MAFS.4.OA.1.3Archived Standard

Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.
General Information
Subject Area: Mathematics
Grade: 4
Domain-Subdomain: Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Cluster: Level 2: Basic Application of Skills & Concepts
Cluster: Use the four operations with whole numbers to solve problems. (Major Cluster) -

Clusters should not be sorted from Major to Supporting and then taught in that order. To do so would strip the coherence of the mathematical ideas and miss the opportunity to enhance the major work of the grade with the supporting clusters.

Date Adopted or Revised: 02/14
Date of Last Rating: 02/14
Status: State Board Approved - Archived
Assessed: Yes
Test Item Specifications

  • Assessment Limits :
    Items requiring precise or exact solutions are limited to:
    • addition and subtraction within 1,000. 
    • multiplication of 2-digit by 1-digit or a multiple of 10 by a 1-digit.
    • division of 2-digit by 1-digit. Items may contain a maximum of 3 steps. 
    Items involving remainders must require the student to interpret and/or use the remainder with respect to the context. Variables must be represented by a letter, and variables must be defined or described in the context. 
  • Calculator :

    No

  • Context :

    Required

Sample Test Items (4)
  • Test Item #: Sample Item 1
  • Question: Jack bought 2 umbrellas. Each umbrella costs $13. He bought 3 hats, each costing $4. How much did Jack spend in all?
  • Difficulty: N/A
  • Type: EE: Equation Editor

  • Test Item #: Sample Item 2
  • Question: Jack wants to buy the same number of hats for 3 of his friends. He has $57 dollars, and each hat costs $5. What is the greatest number of hats that Jack can buy for each friend?
  • Difficulty: N/A
  • Type: EE: Equation Editor

  • Test Item #: Sample Item 3
  • Question: Jack bought 2 umbrellas and 3 hats and spent between $30 and $50. Each umbrella costs the same amount. Each hat costs the same amount. The price of a hat is $4. 

    A. What is the least amount Jack could have spent on an umbrella? 

     

    B. What is the greatest amount Jack could have spent on an umbrella?

  • Difficulty: N/A
  • Type: EE: Equation Editor

  • Test Item #: Sample Item 4
  • Question:

    There are 27 players on a soccer team. They are traveling to a game in 7 cars. There are 4 players in each of the first 6 cars. 

    How many players on the soccer team will travel in the seventh car?
  • Difficulty: N/A
  • Type: EE: Equation Editor

Related Courses

This benchmark is part of these courses.
5012060: Mathematics - Grade Four (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
7712050: Access Mathematics Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
5012055: Grade 3 Accelerated Mathematics (Specifically in versions: 2019 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
5012015: Foundational Skills in Mathematics 3-5 (Specifically in versions: 2019 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))

Related Access Points

Alternate version of this benchmark for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Formative Assessments

Picking Strawberries:

Students are asked to solve a three-step word problem.

Type: Formative Assessment

Juice Boxes:

Students are given a two-step word problem and are asked to solve the problem and write an equation with a letter representing the unknown in the equation.

Type: Formative Assessment

Roller Coaster Rides:

Students are given a multi-step word problem to solve that requires interpreting remainders.

Type: Formative Assessment

Estimating the Solution:

Students are asked to use a mental estimation strategy to evaluate the solution of a multistep word problem.

Type: Formative Assessment

Lesson Plans

United We Divide:

In this lesson plan, students will solve problems with division, including interpreting remainders, as they identify how citizens can help solve local and state problems.

Type: Lesson Plan

I Love Leftovers!:

In this lesson, students will explore situational problems that address the different ways to interpret the remainder.

Type: Lesson Plan

Gimme Two Steps!:

In this lesson, students will create representations for different multi-step word problems. One of these representations will be an expression with a variable.

Type: Lesson Plan

Factor Word Challenges:

Students will apply multiplication, division and factor knowledge to word problems.

Type: Lesson Plan

Robotics on a Budget:

The P.T.A. President at ABC Elementary needs your students' help in selecting a robotics model that fits the needs of the students and the after school enrichment program. There is a budget of $2,000 that the students must adhere to. Students will be asked rank 4 models based on criteria given to them and the budget. Students will be given a data set to help them develop a procedure for doing so. In their teams they will write a letter to the P.T.A President giving their procedures and explanation of the strategy they used. Students will practice adding, subtracting and multiplying numbers to the thousands in order to calculate the amount of models that can be bought of a certain model without going over the budget. Rubrics are included to help grade students.

