options: Number & Operations - Fractions: students learn to understand fractions as numbers and may work with them using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Number & Operations in Base Ten: students learn to work with the base-ten system and build place value understanding.

Geometry: students learn to classify geometric figures by their properties, and understand and compare the relationships between them. Students develop and use formulas to compute lengths, areas, and volumes, and they use transformations to generate new shapes and compare existing ones. Geometry can be studied with and without coordinates.

Counting & Cardinality: students learn to know number names and the count sequence, count to tell the number of objects, and compare numbers.

Functions: students learn to define, use, and evaluate functions to model relationships between quantities.

Statistics & Probability: students learn to analyze and produce data distributions, and build understanding of univariate and bivariate data. They learn to interpret data, make statistical inferences, justify conclusions, understand rules of probability, and use probability to make decisions.

Operations & Algebra: students learn to solve problems using algebraic thinking and operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They may learn to identify and explain arithmetic patterns, evaluate or manipulate numerical expressions, and reason with equations and inequalities.

Ratios & Proportional Relationships: students learn to recognize, describe, represent, and reason with ratios, rates, proportional relationships, and percent.

Number Systems and Quantity: students learn to understand the complex number system and reason quantitatively.

Measurement & Data: students learn to work with data and measure attributes such as time, money, length, area, and volume. They may learn to compare measurements to operations and convert between different units of measure.

Modeling: students learn to choose and use appropriate mathematics and statistics to analyze real-world empirical situations, improve decisions, and report on their conclusions and the reasoning behind them.
problem_activity: Narrative
Previously, students matched diagrams and equations to situations with an unknown quantity. Here, they generate such equations, using a letter for the unknown quantity, solve problems, and explain how they know their answers makes sense. Students should be encouraged to use any solving strategy they feel comfortable with. If not yet addressed, mention that any letter can be used for the unknown quantity in their equation.
While this activity is focused on independent practice, encourage students to discuss the problem with a partner if needed. Though the task asks students to write an equation first, students may complete the task in any order that makes sense to them.
Students reason abstractly and quantitatively when they write an equation that represents the situation (MP2). They also practice making sense of a problem and its solution in terms of the context (MP1).
MLR5 Co-Craft Questions:
Keep books or devices closed. Display only the problem stem, without revealing the question, and ask students to write down possible mathematical questions that could be asked about the situation. Invite students to compare their questions before revealing the task. Ask, “What do these questions have in common? How are they different?” Reveal the intended questions for this task and invite additional connections.
Advances: Reading, Writing
Engagement: Develop Effort and Persistence.
Differentiate the degree of difficulty or complexity. Some students may benefit from starting with a familiar example or one with more accessible values before working independently on the three parts to the activity.
Supports accessibility for: Social-Emotional Functioning, Conceptual Processing
Launch
Groups of 2
“Stones are sometimes used to play games. One of the games that can be played with stones is mancala. In mancala, stones are moved from pit to pit and players try to capture the other player's stones. The picture shows a game of mancala in progress.”
“Now we're going to solve a problem about the stones in a game of mancala.”
“What are some ways you will be able to determine if your answer makes sense?” (I can estimate an answer using rounding. I can think about the size of the numbers in the problem.)
Share and record responses.
Activity
“Take some independent time to work on this problem. You can choose to solve the problem first or write the equation first.”
5–7 minutes: independent work time
Monitor for different ways students:
write an equation
represent the problem, such as by using a tape diagram
decide their answer makes sense, such as thinking about the situation or by rounding
Student Facing
Kiran is setting up a game of mancala. He has a jar of 104 stones.
From the jar, he takes 3 stones for each of the 6 pits on his side of the board.
How many stones are in the jar now?
[IMG]
Write an equation to represent the situation. Use a letter for the unknown quantity.
Solve the problem. Explain or show your reasoning.
Explain how you know your answer makes sense.
Student Response
Teachers with a valid work email address can
click here to register or sign in
for free access to Student Response.
Advancing Student Thinking
If students don't find a solution to the problem, consider asking:
“What is this problem about? What can be counted or measured in this situation?”
“How could you represent the problem?”
Activity Synthesis
Invite students to share the equations they wrote.
Discuss differences in equations students wrote. Consider asking: “_____ wrote _____ and _____ wrote _____. How are those equations alike and different?” (I used a different letter for my unknown. I wrote
\(3\times6\)
instead of
\(6 \times 3\)
.)
Have several students share different strategies used to solve the problem. Try to feature a student-drawn tape diagram.
Consider asking:
“Did anyone solve the problem in a different way?”
“Did anyone use a tape diagram to solve?”
“How did you know if your answer made sense?”


correct_option_index: 6