Stuck? Start here. Read the steps, try the problem, then check your answer.
I can…
I can make sense of a problem, plan a strategy, and use fractions of a whole number to compare quantities.
Key words
quantity — An amount in a problem — a number with a meaning attached, like 540 meters.
relationship — How two quantities compare or connect to each other.
strategy — A plan for how to solve a problem before you start computing.
reasonable — A solution that makes sense in the context of the problem.
persevere — To keep working on a problem, checking your progress and adjusting your plan when you get stuck.
Steps
A bowl is full of peas — far too many to count one at a time. About how many peas are in the bowl?
I do not count every pea — I look for a group I CAN count, like one small cluster of about 10.
Then I ask how many of those clusters would cover the whole bowl. I count about 12.
12 clusters of about 10 is 12 × 10 = 120, so my estimate is about 120 peas — a reasoned answer, close enough to be useful.
Try it
Diego is figuring out how much paint he needs for a fence. His first plan isn't working. Which approach best matches the idea that math is exploring and thinking?
Check your answer
Figure out what he knows and what he needs, make a plan, check how it's going, and try a new plan when he's stuck
Exploring and thinking is a cycle: make sense of the problem, make a plan, check your progress, and change your plan when you hit a dead end.
Sentence starter
I know ___ because ___.
Goal: I can explain my plan using the words we know, we don't know, and my strategy is ___ .