and work backwards.
BANKER #3: The thief ended up with two shillings at the bank. Right before that, he spent half of his
money bowling, so he must have had four shillings.
BANKER #1: But at the bridge he had found a shilling, so before that he must have had only three
shillings. See?
BANKER #2: And at the bakery he spent two shillings, so he must have had five shillings before he
went in.
BANKER #1: He spent half his money at the bicycle store. If he left with five shillings, then he must
have found ten shillings in his basement.
BANKER #3: The note says the thief can be found where he first had exactly five shillings.
HOLMES #1: Then he must be at the bicycle store! Brilliant! Thank you. Come on, Watson, we don’t
have a second to lose.
(HOLMES #1 and WATSON race off to the Bicycle Store, where
they encounter the CLERKS who work there.)
CLERK #1: Hello, may we help you?
WATSON #1: Have you seen a thief? We’re in search of one.
Page 8
Messer’s Mastering Math
CLERK #2: A thief? No. But two hours ago we rented a bicycle to a man who was in a big hurry.
HOLMES #1: Two hours ago?
CLERK #1: Yes, right at noon. He said that a man named Holmes would be asking after him, and we
were to inform him that he was riding to Sheffield.
HOLMES #1: Drat. We’ll never catch him.
CLERK #2: If I may, sir. Sheffield is 60 miles away. The man was riding as about 10 miles an hour.
He left two hours ago. If you and your friend here were to rent a tandem bicycle, you could go fifteen
miles an hour. Perhaps you could catch up to him before he gets to Sheffield.
(HOLMES #1 has that look again.)
WATSON #1: Easy, Holmes.
HOLMES #1: How can we figure out if we can ever catch up? It’s hopeless.
CLERK #3: When I get stuck on these kinds of problems, I just make a table.
HOLMES #1 (hopeful): You do? That sounds easy enough. I once made an entire dinette set.
CLERK #3: No, not that kind of table. I mean a chart. Just draw a chart.
(The projection should now display the table/chart. In this song,
the first half of the solution will be uncovered one line at a time,
then the second half will be uncovered one line at a time. Follow
along with the song on the projection.)
CLERKS:
You may not be Aristotle
You don’t have to be that smart
You can solve this kind of problem
Just draw a table
Or a chart.
You don’t have to be a Rembrandt
You don’t have to master art
You don’t need a brush or easel
To draw a table
Or a chart.
(Projection starts here.)
One hour
10 miles the thief has gone
Two hours
And then it’s twenty
Two hours
Oh my you’ve just begun
Three hours
The crook leads by plenty.
You may not be Aristotle
You don’t have to be that smart
You can solve this kind of problem
Just draw a table
Or a chart.
SONG #5
Messer’s Mastering Math
Page 9
Four hours
Now look you’re catching up
Five hours
Nearly at fifty
Six hours
Hey look you’ve caught the crook
Tables
And charts are nifty.
CLERKS and CHORUS:
You don’t have to be a Rembrandt
You don’t have to master art
You don’t need a brush or easel
To draw a table
Or a chart.
To draw a table or a chart.
HOLMES #1: Come on, Watson. We may just be able to catch him at the edge of Sheffield.
(HOLMES #1 and WATSON #1 discreetly exit stage as HOLMES #2
And WATSON #2 enter pretending to ride a tandem bicycle around
and around, wiping off the sweat. THEY finally get up to where a
BROTHER and THREE SISTERS have entered while a “river” has
been unrolled on center stage. The SIBLINGS have a ROWBOAT
or perhaps an OAR.)
WATSON #2: Look, Holmes. On the river. It looks like that could be the thief, rowing to Sheffield on
the other side.
HOLMES #2: Well, don’t just stand there, Watson. Dive in and get him.
WATSON #2: Why don’t YOU swim after him?
HOLMES #2: Are you nuts? There are THINGS in that water.
WATSON #2: Things?
HOLMES #2: Yes, you know. Slimy things. Icky things. No way.
WATSON #2: (seeing BROTHER and identically dressed SISTERS): Look, here’s a man with a
rowboat. Perhaps he’ll lend it to us. (to BROTHER): Hello there, we were wondering if we could
borrow your boat.
BROTHER: Sure you can. But you’ve got to help me out here first.
WATSON #2: What’s the problem?
BROTHER: My boat only holds three people. And I’ve got to get myself and my three sisters here
across the river.
WATSON #2: That shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out.
BROTHER: Well, there IS a problem. They’re cannibals.
HOLMES #2: Cannibals?
BROTHER: Well, recovering cannibals. They just finished a twelve-step program. But the doctors
say that is they ever out-number the non-cannibals around them, they may revert to their old ways.
