Mr. Al Geebrah's Fraction Mystery! This math story has 17 very short chapters (1 page each).

The math is appropriate for grades 4-6 (or thereabouts). Math focus is on fractions (adding, fraction number sense, and equivalent fractions). Most students should be able to complete the entire story in one or two class periods.

Mr. Al Geebrah's Fraction Mystery! By: Mr. R Chapter 1: A Strange School Many years ago, in a small school, in a small town, something very strange happened, something very strange indeed. Heres the whole story. Well, at least a fraction of it At this small school, which was tucked into the woods, none of the students ever smiled, and on sunny days nobody ran around and played tag or football, or even talked and laughed about their favorite TV shows. No, this school was different because the math teacher, Mr. Al Geebrah was so mean. He was actually meansquared, which is to say mean times mean. In other words, on the average, he was the meanest! And with him around no one ever had any fun One time Mr. Geebrah was so mean, he made the students figure out how many 12ths were in 5 wholes! It took them all day, but they finally figured it out! How many 12ths do you think are in 5 wholes?

Chapter 2: The Math Test One fine morning at this small school, things were especially quiet because the students knew Mr. Geebrah was giving a math test, and math test days were the scariest days of all! Why was that you may ask? Well that's because, some people believed that on nights after math tests, Mr. Geebrah would sneak around town and take students that didn't do well, and bring them to suffer in his evil castle of math At 9 oclock the bell rang and students filed into Mr. Geebrahs class for their test. He put test papers on the students desks and told them they better be silent. It was not even five minutes into the test before Suzy Q. began to weep. First her tears soaked 1/3 of her test, then 2/3 of her test, and finally theyd soaked 3/3, or in other words, her whole math test!! Suzys test paper was so soggy, the numbers shed written began to blur. All the sixes seeped into the eights, and the eights ran into the nines. After the test, Suzy continued to cry. What happened Suzy, whats wrong? asked Suzys friend Jenna. I couldnt remember how to add fractions. Im gonna fail! Dont worry, said Jenna, Ill show you tomorrow, its easy once you practice. But Suzy Q. was not in school the next day. She was the only student absent from math class when the students sat down in their seats. Suzy Q. was not the only student named Suzy in this class. As a matter of fact, there were three other students named

Suzy. If the class had 16 students, what fraction of them were named Suzy? (that's including Suzy Q. Chapter 3: A Strange Bird Mr. Geebrah said, Here are your math tests! Its really a miracle most of you passed and only a small fraction failed. That small fraction is Suzy Q.! Speaking of Suzy, called out Jenna, Does anyone know where she is? Now, it wasn't odd for Jenna to call out in class, she did it all the time, but it was oddthat Mr. Geebrah didn't yell at Jenna for calling out in class. He always yelled and screamed at students for calling out in class. But this time, Mr. Geebrah just turned toward the blackboard and laughed an evil laugh After school that day, Jenna was standing in the yard with her friends, Joe and Jake. Jenna was asking them if they knew what happened to Suzy Q. "I didn't see her her, and usually we walk to school the same way," said Jake. "I didn't see her either," said Joe, who began teasing Jenna about her new haircut. Jenna was about to start making fun of Joes ears when the three of them saw a strange bird flying through the sky. Thats the strangest looking bird Ive ever seen, said Jake. "Yeah," said Joe, "I've never seen anything like that before!" They watched as the bird dropped something from its talons, and three pieces of gold colored paper fluttered down to the ground in front them.

If 1/5 of the bird's trip to get to the students had been 8 miles, how far had the bird's entire trip been? Chapter 4: A Puzzle to Solve Joe picked up one of the pieces of paper and looked at it. The paper had writing on it. It said: vil Cast

3/12 Whats a le of Math? This writing doesnt make any sense Hey, maybe the 3 pieces go together! Maybe its some sort of puzzle, said Joe. Yeah, but how would they go together? asked Jake. The students looked at their papers again. Look, there are fractions written on the bottom of the papers, said Jenna, and as she said it, the same strange bird flew over again and crowed, smalllestolargestttttsmallesttolargestttt

2/12 He looked up and shrugged, Whats a vil Cast? Jake picked up another piece of the paper. It said: Well, theres our clue, said Jake and the students arranged the papers so that the fractions went from smallest to largest. They finally were able to read the message. Can you figure out what it said? Chapter 5: Another Mystery Jake yelled, It says Map to the Evil Castle of Math! Thats not real. There's no evil castle of mathl! yelled Jenna. Yes there is, said Joe. There is no map! yelled Jenna, And theres no such thing as an evil castle of math either! Wanna bet? said Joe, My brother told me Mr. Geebrah had him prisoner there for 2 months. Youre so gullible, said Jenna as she looked at the back of the paper. Hey, theres something written on the back of this."

