Is the maths in the story actually correct?

Each grade has a worked example the story is built around, with the numbers fixed in advance rather than invented during writing. We still recommend the classroom step of asking students to verify it — checking the story is part of the lesson, not a workaround.

Which grades are covered?

Kindergarten through Grade 8. Choosing the grade when you create the story is what selects the concept.

Can a whole class use the same character?

Yes. One drawing can carry a run of stories across a term, which is how most classrooms use it.

School Math Stories

A maths story is only useful if the maths in it is right. Pick a grade and a School Math story is built around the concept that grade is working on — counting to twenty in Kindergarten, equal rows and arrays in Grade 3, fractions in Grade 5, the Pythagorean theorem in Grade 8 — with the numbers stated in the text rather than left for a child to count in a picture. The character solving it is the one your class drew.

What makes a good school math story

Tied to the grade, not to a guess

The grade you choose selects the concept, the vocabulary and a worked example, so a Grade 3 story is about multiplication rather than about school in general.

The working is on the page

The middle pages show the character noticing the problem, trying something and reaching the answer step by step — not arriving at it between paragraphs.

A page where somebody checks

Every story has a beat where a character verifies the answer: counts again, measures again, or explains how they know. That is the part teachers ask students to imitate.

Ends with a question for the class

The last page closes with something a teacher can ask aloud, so the story leads into discussion instead of stopping.

Story ideas to start from

Kindergarten: five ducks on the pond, and two more arriving
Grade 2: measuring every desk in the room to find the longest
Grade 3: four rows of six flowers, and the garden nobody can count twice
Grade 5: eight slices of pizza, five eaten, and an argument about what is left
Grade 8: a thirteen-foot ladder, a wall, and a firefighter who needs the height

Common questions

Is the maths in the story actually correct?: Each grade has a worked example the story is built around, with the numbers fixed in advance rather than invented during writing. We still recommend the classroom step of asking students to verify it — checking the story is part of the lesson, not a workaround.
Which grades are covered?: Kindergarten through Grade 8. Choosing the grade when you create the story is what selects the concept.
Can a whole class use the same character?: Yes. One drawing can carry a run of stories across a term, which is how most classrooms use it.