The following excerpt is taken from the book One Grain of Rice
by Demi. (If you do not have access to this book, consider telling
students a similar story as a way of introducing the lesson. This will
also provide the background needed for writing algebraic equations, as
well as the other mathematical details of the lesson. When using this
lesson plan, simply skip the parts that indicate which pages of the
book to read aloud, but note that you can still ask the same
questions.)
Long ago in India, there lived a raja who believed that he was wise
and fair. But every year he kept nearly all of the people’s rice for
himself. Then when famine came, the raja refused to share the rice, and
the people went hungry. Then a village girl named Rani devises a clever
plan. She does a good deed for the raja, and in return, the raja lets
her choose her reward. Rani asks for just one grain of rice, doubled
every day for thirty days. Through the surprising power of doubling,
one grain of rice grows into more than one billion grains of rice — and
Rani teaches the raja a lesson about what it truly means to be wise and
fair.
Arrange the students into small groups (3 or 4 students per group
usually works best) prior to beginning the lesson. Begin the lesson by
introducing the book. Ask students to predict what the book might be
about based on the title, front cover, and back cover. Explain to the
class that this book is about a village in India that did not have
enough food to support its population because of famine and because the
raja kept all of the rice for himself.
Tell the students to listen carefully to the scenario presented in
the book, as they will be creating their own plan to feed the village.
Read One Grain of Rice aloud to the end of page 5, stopping
immediately after, "The people had no rice to give to the raja, and
they had no rice to eat." (This is where you could tell them your own
story if you do not have access to the book. For now, stop before you
reveal the main character's plan.)
Ask students what they think famine and hunger
mean and what may cause famine in a country. Allow for class discussion
of real-life issues about this worldwide problem. Continue reading
pages 6‑11 aloud, finishing when the raja says, "Ask me for anything,
and you shall have it." Upon finishing page 11, let students discuss in
their small groups what their plan would be. Ask them, "If you were
Rani, what would you ask the raja for as a reward?" Ask students to
keep in mind that Rani is an unselfish girl who is trying to feed
herself and the rest of the village. Continue asking questions and surveying the groups for their different ideas and opinions.
Continue reading pages 12‑15 aloud. Ask the students if Rani’s
plan was similar or different to the plan that their group created.
Continue to ask questions of the groups to get them to compare,
contrast, and justify their explanations. After providing plenty of
time for discussion, give the students the One Grain of Rice
activity sheet and allow them approximately 5 minutes in their groups
to complete Question 1 and estimate (without using calculators) how
much rice Rani would receive in 30 days. Upon completion of the groups’
estimations, have students share their estimates with the entire class,
as well as compare their plan with Rani’s plan.
One Grain of Rice Activity Sheet
Read through the end of the book. Ask students if they think
Rani was clever for asking for the rice in the way that she did. Allow
for discussion. In small groups, have students complete Questions 2
and 3 on the One Grain of Rice
activity sheet. They will figure out exactly how many grains of rice
Rani received in all. After students have finished these questions, the
groups may continue to work on the activity sheet with their group
members, where they will write Rani’s plan as a sentence using only
numbers and symbols (i.e., as an algebraic equation).
After about 10 minutes of group work, allow students to share
their equations with the entire class. Have students check each
equation for accuracy, allowing them to point out problems and
discrepancies as you go. If students did not generate an acceptable
equation in Question 6, they should create a new equation in Question 7
based on the class discussion. Acceptable equations are:
- Grains of rice (g) that Rani receives on day n: g = 2n – 1
- Total grains of rice (t) that Rani receives through n days: t = 2n – 1
If you choose, have students record their initial plan in their
journal and compare and contrast it with Rani’s plan. Students should
answer questions such as:
- Which plan do you think is better?
- Which plan would feed more people?
- How many more grains of rice did Rani get than you would have received at the end of the 30 days?
- Can you think of another bargain that you could have made with the raja to get enough rice to feed the village?
You may want to write these questions on the board for students to use to guide their responses.
It is important that students record the algebraic equation that their group devised and write in words why the equation does or does not work. If their equation does not work, they should create a new equation and explain why the new equation is correct. Be sure to encourage thorough answers to Question 7 on the activity sheet.
Reference
Demi. 1997. One Grain of Rice. New York: Scholastic Press.
Questions for Students
1. If you were Rani, what would you ask the raja for as a reward? How would you phrase your request to trick the greedy raja into thinking that he is not giving you very much rice?
[Some students may just ask for a large enough number of rice grains that they feel will feed the village people. If that happens, ask the students whether the greedy raja would be willing to give up such a large amount. Some other students might also come up with plans of their own similar to Rani’s. They may or may not be in algebraic form. Challenge students who come up with ideas to write a corresponding algebraic equation.]
2. Estimate how many grains of rice Rani will have at the end of 30 days using her plan.
[Answers will vary; she will have 1,073,741,823 grains of rice at the end of 30 days — more than one billion grains of rice!]
3. How many more grains of rice did Rani get than you would have received at the end of the 30 days using your plan?
[This will vary greatly depending on the different plans the groups or individuals devise.]
4. Devise another plan that you could have made with the raja to get 2 billion grains of rice in 30 days.
[Answers will vary, although students should be able to describe their plan mathematically.]
5. How did you translate your plan into an algebraic equation?
[Explanations will vary depending on the plan. An acceptable answer would be something like, "We tried to write down step by step what we would do if we were Rani. Then, we looked for patterns. Once we figured out what the pattern was, we put in a variable for the number of days. Finally, we plugged in different numbers of days to see if we got the same answer as we had when we wrote it out."]
6. Did your equation work when you put Rani’s numbers into it? Why or why not?
[Answers will vary depending on the plan. Make sure students have an explanation for why they believe their equation did or did not work.]
Teacher Reflection
- Was your lesson developmentally appropriate? If not, what was inappropriate? What would you do to change it?
- How did students demonstrate understanding of the material presented?
- Were concepts presented too abstractly? Too concretely? How would you change them?
- What were some of the ways that students demonstrated that they were actively engaged in the learning process?
- Did you find it necessary to make adjustments while teaching the lesson? If so, what adjustments, and were they effective?