Map to the E

1/12

I wonder where the E is and why would we need a map to get there? asked Jake. Jenna shrugged and picked up the third piece. It said:

le of Math

The students put the papers together again and saw this message:

Help Me! Im Near Numerator

Whaterator? asked Jake who didnt always pay attention in math class. Somethin' ate-her? asked Joe who also didnt always pay attention in math class. Don't you guys know anything! A numerator is part of a fraction, said Jenna, The top part! It has nothing to do with eating! Hey, doesnt that look like Suzys handwriting. I think this is her message, said Jake. Youre right! Thats totally Suzys handwriting! We have to find the map! cried Jenna. Maybe she really is being held in a castle of math! If a numerator is the top part of a fraction, type the name for the bottom part of a fraction in the box! Chapter 6: A Math Problem Told you Mr. Geebrah had an evil castle! said Joe. You always think youre right! yelled Jenna. Can you guys stop fighting?" said Jake, "Now are there any more clues on these pieces of paper? We need to find that map." They studied the papers more carefully and didnt see

anything special about them. There was no map anywhere. They thought and they thought. Finally Jenna said, "I wonder what would happen if we add the fractions on the papers. Maybe it will give us some sort of clue." "Can't hurt let's give it a shot," said Jake. "If I can remember how to add fractions," said Joe. These fractions are easy to add, they all have the same denominator," said Jenna. The fractions were: 1/12 2/12 3/12

What did the students get when they added them? Chapter 7: A Challenging Puzzle I think we only have half of the paper!" said Jenna. Why do you say that?" aske Joe Because 6/12 is equal to one half." "Yeah, said Jake, we need another 6/12 before we have 12/12 or the whole paper. I bet the other half has the map!" Just then, the strange bird flew over again and dropped three more pieces of paper. The trio ran and collected them. Mine says 6/24, said Jenna I got 4/24! yelled Joe. And I got 2/24, said Jake. But these have 24 in the denominator!" yelled Joe. How do we know if we got another half if they don't have the same denominator?" Because a half is a half!" yelled Jenna, "it doesn't matter what

the denominator is!" Let's add them and see if they reduce to 1/2," said Jake fractions to add 6/24 4/24 2/24 What did the students get when they added these fractions? Chapter 8: Two Halves of Puzzle "Now we have two halves of the paper!' yelled Joe "6/12 made up one half," said Jenna. "Yeah, and 12/24 makes up the other half!" said Jake. "That means we have the whole paper! But where's the map?" asked Jenna. They looked at the back of the pieces of paper and saw some strange markings on them. "I bet that's the map part!" yelled Jake. Lets put this puzzle together to see how we can save Suzy! said Joe. The students tried to put the map together but it wasn't easy. The pieces seemed to be changing shape as they worked with them. I think Mr. Geebrah must have put some sort of curse on this paper, how come we cant get these 6 simple pieces of paper to fit together?" asked Joe. Over an hour passed and they still hadn't solved the puzzle. Look, Guys," said Jake, "its getting late, and I have to get

home for dinner or my parents are gonna' worry. Lets meet back here in front of school at 8 to solve this. The three agreed. It was 7:15PM. What fraction of an hour was it going to pass before the students were going to meet again? Chapter 9: Spooky School Yard Later that night, at 8 PM, the three met back at the school with their flashlights. Its kind of spooky here at night, said Jake, Yeah, I feel like someones watching us! said Joe. Its as if the school has eyes, said Jenna. "Yeah, Mr. Geebrah's evil eyes!" said Joe. Even though they were scared, they began trying to put the sheet of paper together. Once again they were having trouble. Suddenly, they heard a strange sound. It was the screeching of a bird, and they all were terrified. But then they heard the bird Holdpapperinmoonlightttttt I wonder why it would want us to do that? asked Jenna. I dont know, but its worth a try, said Joe. The three friends held their paper up in the moonlight and something strange began to happen. The paper began to float up into the air and then twirl and twist in circles as it came back down to the ground in one whole piece. Look, the map put itself together! yelled Joe.

