Story Problems Involving Addition

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SWBAT find the total of two quantities using a known strategy. SWBAT connect the written numbers and standard notation.

Big Idea

What is your just right strategy? Students will decide which strategy they will use to solve a variety of story problems.

Warm Up

5 minutes

Using the established Start At/Stop At Routine, play a few rounds using the classroom number line.

Finding A Just Right Strategy

15 minutes

I start by talking about the pen problem, that the students did at the end of yesterday's lesson.  

"Yesterday, I had each of you complete a problem about pens.  I took a look at how each of you completed the task and looked at the strategy you used.  I have created a poster that has examples of each strategy.  Let's take a look at it."

I then go over the poster with the students and discussing how each strategy was represented.  

"Today, while you are solving story problems, I want you to identify your "just right strategy" ( I am using this terminology because we use it for reading books and they are familiar with the term) that you will use to solve each problem."

Before reading the problem, I review the established story problem routine.

I then read the first problem to the students.

"Tim has 6 toy cars.  Sam has 7 toy cars.  How many toy cars do they have?" The problem can be located in the resource section.

I then go through the story problem routine (linked above).  After reviewing the routine, ask the students to identify (using the poster) what just right strategy will they use.  I will have them tell me and mark their paper before they go and try it.  This way I can see who actually used the strategy they tried.  I mark the paper with little letters int he corner (CA: counting all, CO: counting on, KF: Known Fact).


Solving Addition Story Problems

20 minutes

Students work on solving the problem that was just introduced in the previous section.  The Core Standards expect students to use addition within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to, putting together, and comparing, by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem ( CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.A.1).  While working on these problems the students are being asked to use one of these strategies to solve the problem.  At the same time the students are being asked to make sense of the problem, find an entry point to solving it, and then executing their strategy (CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1).  

There are two other problems to solve if people get done early.  The 2nd problem has students combining two numbers that can be solved as a doubles +2 problem (for those using known facts). The third problem has students solving a missing addends problem.  These two additional problems can be found in the section resource.

Session Wrap Up

15 minutes

Call the students back to the circle area and have them sit so they can see the strategy chart you used at the beginning of the lesson.  Using the document camera, I will show examples of student work and the strategies that they used.  I will ask that the student explain what he/she did to solve the problem and what strategy they used. 

There are 4 videos and examples of student work (that correspond to the videos).  These videos are the actual conversations that went on during this part of the lesson.  I have included the students scanned work so that you can look more closely at what each student did.

The resources are listed in the order that they were shared in the class.  Check out my reflection on this section to see why I presented them the way I did.

Continued Practice

5 minutes

I have a few students who are still reversing numerals when they write them and want to work in a small group with them.  The other students can play the 10 Sticks game.  There is a video on the section resource that models this game.  I am choosing this activity because it allows students to work on counting by 10's and then counting on by 1's.