Aren't you kids zombie nuts right now?! Mine are! They can't stop talking about them! Using relevant topics is a great way to get your reluctant mathematicians thinking and invested.
This lesson comes after a TON of practice in the unit on thinking about story problems and the meaning behind the symbols we use to represent the actions: +, - and =. This lesson asks students to apply what they understand about these symbols to create their own story problems. Students are doing a very rigorous version of 1.OA.1! They are taking their understanding of story problems and applying it to creative writing.
See youtube link below to see how I opened the lesson! Watch for how I explain WHAT we are doing, WHY we are doing it and HOW we know we have met our learning goal.
I have a number sentence here and I am trying to figure out which story it matches. Let’s see if you can figure it out!
I'll present this number sentence on chart paper:
7 + 4 = _____
Present problem: Your job is to figure out which story problem represents this equation.
Here are the 2 story problems (on chart paper):
There are 7 cats in my yard. 4 of them run away. How many cats are in my yard now?
There are 7 cats in my yard. 4 more cats come to play. How many cats are in my yard now?
For formative data, turn and talk: Which one do you think matches this number sentence? Why do you think that?
Focus scaffolding questions:
To push students to start using more mental strategies, I’ll have them turn and talk to solve. Turn and talk: How many cats are in my yard now?
Now that students have selected which story problem matches a given problem, now they are going to generate a story problem to match 18-2 with me. CCSS MP2 asks students to reason abstractly and quantitatively-they both can represent a story using numbers and symbols AND take numbers and symbols and contextualize them into a story.
Modeling Questions and Think Aloud:
I am going to write a story problem about zombies to match this number sentence. First I had 18 zombies. I’ll pretend they are at the park.
Did more zombies come? Or did some go away? How many went away? I am going to have 2 go away to the zoo.
Now I need to ask a question for the missing part: How many zombies are left?
There were 18 zombies in the park. 2 of them went to the zoo. How many zombies are left? Let’s make sure it matches my equation. First there were 18, then I took 2 away and now there are 16.
Present student work time problem: 3+11= ___ Let’s make this story problem all about cupcakes!
Planning Partner Talk Questions:
I"ll send students to work independently and write their own story problems. This writing time is aligned to L.1.1j, as students are practicing using a variety of kinds of sentences to tell their story and then ask a question about it. This also is aligned to the CCSS vision for writing across the curriculum.
After the work time, students will share their story problems with a partner. Students will prove that the story problem matches the number sentence and I’ll share out a few exemplars with the class.
See attached document for the student work time problem!
Students write their own story problems to match a given number sentence. Students get differentiated sets of numbers based on ability level.
See attached documents for independent practice sheets.
Students will each bring a problem to share with a partner. I'll share one exemplar problem with the class. I'll leave this problem on chart paper for students to solve later in the day during free time or snack.