WATSON #2: Their old ways? You mean…?
Page 10
Messer’s Mastering Math
(HE looks at SISTERS, who all give him a big smile, lick their lips,
and rub their bellies.)
BROTHER: Exactly. So now I’ve got to get us all across the river, but I can’t ever let there be more of
my sisters than the rest of us together on one side of the river or in the boat.
HOLMES #2: Excuse me, but we’re in a bit of a hurry here.
SISTER #1: Why don’t we just figure out the fewest trips it will take to get all six of us across?
SISTER #2: Sure. So, what’s the smallest number of trips it will take to get all of us to the other side,
in a boat that can hold three people?
SISTER #3: But never with more of us sisters than you men in the boat or stuck on one side of the
river!
(HOLMES passes out. WATSON revives him.)
SISTER #1: What’s wrong with him?
WATSON #2: He has a problem with problems.
SISTER #2: Why don’t we just act it out?
HOLMES #2: What do you mean?
SISTER #3: You know. We’ll just try out different answers by walking through them, and see what
works.
FAMILY:
The problem’s tough
You’ve had enough?
Don’t sit and pout
Just act it out.
The play’s the thing
To catch the king
Or find a clue
So take your cue.
Act it out
Act it out
I am sure you can figure this out
You’re the star, was there ever a doubt?
‘Cause you can act it out.
Don’t lose your grip
Just read the script
And use you cast
To solve it fast.
The world’s a stage
It’s all the rage
Just don’t wear tights
And hit the lights.
SONG #6
Messer’s Mastering Math
Page 11
Act it out
Act it out
I am sure you can figure this out
You’re the star, was there ever a doubt?
‘Cause you can act it out.
So make a start
And choose a part
You play the lead
And you’ll succeed.
Now talk us through
Your new review
By curtain time
You’ll solve the crime.
FAMILY and CHORUS:
Act it out
Act it out
I am sure you can figure this out
You’re the star, was there ever a doubt?
‘Cause you can act it out.
‘Cause you can act it out.
BROTHER: Okay, let’s pretend we’re going across the river. I could take each of my sisters across
one at a time, like this.
(THEY act it out.)
Then you blokes could come with me on the fourth trip.
(THEY act it out.)
HOLMES #2: But that will mean you have to row across the river seven times. Isn’t there something
faster?
SISTER #1: I’ve got an idea. My brother and Dr. Watson could start by taking one of my sisters
across like this.
(THEY act it out.)
HOLMES #2: Hey, wait! That would leave me here alone with two sisters!
SISTER #1 (with a big smile): I know!
HOLMES #2 (in panic): Watson?!
WATSON #2: It’s okay. I’ve got a plan. What if we first send all three sisters across?
HOLMES #2: Yes, by all means, let them go first.
SISTER #2: Aren’t you sweet?
HOLMES #2: Sweet? Me? No absolutely not. I’m rather tart, I think. Yes, absolutely sour. Terrible
tasting, really. Nothing sweet at all.
SISTER #3: I think Dr. Watson is on to something. Listen.
(THEY act it out as she speaks.)
Page 12
Messer’s Mastering Math
The three of us sisters row across. Then I come back and pick up Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson. That
keeps two of you and just one of me in the boat. I drop you off on the other side, so there are two of
us and two of you on the far side of the river. I row back one more time and pick up my brother. Five
trips!
WATSON #2: Brilliant! Acting it out solved the problem.
HOLMES #2: Well, let’s do it.
(THEY cross the river as suggested, but very, very – comically – fast.)
HOLMES #2: We’re too late. I don’t see the thief.
WATSON #2: But look. There are only three buildings on this street. He must have gone into one of
them. Let’s ask these people if they saw anyone.
(PASSERSBY enter.)
HOLMES #2: Excuse me. Did you see anyone come from the river and run into one of these
buildings?
PASSERBY #1: Come to think of it, I did see someone leaping up some stairs.
WATSON #2: Which stairs? Each of these three buildings has stairs leading up to the front door.
PASSERBY #1: I can’t really recall.
PASSERBY #2: Neither can I. But I do remember he was having a very difficult time getting past the
crowd coming out of the building.
PASSERBY #3: Yes, that’s true. He was standing on the middle step. I’m sure it was the middle step.
He went up two steps, then a crowd came out of the door and pushed him back five steps.
PASSERSBY #1: He then ran up seven more steps before another group of people pushed him back
three. Then finally he hopped up four steps to the top and ran into the building.
HOLMES #2: How can this possibly help us figure out what building he went in to?
