Neft Teacher · Learn It

Unit 1 · Standard MPP.3

Math is Mine

Lesson 1-1 · Learn It — how the math works

Why we're learning this

You have been doing math your whole life — at home, in school, and in your neighborhood — often without calling it math. This year starts by naming what you already do. Today you will take a Strengths Inventory — naming one thing you can already do well and one area you want to grow — and you will write your own math story. Then you will read a classmate’s story and find one thing that is the same as yours and one thing that is different. Estimating the riders on that Ferris wheel is math. So is deciding whether an answer is reasonable.

✱ Math Workbench

Learn It

We are all doers of math

Before any new mathematics, the book asks a different question: where does math already live in your day?

Picture itSee what the math looks like before you read about it

A Ferris wheel turns slowly against the evening sky. Each car is filling with riders as the line moves forward.
Where you see this in real lifeA Ferris wheel turns slowly against the evening sky. Each car is filling with riders as the line moves forward.

Watch me solve itI do — read one step at a time

  1. The Ferris wheel has 20 cars, and about 4 people fit in each car. About how many people can ride at one time?
  2. I count the cars: 20. Then I how many riders fit in one car: about 4.
  3. I do not count every person — an is a reasoned answer that is close enough to be useful.
  4. 20 × 4 = 80, so I would say “about 80 people.”20 × 4 = 80

Watch out — mistakes students make here

  • The lesson isn't about everyone getting the same score — it's about everyone thinking mathematically.
  • The lesson says we do math in different ways, not that everyone must use the same method.
  • The lesson says everyone is a doer of math, not just the students who finish fastest.

Try it with meWe do — you answer first, then check

Same steps, new numbers.

  1. 78.5 = 70 + 8.5
  2. 78.5 = 78 + 0.5
  3. 78.5 = 80 − 1.5.78.5 = 80
  4. Every one of those is the same number wearing different clothes. Find two more.

On your ownYou do — solve this one by yourself

Before you start, remember:

  • Name three ways you used math this week outside of school.
  • Then tell a classmate one math you already have.

Solve: Which decomposition of 78.5 uses multiplication correctly?

My answer

Stuck? Open one hint at a time.

Hint 1

What is half of 78.5?

Hint 2

Half of 78.5 is 39.25.

Hint 3

Two of those halves rebuild it.

Check my answer
✅ Answer: 39.25 × 2
39.25 × 2 = 78.5, so halving and doubling is another way to break the number apart.

Turn & TalkSay it out loud with a partner

The Ferris wheel has 20 cars, and you estimated about 4 riders fit in each car. Why is 20 × 4 an and not an exact count?

Try starting with:

  • This is an estimate because ___, not an exact count.Esto es una estimación porque ___, no un conteo exacto.
  • 20 × 4 gives about ___ riders.20 × 4 da aproximadamente ___ pasajeros.
Use these wordsEstimateReasonableAbout