Grumpy Dragon

When my students are working on independent tasks, I have a screen display of things they must do, may do, and what they might have missed (catch up). It usually looks something like this:

I also like to have a cheesy joke or fun image on there to be playful. One day, I added a picture of a grumpy dragon and the students loved it. I found myself wondering where the picture had come from. A few minutes later I discovered that it was a statue available on Amazon.

I displayed the listing and asked my students if I should buy it. They said, "Yes!" and $30.00 later my very own grumpy dragon was bought and paid for. Here are some things I noticed as we discussed if we should get grumpy dragon:

1. The dimensions were listed and students had no idea how big grumpy dragon would be (this was during trimester 2, so my teacher heart was panicking that they didn't recognize the measurements or relate it to the volume project we had done this year).

2. While students were unsure how big grumpy dragon would be, they were using some comparisons to help get an estimate. Some students noted that a squishmallow they own was about the same price, so it must be a very big statue that is about the same size as their squishmallow. Others estimated that it would be huge (they stretched their arms out as wide as they could to show the size)

3. All the students were engaged. Every single one was invested in this statue of a grumpy dragon. I knew this would be a great community building, math, and writing opportunity.

When grumpy dragon arrived, I hid it in my cupboard. I told students that either it was so big that our custodian would be delivering it on a handcart or it was small enough that I'd hidden it in the room. I told student that they had 5 minutes to use any tools in the room (I was hoping they would use a ruler) to determine the size based on the dimensions given.

Students excitedly talked about what they thought, got rulers, debated, and ultimately decided that it was smaller than they had first thought. I then brought grumpy dragon out and then passed the statue around. Students suggested possible names and I added the names to a google form and then had students vote. 

My students are used to having a primary and then final election, so we did two rounds and then looked at the data (votes). They were analyzing graphs, asking to see a closer breakdown of the votes cast, and asking for time to debate the merits of the possible names. Here's what the data looked like for the primary: Our grumpy dragon was named Sir Grumpsalot, and my students decided that they wanted to write him letter. I'm looking forward to seeing what he writes back and seeing what other exciting ways he continues to bring joy to my classroom.