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. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Park Planning:

Students are asked to plan a playground for a new park within a given budget and area limit. They will analyze the best use of playground equipment using a data table of area requirements and cost. Students will convert units within a single measurement system, calculate the area of a rectangle, and perform addition/subtraction calculations involving money using decimal notation.

Type: Lesson Plan

One Step at a Time: Word Problems:

In this lesson, students will use the four operations to solve multi-step word problems composed of whole numbers. Students will be asked to estimate, write equations, decide if their answers are reasonable, and explain their decision. Several problems include explaining the meaning of the remainder in a division problem.

Type: Lesson Plan

Birthday Balloon Planner:

Students will develop a model for choosing a balloon party planner and rank them from best to worst.

The students will be able to use prior knowledge of addition of multi-digit whole numbers, multiplication and division facts and concepts, math calculations with money and time, understanding fractions, and problem solving skills to solve a non-routine MEA (Model Eliciting Activity) that requires real-world application of mathematical skills.

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.

Type: Lesson Plan

Party Planners Wanted:

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The students will be asked to assist a businessman who is planning a party for his employees. They will need to read several ads and decide which company offers the best deal in renting tables, chairs, and tablecloths for the client. They will need to take into consideration the amount of guests attending the party and the budget allowed. A twist is added to the problem when the students are asked to consider an additional ad and the fact that the guest list is now slightly larger.

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.

Type: Lesson Plan

“Express Yourself!” with Math Story Chains:

Students work in small groups to write math story chains (multi-step real world problems) and write expressions or equations for their story chains.

Type: Lesson Plan

Yards to Yards:

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers. The students will be asked to assist a landscaping company in deciding which hedges will be the best to use in replacing the existing hedges which are currently not thriving due to insect infestation. They will need to take into consideration factors such as height, cold, drought tolerance, price, and the client's comments. A twist is added to the problem when students are asked to consider if it would be a good idea to treat the existing hedge instead of replacing it.

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. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Math Club T-Shirt MEA:

This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) is written at a 5th grade level. This MEA asks the students to decide on a t shirt that will provide the school’s Math club with the best value for their money. Students are asked to rank order the t shirt company options from best to worst. Students must explain how they arrived at their solution.

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. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Walk This Way:

Students will be asked to rank the different floor tiles for the playrooms in activity centers throughout community parks. They will need to take certain factors into consideration when making their rankings. They will also need to calculate the costs of installing the floor tiles using the given measurement of the playroom and the floor tiles. The "twist" will be that the client now needs to include a storage room for some of the playroom's equipment. They will need to decide if to use the same floor tile or different from the playroom and the additional cost of the storage closet. After, they will add the total costs of the playroom and the storage closet. They will report their findings and reasons by writing letters to the client.

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.

Type: Lesson Plan

Pickle Pick:

This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) asks students to develop a procedure to select a pickle brand for a sandwich shop. Students will need to consider appearance, texture, price, flavor, length of shelf life, and estimating shipping costs. In the second portion of the problem statement, the students will need to trade off what they have previously considered and give more worth to the estimated shipping costs, while adding three more brands for consideration. The students will complete a culminating activity of making a commercial to advertise their selected brand. Student will need to work together and use the standard conventions of writing to write and perform their commercial for the other groups.

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. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Fish Ahoy Fish:

Students will work in groups to assist a client in purchasing different fish for a fish pond. From a data table, they will need to decide which type of fish and how many fish to purchase according to the size of the each pond. After, they will need to revisit a revised data table to make different selection of fish and calculate costs for the purchase of the fish.

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. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Travels and More MEA:

In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will be need to help a travel agent come up with the best vacation hotel package for a family of four. They need to take into consideration all the amenities, prices, perks, and reviews into consideration. A twist comes in when the travel agent will need to provide vacation hotel packages for families of 5 members.

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.

Type: Lesson Plan

Cookies and Treats:

Fourth graders will help Cookies and Treats find cost-effective and eco-friendly packaging for its cookies. Students will organize data and compare prices using decimal notation in order to develop a procedure for choosing packaging for cookies.  Students will use multiplication and division of whole numbers to plan for how many packages to order.

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.

Type: Lesson Plan

New Coat of Paint:

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The students will be asked to assist a property owner, who is planning to repair his new property, in purchasing the right exterior paint. They will need to read a data table, rank the paints from highest to lowest, calculate the amount of gallons needed according to the surface area, and the total cost of each paint. A twist is added to the problem when one of the paints is not available but two others are added, and also the owner wants to paint the dividing walls outside.

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.