Jake picked the map up and they looked at it. It had a bunch of circles with fractions on them. This was one complicated map! This map looks like the work of Mr. Geebrah, the worlds most evil math teacher! yelled Jenna. "This puzzle is hard," said Joe, "but we have to solve it to save Suzy! If the students had read 5/9 of the map, how many more ninths did they have to read before they read the entire map?

Chapter 10: The Map to the Castle of Math This is what the map looked like:

What was the name of the fourth location the students had to go to so that they would arrive alive? Chapter 11: A Long Journey Im not sure I wanna' go to Factor Field or Acute Angle road at night! said Joe. Yeah, both of those places are spooky, even in the daytime, said Jake.

Yeah, and theres that old cemetery on top of Mixed Number Mountain! said Joe, theres no way Im going by there! But we have no choice if were gonna save Suzy, said Jenna. "I guess youre right," said Joe, but I dont have a good feeling about this. The three friends promised that whatever happened, they would stick together and save Suzy, and they set off on their journey with their flashlights burning brightly. The trip was long and hard, and seemed to take days. Eventually, they became so exhausted they thought about turning back, but then they arrived at the Stream of Squares. Jake yelled, Look at the map, were at the Stream of Squares, were almost there!And Jake was right, becuase when they looked into the distance they saw a terrible sight. It was the castle and it was a horrible looking castle covered by a dark cloud. As matter of fact, it was the most horrible thing the three of them had ever seen. They wanted to stop, the castle looked too evil too approach, but they knew they had to if they wanted to save Suzy, so they kept trudging along. Finally, they were 8/8ths of the way there.

terrified! yelled Jenna. Well, Im 4/8 horrified, and 4/8 petrified!!! added Joe. Finally you two agree on something, said Jake, Im scared squared, but we have to go in to save Suzy Q.! Youre right, said Jenna as she banged on the big wooden door of the castle. There was no answer, but the door slowly creaked open all by itself. The trio kept looking into the darkness behind the door, but couldnt see anything. Although they were terrified, they entered the castle. It was dark and they shined their flashlights into the big room they were in. The first thing they saw was Suzys math notebook and one of her shoes lying on the floor in front of two large cages. Inside the cages were what the students figured were Mr. Geebrahs pets. The nametags on the cages said, Numer, the Dog, and Denomin, the cat. Numer the dog was in a cage on the top, and Denomin was in a cage on the bottom. Speaking or Numer the dog, what's the top number of a fraction called? Type it in the box! Chapter 13: Mr. Geebrah's Pets Ate Suzy!

Speaking of 8/8, which is an equivalent fraction of 8/8? 1/1 9/8 4/3 8 Oh no! whispered Joe, I bet Mr. Geebrah fed Suzy to his dog and cat!" I cant believe this! shouted Jenna, I cant believe he would do this to Suzy! This is horrible, said Joe, I bet that dog Numer ate he right up! No, I think that cat Denomin ate her! argued Jenna. No, Numer ate her. Look how full and fat he looks, replied

Chapter 12: Mr. Geebrah's Pets We're here, said a worn down Joe, finally! Im not going in that place! Im at least 5/6 scared and 1/6

Joe. No, Im certain Denomin ate her!! said Jenna, Shes sleeping soundly, and cats always sleep soundly after they eat. Poor, poor Suzy, said Jake, If wed only been here earlier to save her. Jenna and Joe continued to argue about which pet had eaten Suzy, when they heard a voice whispering The voice was twice as spooky as a voice that is 3/4 spooky! How spooky was the voice? Enter an improper fraction or a mixed number.

have fractions on them. Theres one with 4/6 one with 45/108 and one with 134/208 on it.

