Activity W 5.4: Making different stories for the same number sentence
Traditionally, word problems appear in textbooks or in classroom teaching at the end of a chapter.
Often, little time and attention is spent on making sense of these word problems.
Students often get confused with the words and the message the sentences convey.
Let the students create their own stories, or word problems;
narrate a mathematical sentence like
5 + 6 = 11
can help to build an understanding of the mathematical ideas and lead to greater problem solving skills.
It can help the students overcome the difficulties of making sense of the context of the word problems because they will construct their own context and focus on making the story fitints mathematics.
In that way, it also helps them with identifying, which mathematical representation to use.
This activity is directed towards forming such contexts using number statements.
Procedure
Give the students a number statement say, 5 + 7 = 12.
This statement can be represented by several mathematical relationships, such as:
Number Sentence: 5 + 7 = 12
Step 1: Write Different Mathematical Relationships
Adding 5 and 7 together makes 12.
5 more than 7 gives 12.
The total number of things is 5 + 7 = 12.
7 less from something leaves 5 (i.e., 12 - 7 = 5).
12 minus 5 equals 7.
12 is the sum of 5 and 7.
- Give the students more such numerical statements and ask them to write different mathematical relationships for them.
- Now, ask the students to formulate a story or word problem for each of these relationships.
- Encourage them to use their imagination!
- Example: For the statement: Adding 5 and 7 together make 12;
- it could be— In a cricket match, Kalyani and Shreya are batting together. Kalyani made 5 runs, whereas Shreya made 7. What is the total number of runs they made?
Step 2: Create Different Word Problems or Stories
-
Adding 5 and 7 together makes 12:
In a cricket match, Kalyani and Shreya are batting together. Kalyani made 5 runs, whereas Shreya made 7. What is the total number of runs they made? -
5 more than 7 gives 12:
A fruit seller had 7 apples in one basket. He put 5 more apples into the basket. How many apples are there now? -
The total number of things is 5 + 7 = 12:
There are 5 red balloons and 7 blue balloons at a party. How many balloons are there in total? -
7 less from something leaves 5 (i.e., 12 - 7 = 5):
Rina had some toffees. She gave 7 toffees to her brother and was left with 5. How many toffees did she have originally? -
12 minus 5 equals 7:
There were 12 books on a shelf. If 5 books were taken away, how many books are left on the shelf? -
12 is the sum of 5 and 7:
A gardener planted 5 rose plants in one row and 7 rose plants in another row. How many rose plants did he plant in total?
Example 2
Let's take the number sentence 8 + 4 = 12 and go through the same steps.
Number Sentence: 8 + 4 = 12
Step 1: Different Mathematical Relationships
-
Adding 8 and 4 together makes 12.
-
8 more than 4 gives 12.
-
The total number of things is 8 + 4 = 12.
-
4 less from something leaves 8 (i.e., 12 - 4 = 8).
-
12 minus 8 equals 4.
-
12 is the sum of 8 and 4.
Step 2: Word Problems or Stories
-
Adding 8 and 4 together makes 12:
Ravi has 8 pencils and his friend gives him 4 more. How many pencils does Ravi have in total? -
8 more than 4 gives 12:
A basket had 4 oranges. Someone added 8 more oranges. How many oranges are there now? -
The total number of things is 8 + 4 = 12:
There are 8 boys and 4 girls in a group. How many children are there altogether? -
4 less from something leaves 8 (i.e., 12 - 4 = 8):
Rita had some flowers. She gave 4 flowers to her friend and was left with 8. How many flowers did she have at the beginning? -
12 minus 8 equals 4:
There were 12 candies in a box. After giving 8 candies to her brother, how many does Anu have now? -
12 is the sum of 8 and 4:
There are 8 green frogs and 4 brown frogs on a lily pad. How many frogs are there in total?
No comments:
Post a Comment