Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems1 involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem (1Students are not required to independently read the word problems.)
| Name |
Description |
| Aquarium Addition | In this lesson, the students' learning is focused on using real world word problems to solve adding to problems with the result unknown. The students will be focusing on using manipulatives to create drawings to help them solve these problems. Furthermore, the students will be required to write the mathematical equations they used to solve the problem. |
| An Amazing Sunny Day Story- Ways to Make 10 | In this lesson, students are shown a picture of a beach scene. They are asked to identify groups of ten within the picture. There are three pre-determined groups of ten with noticeable parts (people, starfish, coconuts). Using the picture, students will identify a group of ten, create an addition equation for the parts, and transfer the equation into sentences to tell the story. |
| Pete's Groovy Button Problems | This lesson uses a familiar character, Pete the Cat, that proposes a comparison problem for students to explore. |
| Fill It Up - Piñatas! | This MEA focuses on students' problem solving skills. After reading a story about what is in a piñata, students are asked to help a company find the best way to fill a piñata. It focuses on math skills, including counting and adding three numbers to make 20. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Addition Stories at the Food Store | In this lesson, students will solve addition whole number word problems (within 20) with real-world scenarios by using manipulatives, drawings, or equations. |
| Cookie Subtraction | In this lesson, the teacher shares the book, "Mmm... Cookie Simple Subtraction". The students follow along by representing the problems in the book with cookie manipulatives and recording the equations for each problem. The lesson incorporates a variety of subtraction problem types. |
| Quilt Squares | Students will use pattern blocks to create a quilt square for the Quick Quilters Society. They will have to consider information on a data chart to help them create their squares. They will have to add up the cost to make their square, too. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Making 11 | In this lesson students use manipulatives to discover how to build the number 11. This lesson is great for novice teachers or for teachers who have changed to 1st grade. |
| Word Problem Lesson | In this lesson, students will be able to solve "compare" word problems. |
| Solving Word Problems Using Story Structure | In this lesson, students will learn how to use their knowledge of beginning, middle, and end to solve word problems that include result unknown, change unknown, and start unknown. They will learn how to use a modified story map to write an equation to represent the problem. |
| Out of Sight Missing Addends | Students will learn how to use manipulatives to solve missing addends in math problems. |
| Name |
Description |
| Finding a Chair | These problems explicitly describe one-to-one correspondences without using comparison language. Such problems are easier for students to solve than problems that use comparison language such as "How many more?" or "How many fewer." |
| Field Day Scarcity | The purpose of this task is for students to relate addition and subtraction problems to money in a context that introduces the concept of scarcity. Scarcity occurs when you want or need more than you can have. Students may want to buy everything but will discover that it not possible with only $7 and they will have to make decisions. |
| Boys and Girls, Variation 2 | This task represents the Put Together/Take Apart with both addends unknown context for addition and subtraction. Once a student finds one correct answer, he/she can be encouraged to find another. Ask the student to use objects, pictures, or equations to represent each answer. |
| Boys and Girls, Variation 1 | Students may use either addition or subtraction to solve these types of word problems, with addition related to the action of putting together and subtraction related to the action of taking apart. Depending on how students think about these word problems, either is appropriate for the "addend unknown" problems. Seeing it both ways emphasizes the relationship between addition and subtraction. |
| At the Park | This task includes three different problem types using the "Add To" context with a discrete quantity. |
| Maria’s Marbles | Students benefit from encountering one problem type limited to small numbers and to develop strategies for that type of problem before encountering mixed sets of problems and larger numbers that distract the student from the problem itself. Over time they will be able to distinguish between types of problems in mixed sets and apply the appropriate strategy to solve each. |
| Measuring Blocks | In this task, students work in pairs to measure a block using paperclips. |
| The Pet Snake | The purpose of this task is for students to gain a better understanding of measurements with the example being the growth of a pet snake. |
| School Supplies | This task could be used for either instructional or assessment purposes, depending on where students are in their understanding of addition and how the teacher supports them. The solution shown is very terse; students' solution strategies are likely to be much more varied. |
