Problem Solving and the Common Core

Activities

The majority of students will be entering the classroom for the 1^st time, thus I will need to assess students’ needs. Introduction of the unit will be based on student readiness. My teaching will need to be adaptive, making it impossible to predict exactly how things will go. Student performance will more specifically influence the implementation of the above-described strategies. However, these lessons are intended to convey a general overview of possible activities.

Sample Lesson #1

The following materials are needed: projector, wifi connection, The Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith video, spray bottle, whiteboard, dry erase markers, manipulatives, student math journals and colored pencils.

I will introduce the lesson stating, “Today we are going to learn about being problem solvers. First, we are going to watch a video about a boy who is a problem solver. Then we are going to practice being problem solvers ourselves.” Then, the class will view the video animated read aloud of the book The Math Curse. In order to activate previous knowledge, I will discuss the story with children, ensuring the understanding that we encounter math in our everyday actions. I will have students make connections between math and their daily happenings and allow students to take turns sharing their thinking in response to the story. I will set the goal for the lesson stating, “Before we begin practicing our classroom rituals and routines, I’m going to put a Math Curse on you guys just like the boy in the story! Not to worry though, this a good curse not a scary one! (I will spray a thinking potion over the students, just for fun!) Ah, now you will think of everything through the lens of a problem solver.”

Expectations will be modeled for students, during an opening activity I will connect the lesson to instruction of classroom routines stating, “Since, we’ve been practicing lining up and waiting in our transition area we are going to model some problem solving about lining up.” Since our class size is small, to create a transition area, I create a ten frame on the floor with tape. Students line up in designated spots and I lead them out in groups of 5. I will project the problem, “3 children are standing in line ready to go to Art class. 2 more children join them. How many children are ready to transition?” on the screen and have students read it aloud with me. When introducing the 1^st problem, I will utilize explicit strategy instruction, calling on student volunteers to act out the problem. As children act out the problem, I will model the count all strategy and represent the problem using pictures and a number sentence. Students will document the problems in their math journals. I will gradually release responsibility to students by completing another problem, choosing students to be the problem solvers and actors.

Problems:

5 children are standing in line. 2 children leave the line because they forgot to put away their materials. How many are in line now?

Children will be divided into small, differentiated groups. Groups will work with varying levels of support based on student needs. Staff will work with the children providing supports as needed. Students will work together to complete change increase result unknown and change decrease result unknown word problems. Manipulatives will be provided and students will represent their solutions visually and with a number sentence in their math journals. In order to assess learning, groups will share out their solutions and discuss how they solved the problems.

Sample Lesson #2

The following materials are needed: photos of students engaged in classroom activities, whiteboard, dry erase markers, manipulatives, student math journals and colored pencils.

I will introduce the lesson stating, “Today we are going to continue to learn about being problem solvers. We are going to create a class book of word problems starring our class.” In order to activate previous knowledge, I will share some of the photos and have students make connections between math and their daily happenings. I will allow students to take turns sharing their thinking. I will set the goal for the lesson stating, “As we have been busy learning, we have been taking photos of the class. Today we are going to work in groups, looking at photos and creating change problems about the things happening in the pictures.”

I will model expectations for students during an opening activity. A picture will be projected on the screen and I will engage students in a think aloud as we create a problem related to the story. Then, children will be divided into small, differentiated groups. Groups will work with varying levels of support based on student needs. Staff will work with the children providing supports as needed. Students will work together to create change increase result unknown and change decrease result unknown word problems. In order to assess learning, groups will share the problems the created.

Sample Lesson #3

The following materials are needed: student generated math problems, whiteboard, dry erase markers, manipulatives, student math journals and colored pencils.

I will introduce the lesson stating, “Today we are going to continue to learn about being problem solvers. We are going to solve the word problems that our friends have created.” In order to activate previous knowledge, groups will choose a problem that they would like to include in the class book. They will take turns sharing a problem with the class. I will set the goal for the lesson stating, “Today we are going to work in groups and solve the change problems that our friends have created.”

I will model expectations for students during an opening activity. The problem that the class created as a group will be projected onto the screen and I will engage students in a think aloud as we solve the problem. Then, children will be divided into small, differentiated groups. Groups will work with varying levels of support based on student needs. Staff will work with the children providing supports as needed. Students will work together to solve the change increase result unknown and change decrease result unknown word problems created by their peers. They will utilize manipulatives, create a visual of their thinking and identify a correlating number sentence. In order to assess learning, students will share their solution strategies to the student generated problems and solutions and respond to questions. The problems and student solutions will be assembled to create a class book.