FAMILY LETTER UNIT 3: Solving Story Problems

MathInThisUnit:

WAYSOFLEARNINGABOUT
ADDITIONANDSUBTRACTION

Thisunitwillfocusonmathematicalideassuchasadditionand
subtractionofwholenumbers,countingtohighernumbers,
countingalargesetofobjects,andfindingmultiplecombinations
ofanumber.

Studentswilldolotsofworkwiththeimportantideathat
quantitiescanbecomposedanddecomposedindifferentways,
whilethequantityremainsthesame.Studentshaverepeated
experiencesbreakingonenumber(whole)intotwoormoreparts
orcombiningtwopartstoformawhole.

Theadditionandsubtractionworkfocusesonmakingsenseof
theseoperations,practicingaddingandsubtractingnumbers,
andsolvingadditionandsubtractionstoryproblems.Manyofthe
gamesandactivitiesinvolvestudentsincomparingand
combiningtwoamountsorremovingoneamountfromtheother.
Thegoaloftheworkwithstoryproblemsisforstudentstolearn
tovisualizetheactionofthestoryproblemsandtosolvethe
problemsinwaysthatmakesensetothem.

Studentswilluseavarietyofmathematicaltools,suchascubes
andcounters,andrepresentations,suchasnumberlinesand
100chart,tomodelandsolveadditionandsubtractionproblems
andtoclarifyandcommunicatetheirthinking.Theyare
encouragetorepresenttheirworkonpaperinwaysthatmake
sensetothem.Manyuseacombinationofpictures,words,
numbers,andmathematicalsymbols.

HowManyofEach?
StudentsarepresentedwithmanydifferentHow
ManyofEachproblems.Forexample,Ihave8
piecesoffruitinmybasket.Someareapples
andsomearebananas.Howmanyofeach
couldtherebe?Thegoalistomakesenseof
theproblem,findseveralsolutions,develop
waystoshowyoursolutiononpaper,andsolve
problemswithmorethanonecorrectsolution.

StartwithGetto
Studentspickanumbertostartwithandoneto
getto.Theycountfromthestartnumbertothe
stopnumber.Thisispracticewiththerote
countingsequencebothforwardandbackward.
Italsohelpsconnectnumeralswithnumber
namesanddevelopasenseofthemagnitude
betweennumbers.Studentsalsopractice
countinghowmanyhopsitisfromthestart
numbertothestopnumber.Thisisbeginning
thinkingaboutmissingaddendproblems,e.g.,
11+___=19.Or15____=9

Startwith11.Canyoucountupto19?
Startwith15.Canyougetto9?Howmany
hopswillittake?

MentalStrategiesforAdditionandSubtraction
Asstudentsmovethroughtheyear,firstgraderswillbe
developingmentalstrategiesforadditionandsubtraction.Inthe
beginning,however,itisveryimportantforchildrentohave
concreteobjectstomanipulateastheydevelopanunderstanding
fortheconceptsofadditionandsubtraction.Thesearethe
strategiesthatchildrenwilldevelopthroughmany,many
experiences:

countingon

countingback186eighteen,17,16,15,14,13,12

commutativepropertyofaddition(e.g.,4+6=6+4)

makingten(e.g.,8+6=8+2+4=10+4=14)

decomposeanumberleadingtoten(e.g.134=133
1=101=9)

composeanumberleadingtoten(e.g.,8+6=8+2+
4=10+4=14)

usingtherelationshipbetweenadditionandsubtraction
(e.g.,knowing8+4=12so124=8)

creatingequivalentbuteasierknownsums(e.g.,6+7=
6+6+1=12+1=13)

TodaysNumber
Studentsgeneratewaystomakethedays
number.Withinthisactivity,manystudents
discoverwaystouseoneexpressiontogenerate
anotherorfindpatternsthathelpthemgenerate
manyexpressions.Forexample,astudentmay
use10+2=12togenerate5+5+2=12or
maydiscover131and142and153all
equal12.

ResourcestoHelpatHome

Family Fun!
Activities

HOW MANY AM I HIDING?:

Put 5-12 small objects
in your hand. Have your child determine how many
you have. Then hide some in your other hand and
show your child what is left. Now ask, How many
am I hiding? Encourage your child to explain his or
her thinking. After playing a few rounds with the
same number, you can change the total and start
again. Sometimes, recording the combinations is
fun too.

Web Sites

TenFrameactivitiesonIlluminationsat
www.illuminations.nctm.org/Activity.aspx?id+3565

MendtheNumberSequence
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/games/mend.shtml

CountHootsNumberGames
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/chi.shtml

ON AND OFF:Gather 5-12 small objects and a

sheet of paper. Decide on a number of objects that
you will use for the game. Have your child count out
that many objects. Then hold those objects above
the sheet of paper and drop them. Count how many
are on the paper and how many are off. Repeat
several times with the same total.

APPS

Match10:Make10byaddingnumbers,butthedigits
alsoequalyourscore.
DeepSeaDuel:Collectcardstomakeaspecific
sum.Youdeterminenumberofcardsused,levelof
numberandlevelofstrategy.
BingoBugs:kidslovethislivelyapp.

START WITH/GET TO:

see above Use numbers
from 1-60.
PLAY LOTS OF GAMES:
board games with dice,
card games, and games sent home with homework
are all terrific ways to practice counting and adding.

CREATE STORY PROBLEMS:

pick an equation and
create a story to go with it. To change things up,
give the answer (e.g. 4 pelicans) and have your child
think of what the question might be.

GREAT BOOKS

BIG QUESTIONS

How can numbers be composed? and

decomposed?

Ten in Bed.
by Penny Dale
Fish Eyes.
by Lois Ehlert
These Bees Count.
by Alison Formento
The Philharmonic Gets Dressed
by Karla Kushkin
12 Ways to Get to 11.
by Eve Merriam
Feast for 10.
by Cathryn Falwell
Uno, Dos, Tres, One, Two, Three.
by Pat Mora
From One to One Hundred.
by Teri Sloat
Count on Your Fingers African Style.
by Claudia
Zaslavsky
My Granny Went to Market
. By Stella Blackstone
and Christopher Corr

Does order matter?

Is 8 + 4 the same as 4 + 8?
Is 8 girls and 4 boys the same as 4 girls and 8
boys?
When two quantities are combined, if one is
taken from one addend and given to the other,
does the total stay the same?
8+3
7+4
6+5
What does this = mean?