| Sharing Markers | These task types represent the Take From contexts for addition and subtraction. This task includes the three different problem types using the Take From context: result unknown, change unknown, and start unknown. Students need experience and practice with all three types. |
| Name |
Description |
| Finding a Chair: | These problems explicitly describe one-to-one correspondences without using comparison language. Such problems are easier for students to solve than problems that use comparison language such as "How many more?" or "How many fewer." |
| Boys and Girls, Variation 2: | This task represents the Put Together/Take Apart with both addends unknown context for addition and subtraction. Once a student finds one correct answer, he/she can be encouraged to find another. Ask the student to use objects, pictures, or equations to represent each answer. |
| Boys and Girls, Variation 1: | Students may use either addition or subtraction to solve these types of word problems, with addition related to the action of putting together and subtraction related to the action of taking apart. Depending on how students think about these word problems, either is appropriate for the "addend unknown" problems. Seeing it both ways emphasizes the relationship between addition and subtraction. |
| At the Park: | This task includes three different problem types using the "Add To" context with a discrete quantity. |
| Maria’s Marbles: | Students benefit from encountering one problem type limited to small numbers and to develop strategies for that type of problem before encountering mixed sets of problems and larger numbers that distract the student from the problem itself. Over time they will be able to distinguish between types of problems in mixed sets and apply the appropriate strategy to solve each. |
| The Pet Snake: | The purpose of this task is for students to gain a better understanding of measurements with the example being the growth of a pet snake. |
| School Supplies: | This task could be used for either instructional or assessment purposes, depending on where students are in their understanding of addition and how the teacher supports them. The solution shown is very terse; students' solution strategies are likely to be much more varied. |
| Sharing Markers: | These task types represent the Take From contexts for addition and subtraction. This task includes the three different problem types using the Take From context: result unknown, change unknown, and start unknown. Students need experience and practice with all three types. |
| Name |
Description |
| Finding a Chair: | These problems explicitly describe one-to-one correspondences without using comparison language. Such problems are easier for students to solve than problems that use comparison language such as "How many more?" or "How many fewer." |
| Field Day Scarcity: | The purpose of this task is for students to relate addition and subtraction problems to money in a context that introduces the concept of scarcity. Scarcity occurs when you want or need more than you can have. Students may want to buy everything but will discover that it not possible with only $7 and they will have to make decisions. |
| Boys and Girls, Variation 2: | This task represents the Put Together/Take Apart with both addends unknown context for addition and subtraction. Once a student finds one correct answer, he/she can be encouraged to find another. Ask the student to use objects, pictures, or equations to represent each answer. |
| Boys and Girls, Variation 1: | Students may use either addition or subtraction to solve these types of word problems, with addition related to the action of putting together and subtraction related to the action of taking apart. Depending on how students think about these word problems, either is appropriate for the "addend unknown" problems. Seeing it both ways emphasizes the relationship between addition and subtraction. |
| At the Park: | This task includes three different problem types using the "Add To" context with a discrete quantity. |
| Maria’s Marbles: | Students benefit from encountering one problem type limited to small numbers and to develop strategies for that type of problem before encountering mixed sets of problems and larger numbers that distract the student from the problem itself. Over time they will be able to distinguish between types of problems in mixed sets and apply the appropriate strategy to solve each. |
| Measuring Blocks: | In this task, students work in pairs to measure a block using paperclips. |
| The Pet Snake: | The purpose of this task is for students to gain a better understanding of measurements with the example being the growth of a pet snake. |
| School Supplies: | This task could be used for either instructional or assessment purposes, depending on where students are in their understanding of addition and how the teacher supports them. The solution shown is very terse; students' solution strategies are likely to be much more varied. |
| Sharing Markers: | These task types represent the Take From contexts for addition and subtraction. This task includes the three different problem types using the Take From context: result unknown, change unknown, and start unknown. Students need experience and practice with all three types. |
