Article
Illustrated by Rafael Alvarez
Math,

Malala and the Magic Pencil

How one brave girl stood up for her right to education

By Jessica McKenna-Ratjen; Illustrated by Fafael Alvarez
From the September 2022 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will rewrite numbers related to Malala's fight for education in expanded form.

Lexile: 620L
Focus Area: Numbers and Operations,
Standards
  • MATHEMATICAL PRACTICES: MP4, MP5, MP7 COMMON CORE: 4.NBT.A.2 TEKS: 4.2B

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Lexile® measure

  • 620L

Louise Kennerley/Fairfax Media via Getty Images 

Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora, Pakistan, in 1997. Her father, who founded a school, taught her that every person has a right to learn.

When an extremist religious group called the Taliban took control of Malala’s city, it banned girls from going to school. Malala spoke out against this policy.

In 2012, members of the Taliban attacked Malala. She was only 15 years old. She miraculously survived.

Malala refused to be silenced. In 2014, at age 17, she became the youngest person ever to  receive the Nobel Peace Prize. To this day, she still travels the world speaking and writing about the importance of education.

Mingora, 2004: Malala was an ordinary girl growing up in Pakistan. She liked to sleep in late . . .

. . . she liked to go to school . . .

. . . and she liked to play with her siblings and friends.

Malala noticed that some local children had to look for food instead of go to school. And many girls did not go, even if they could afford it. Families expected women and teen girls to stay home to cook, clean, and care for their relatives.

When she was young, Malala's favorite TV show was about a boy with a magic pencil.

Malala dreamed of having a magic pencil of her own. With it, she could fix everyone’s problems. She wrote a letter to God praying for one.

Mingora, 2006: The magic pencil never came. But a frightening change did.

The Taliban is an extreme political and religious group. In Mingora, it burned anything used for watching movies or listening to music. The group believes women should be covered from head to toe while outside their homes.

Mingora, 2009: Eventually, the Taliban banned all girls from going to school. Malala did not understand.

Malala kept going to school in secret, with her father’s help. But if the Taliban caught her or her classmates, they could be badly harmed.

Malala lifted her pencil. It was not magic. But it was still powerful. With it, she wrote about her life and how it had changed since the Taliban arrived.

Through her father’s connections, Malala was able to have her writings published online by a major news company. People around the world read Malala’s words. They supported her choice to continue going to school.

Malala gave interviews to news stations as well. She spoke up for her right to education. Moved by her words, people pressured the Taliban to reopen schools for some girls.

After speaking out, the Taliban attacked Malala. Still, she never stopped using her words to fight for education for all. Malala knew that ordinary pens and ordinary voices could have the same power as a magic pencil.

Math Talk

When might it be useful to work with numbers in expanded form?

Malala’s mother nicknamed her Pisho. This means “cat” in Malala’s native language, Pashto. Pashto is spoken by about 13 percent of the people in Pakistan. Write the number 13 in expanded form.

Malala’s father founded the Khushal School in 1994. Malala started attending when she was only 4 years old. What is the value of the 4 in 1,994?

Many people in Pakistan like to play cricket, which is similar to baseball. The national team once beat Ireland by scoring 255 more runs! Write the number 255 in expanded form.

The show was called Shaka Laka Boom Boom. It had 491 total episodes. What is the value of the 4 in this number?

At the end of 2007, the Taliban swept through 59 villages and replaced the police with its own members. Its rules became law. Write the number 59 in expanded form.

Of the 1,576 schools in the region, the Taliban destroyed more than 400 during this time. Write the number 1,576 in expanded form.

Malala once had 27 girls in her school class. Now there were only 10. Write the difference in expanded form.

Malala posted a total of 24 times on her blog for the BBC, a news outlet. Write the number 24 in expanded form.

Today, more than seventy-two million children worldwide still do not attend school. Write that number in expanded form.

Continue Your Learning

  • Rewatch the video “Beyond the Story: Malala’s Fight for Education” (above). Then write a paragraph about the character traits Malala displayed that helped her to become the person she is today. Afterward, write a second paragraph about what lessons you can learn from her journey.
  • Make a list of all the numbers included in Malala’s introduction on page 10. Then rewrite each number in expanded form.
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video (2)
Activities (6)
Question & Answer Sheets
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
video (2)
video (2)
Activities (6)
Question & Answer Sheets
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
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1. SPARK ENGAGEMENT.

Play the video "Beyond the Story: Malala's Fight for Education." Then, before or after reading the article, spark a discussion based on the following questions.

  • What are the benefits of going to school and/or receiving an education?
  • Describe the perfect school for you. What classes would be taught? When and what time would school begin and end? How much time would spend in each type of class?
  • How would school change if suddenly half of the students stopped coming to class?

2. INTRODUCE THE MATH CONCEPT AND VOCABULARY.

  • Display a world map with Pakistan identified and the number 7, 561. This graphic novel takes place in Pakistan, a country in the Middle East. The shortest distance between Pakistan and the U.S. is 7,561 miles. This number is written in standard form.
  • What place values are represented by the digits in this number? (thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones)
  • If we wanted to not use numbers, how else could we write this distance? (in word form)
  • Today we will write numbers in another way--using expanded form.

3. WORK THROUGH THE "WHAT TO DO" BOX.

  • In expanded form, how was the value of the digit 4 represented? (400)
  • How are the values of each digit separated? (using plus signs)
  • What would you do if a digit had the value of 0? (You would skip that digit or use a 0 for its value.)
  • How could a place value chart help you write large numbers in expanded form? (Answers will vary. Possible answer: It could help you identify which place vale each digit is in.)

4. REINFORCE WITH MATH PRACTICE.

Have students complete questions 1 through 9 on pages 11-15.

EDITOR'S TIP:

To visually represent the expanded form of numbers, have students practice building 3-digit numbers using place value blocks. Encourage students to first count the hundreds blocks they have used and write down the total, then the tens, then the ones. Show them that by adding these place values together, they create the complete 3-digit number.

-Jessica McKenna- Ratjen, Associate Editor

Journal Reflection

According to the graphic novel, "Malala knew that ordinary pens and ordinary voices could have the same power as a magic pencil." Have students think about the resources and talents they have. Then have them write a journal entry describing ways they can use those resources and talents to help others around them.

 

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