PASSERBY #1: But it’s plenty of information. Each building has different number of steps and only
one set will match what we saw.
PASSERBY #2: Sure. We’ll just draw a picture.
HOLMES #2 (pleased): Draw a picture? Perfect. Why don’t you start with me? And try not to make
my nose look any larger than it is.
(HE poses for a portrait.)
PASSERBY #3: We mean draw a picture of the puzzle. We can figure out how many total steps there
were.
PASSERBY #1 – sung:
Got a crayon?
Got some chalk?
Can you doddle?
Can you jot?
SONG #7
Messer’s Mastering Math
Got some charcoal?
Got a pen?
Now you’re ready
To begin.
PASSERBY #4 – spoken/rap:
A picture’s worth a thousand words
So let’s sketch out what just occurred
A picture’s worth a thousand words
So let’s sketch it out.
PASSERBY #2 – sung:
Woh oh oh
We’ll draw the story that we heard
A picture’s worth a thousand words.
(Projection begins here.)
PASSERBY #4 – spoken/rap:
First, we’ll draw some steps.
PASSERBY #3 – sung:
Start at someplace
Go up two
Five steps downward
That will do.
Head up seven
Toward the door
Three more downward
Then up four.
Passerby #4 & #5 – spoken/rap:
A picture’s worth a thousand words
So let’s sketch out what just occurred
A picture’s worth a thousand words
So let’s sketch it out.
PASSERBY #1 – sung:
Woh oh oh oh
We’ll draw the story that we heard
A picture’s worth a thousand words.
PASSERBY #2 – sung:
Where you ended
Near the top
Find the start place
And now Stop
Count the spaces
In between
Now the answer
Should be seen.
Page 13
Messer’s Mastering Math
Page 14
PASSERBY #3 & #4 & #5 – spoken/rap:
A picture’s worth a thousand words
So let’s sketch out what just occurred
A picture’s worth a thousand words
So let’s sketch it out.
PASSERSBY and CHORUS – sung:
Woh oh oh oh
We’ll draw the story that we heard
A picture’s worth a thousand words.
A thousand words.
(PASSERSBY exit.)
HOLMES #2: I think I’ve got it, Watson. If you go up #5 steps from the middle to the top, then there
will also be #5 steps from the middle to the bottom. So there must be a total of #1#1 steps.
WATSON #2: Excellent, Holmes. The only building with eleven steps is the middle one. It appears to
be some sort of school.
HOLMES #2: Let’s go.
(THEY “enter” the school and walk around.)
HOLMES #2: There’s something familiar about this place, Watson. But I can’t put my finger on it.
WATSON #2: What kind of school is it? Middle school? High school?
HOLMES #2: Elementary, my dear Watson.
WATSON #2: But we’ve run into another obstacle. This is a four-story building with dozens of
rooms. The thief could be anywhere.
(Some KIDS enter.)
HOLMES #2: Look, some of the students. (To STUDENTS/KIDS) Say there! Did you see a man run
in here a few minutes ago?
KID #1: Nope.
KID #2: Uh-uh.
KID #3: Sorry
HOLMES #2: Drat.
KID #1: But some lady handed us this note and told us to give it to a man named Houses.
WATSON #2: Houses? Oh, you mean Holmes.
KID #2: Whatever.
Page 15
Messer’s Mastering Math
KID #3: Here’s what is says (reads aloud):
If you want to find the crook,
Here’s the room where you should look:
Here’s some numbers in a series,
What comes next? Good luck, my DEARIES.
1 4 13 40 121 ???
(The number series is projected.)
WATSON #2: Oh, that’s a stumper all right.
HOLMES #2: Very odd. Who is it that used to call me “dearie?” I know I’ve heard that before.
KID #4: You should do what our teacher says.
KID #3: Yeah. You just have to look for a pattern.
KID #1:
Find a pattern
Find a pattern
I think I see it now, do you?
HOLMES #2 (spoken): NO!
ALL SCHOOL KIDS:
Find a pattern
That’s what matters
The answer’s coming into view.
HOLMES #2 (spoken): Where? I can’t see a thing!
KIDS:
Find a pattern
Find a pattern
Now can’t you see the nice design?
HOLMES #2 (spoken): NO!
KIDS:
Find a pattern
That’s what matters
The problem’s working out just fine.
HOLMES #2 (spoken): Wait a minute!
KIDS:
It may look random but you’ll see
The numbers share some property
To form the next there is some key
You’ve got to find the recipe.
HOLMES #2 (spoken): I think I’ve got it!
SONG #8
Messer’s Mastering Math
Page 16
KIDS and CHORUS:
Find a pattern
Find a pattern
I think I see it now, do you?
