The Greedy Triangle

As a high school math teacher, I place an emphasis on shape recognition and attributes with my 5 year old. For example, how many sides/angles does a triangle/square/circle(!) have. The Greedy Triangle fits in very nicely with her knowledge level, and she very much enjoyed it from beginning to end. I should note that I edit some of the content to be age appropriate, changing quadrilateral to square, and skipping some of the later, many-sided, polygons. In any case, she laughed her way through the book, which is a great thing for a 5 year old!!

I have been reading this to my classes for the past two years. They absolutely love it. I use it to introduce shapes. The book also teaches a lesson about character. This book is a must have!

I've used this book in my sixth grade geometry exploratory class as an introduction to polygons. The students thouroughly enjoyed it, they were able to see how polygons are everywhere in their environment, and later created their own polygon book, using total degree measurement, angles, etc... I highly recommend "The Greedy Triangle" to any teacher who may be teaching about polygons in a geometry unit, it's also a great way of integrating reading into math curriculum.

I work in an inner city school. Believe me when I say that they are a tough group to please! They were absolutely enthralled with The Greedy Triangle! It opened up discussion in the class more than any other book I have read to them this school year. It is colorful, creative and fun. You can have the students use toothpicks and gummy bears to create the greedy little triangle and then change shapes as it metamorphisizes. Food is a great motivator. A fun way to instill a love of both reading and geometry. When the book is over, the kids can be "greedy" and eat their creations. Trust me, they will never forget the lesson.

The Greedy triangle is an excellent book for introducing geometry to students in grades 3-5. I use it with my fourth graders and it is a brilliant way to introduce the correct terminology involved in geometry. The story line can also be related to the idea of "the grass isn't always greener on the other side". The triangle goes from shape to shape and then realizes it was much happier as a triangle . I would definitely recommend this book.