Chapter 14: Tricky Locks! The voice they heard whispering sounded familiar. It was Suzys voice. No dogs or cats ate me. Im right up here. Now help me before Mr. Geebrah comes back. They looked up and saw Suzy. She was sticking her head through the iron bars of a steel door. The door was built into the wall above the two cages. Its me guys. Im stuck in this tiny room- help me get out! Suzy pleaded. Just hold on, yelled Jake, Well get you out of there. Jake and Jenna helped Joe climb on top of Numers cage. When he was on top he saw the door of Suzys room had three locks on it!!! I dont know how were gonna unlock these three locks, said Joe, These are the strangest locks Ive ever seen. They all

Where are we gonna' find the keys for those? asked Jake. I dont know, but hurry, cried Suzy, Mr. Geebrahs told me hes coming back soon and then I would pay for failing my math test! Mr. Geebrah was actually on his way back to his castle! It takes him 3/4 of an hour to get there, and already a 1/2 hour had passed. How many more minutes would it be before Mr. Geebrah got to the castle? Chapter 15: Lots of Keys! We better hurry, I dont wanna' see Mr. Geebrah, but how are we gonna open these locks? asked Joe. Hey look, yelled Jenna, pointing to a key ring she saw hanging on the wall, There are lots of keys over there! Jenna ran over, grabbed the key ring and looked at the keys. There are fractions on they keys too. Lets try to find keys that have the same fractions as the locks.

4/7

16/23

12/18

22/24

Chapter 16: Equivalent Fraction Keys! The three of them started searching the keys for fractions that were equivalent to the ones on the locks. These are hard! yelled Jake. I agree, yelled Joe. Can you help the students find the keys that would fit the locks?

They searched for a key with matching fractions, but there were none. What are we gonna do? yelled Suzy, "I don't wanna' be stuck here forever!" You won't be," said Jake, "We'll get you out even if I we have to try every key in every lock." No, thatll take too long, pleaded Suzy. I dont want Mr. Geebrah to come back before we can escape! Just then Numer, the dog started barking. He barked 3 times. And then Denomin, the cat started meowing, she meowed three times. That was strange, it was like they were talking. Do you think theyre trying to tell us something? asked Joe. Yeah, I bet they were, but what? asked Jenna. Well, said Jake, 3 barks and 3 meows. Its the same amount, but they sound different. What does that have to do with keys and locks? asked Joe. Maybe we have to look for fractions on the keys that are the same amount but look different! said Jake. Good Thinking, said Joe, Lets look for equivalent fractions on the keys! Speaking of equivalent fractions? Which of the following is an equivalent fraction for 4/6?

Chapter 17: A New Day! Finally the three locks were unlocked and Suzy stepped out onto the top of Numer's cage. Now I see why you sent us that note that said you were near the numerator! said Joe. Yeah," laughed Suzy, Numerators are always on the top, just like that secret room! Lucky Mr. Geebrah's pets, Numer and Denomin helped me send that map with their friend the bird! Now lets get outta here before that evil math teacher returns! And quickly! yelled Jake. But first we have to save Numer and Denomin! cried Suzy, They helped save me, so we have to save them. They unlocked the cages, and Numer and Denomin jumped out and started licking their faces. Suzy laughed, No time for that now. We have to get away before Mr. Geebrah comes! The students ran out through the door, and kept running until they were 1/4, then 2/4, then 3/4, and finally 4/4 of the way back to school. When they got back, it was already the next morning, and they saw the other students happily playing in the schoolyard. What happened? Whys everyone so happy? asked Joe. Mr. Geebrah decided to become an English teacher! yelled Xander. Yeah said Jenny, Hes so cool now. Numbers made him so confused and angry, but hes really good at spelling!

Which is the fraction on the key that fits the lock that has 45/108?

Suzy, Jenna, Jake, and Joe, joined their friends playing in the yard, and even Mr. Geebrah came out to play a quick game of tag. The sun was shining, there wasnt a cloud in the sky, and everyone had a big smile!!!

Sumber: Mr. R (2012). Fraction Limericks. http://mathstory.com/. Dilayari pada 5 Mac 2013. *Bahan ini adalah cetakan internet. Maklumat lanjut di http://mathstory.com/algebrah/Algebrahindex.html#.UUCwZ9b -GSo