HOLMES #2 (spoken): Brilliant!
KIDS and CHORUS:
Find a pattern
That’s what matters
The answer’s coming into view.
The answer’s coming in, into view.
(KIDS exit.)
HOLMES #2: Of course, a pattern. I see it all, Watson.
WATSON #2: What?
HOLMES #2: Look. See the difference between each of these numbers?
WATSON #2: 3, 9, 27, 81
HOLMES #2: Do you see? Each difference is three times larger than the previous one.
WATSON #2 (excited): So the difference between 121 and our mystery number will be three times
81.
HOLMES #2: Exactly. Three times 81 is 243. Add that to 121, the last number in our sequence, and
we get 364. Come on Watson, we’ve got an appointment with the thief in room 364.
(THEY race off, and are soon confronted by MATH TEACHERS,
Who have entered from the other side.)
HOLMES #2: Here we are Watson. And the thief is…
(HE sees the TEACHERS.)
AAAHHH! My elementary school math teachers. All of them. In one room.
(HE passes out. WATSON helps him up.)
TEACHER #1: Hello, Sherlock. You’ve grown.
WATSON #2: YOU are the thief of the Royal Document?
TEACHER #2: There was never a Royal Document.
TEACHER #3: Or any thief. We got together and cooked up this entire adventure.
HOLMES #2: But why?
TEACHER #1: You always wanted to be a great detective, Sherlock.
TEACHER #2: But you just didn’t focus on your problem-solving skills in math class.
TEACHER #3: So we thought we would design a crash course for you. We invented the story about
the theft of the Royal Document.
Messer’s Mastering Math
Page 17
TEACHER #1: And it worked. You’ve learned so many skills today. Now you just need to keep in
mind the four steps of problem-solving.
MATH TEACHERS:
Step one
Do you understand the problem?
If not
Then re-read it through and through.
Re-read it through and through.
Step two
Now devise a plan to solve it
Don’t fear
We are here to help review.
Are here to help review.
Guess and check.
Act it out
Find a pattern, it’s there, no doubt
Draw it up
Make a chart
Work it backwards, now you are so smart.
Step three
You must do the plan you’ve chosen
Watch close
Is it keeping you on tack?
Is it keeping you on tack?
Step four
Does your answer solve the problem?
If not
Then just take another track
Just take another track.
Guess and check
Act it out
Find the pattern, there’s no doubt
Draw it up
Make a chart
Work it backwards, now you are so smart.
Four steps
And now you’re a great detective
Four steps
And now you can think so fast
Now you can think so fast.
Four steps
And you’ll find the right solution
Four steps
You can problem solve at last!
Can problem-solve at last!
SONG #9
Messer’s Mastering Math
Page 18
TEACHERS and CHORUS:
Guess and check
Act it out
Find the pattern, there’s no doubt
Draw it up
Make a chart
Work it backwards, now you are so smart.
HOLMES #2: Yes! At last, I am a great detective. A doctor of deduction. The Prince of ProblemSolving.
WATSON #2: Congratulations, Holmes!
HOLMES #2: Don’t move, Watson. I have noticed that your shoes show the slightest traces of clay.
WATSON #2: Yes, I suppose they do.
HOLMES #2: But this is very rare red clay, found only on the front porch of a left-handed sausageseller in Bombay during the monsoon season.
WATSON #2: Remarkable.
HOLMES #2: Which leads me to the conclusion, Dr. Watson…
WATSON #2: Yes?
HOLMES #2 (dramatically): …. That you have a trout in your pants!
WATSON #2 (reaching into his trouser pocket, he pulls out a fish): Amazing! I was wondering what
I had done with this. Holmes, you ARE a genius!
CLASS:
This is a show about Sherlock Holmes
And how he got his start
This is a show about Sherlock Holmes
And how he got so smart.
This is the story of Sherlock Holmes
And his first mystery
This is the story of Sherlock Holmes
So sit back and you’ll see –
He’s mastering math
Mastering math
It’s just a matter of finding the path
Mastering math
He learns more each day
He’s problem-solving the problems away.
He’s mastering math
Mastering math
It’s just a matter of finding the path
Mastering math
He learns more each day
He’s problem-solving the problems away.
SONG #10
Messer’s Mastering Math
Oooh
Aaaah
Oooh
Ohhh
Oooh
Aaah
Oooh
Ohhh
He’s mastering math
Mastering math
It’s just a matter of finding the path
Mastering math
He learns more each day
He’s problem-solving the problems away.
He’s solving the problems away.
THE END
Page 19