Type: Lesson Plan

Rockin' Remainders:

This is a lesson designed to teach interpreting remainders in division based on the context of the word problem. Included with the lesson plan is a PowerPoint for direct instruction and word problems for small group or individual practice.

Type: Lesson Plan

Those Pesky Remainders:

This is a lesson to help students understand how to interpret the remainder in a division problem. Real world problems are presented in a PowerPoint so students may visualize situations and discover the four treatments of a remainder. 

Type: Lesson Plan

Original Student Tutorials

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 4):

Learn when to write the remainder of a multi-step division process as a fraction or decimal in this interactive tutorial.

This is the final tutorial in the Field Trip Frenzy Series about remainders. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Note: This tutorial extends beyond whole number quotients with whole number remainders to whole number quotients with fractional or decimal remainders.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 3):

Learn how to interpret remainders in multi-step division problems in this interactive tutorial

This is the third tutorial in the Field Trip Frenzy Series about remainders. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 2):

Learn how to interpret remainders in multi-step division problems related to a field trip in this interactive tutorial.

This tutorial is Part 2 in a four-part series about remainders. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 1):

Take a field trip while learning how to interpret remainders in multi-step division word problems.

This is part 1 of a four-part series of interactive tutorials. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

Deciphering Cryptic Operations through Mathematical Reasoning:

Sideways or wayside, math word problems can be a ton of fun, no matter how you look at them.

Type: Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

Problem-Solving Tasks

Carnival Tickets:

The purpose of this task is for students to solve multi-step problems in a context involving a concept that supports financial literacy, namely inflation. Inflation is a sustained increase in the average price level. In this task, students can see that if the price level increases and people’s incomes do not increase, they aren’t able to purchase as many goods and services; in other words, their purchasing power decreases.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Karl's Garden:

The purpose of the task is for students to solve a multi-step multiplication problem in a context that involves area. In addition, the numbers were chosen to determine if students have a common misconception related to multiplication. Since addition is both commutative and associative, we can reorder or regroup addends any way we like. Students often believe the same is true for multiplication. 

Type: Problem-Solving Task

What is 23 ÷ 5?:

When a division problem involving whole numbers does not result in a whole number quotient, it is important for students to be able to decide whether the context requires the result to be reported as a whole number with remainder (as with Part (b)) or a mixed number/decimal (as with Part (c)). Part (a) presents two variations on a context that require these two different responses to highlight the distinction between them.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Converting Fractions of a Unit into a Smaller Unit:

The purpose of this task is to help students gain a better understanding of fractions and the conversion of fractions into smaller units.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Tutorial

Division: Intro to remainders:

In this video tutorial from Khan Academy, you will get an introduction to the meaning of remainders.

Type: Tutorial

STEM Lessons - Model Eliciting Activity

Birthday Balloon Planner:

Students will develop a model for choosing a balloon party planner and rank them from best to worst.

The students will be able to use prior knowledge of addition of multi-digit whole numbers, multiplication and division facts and concepts, math calculations with money and time, understanding fractions, and problem solving skills to solve a non-routine MEA (Model Eliciting Activity) that requires real-world application of mathematical skills.

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.

Cookies and Treats:

Fourth graders will help Cookies and Treats find cost-effective and eco-friendly packaging for its cookies. Students will organize data and compare prices using decimal notation in order to develop a procedure for choosing packaging for cookies.  Students will use multiplication and division of whole numbers to plan for how many packages to order.

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.

Fish Ahoy Fish:

Students will work in groups to assist a client in purchasing different fish for a fish pond. From a data table, they will need to decide which type of fish and how many fish to purchase according to the size of the each pond. After, they will need to revisit a revised data table to make different selection of fish and calculate costs for the purchase of the fish.

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. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Math Club T-Shirt MEA:

This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) is written at a 5th grade level. This MEA asks the students to decide on a t shirt that will provide the school’s Math club with the best value for their money. Students are asked to rank order the t shirt company options from best to worst. Students must explain how they arrived at their solution.

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. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

New Coat of Paint:

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The students will be asked to assist a property owner, who is planning to repair his new property, in purchasing the right exterior paint. They will need to read a data table, rank the paints from highest to lowest, calculate the amount of gallons needed according to the surface area, and the total cost of each paint. A twist is added to the problem when one of the paints is not available but two others are added, and also the owner wants to paint the dividing walls outside.

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.

Park Planning:

Students are asked to plan a playground for a new park within a given budget and area limit. They will analyze the best use of playground equipment using a data table of area requirements and cost. Students will convert units within a single measurement system, calculate the area of a rectangle, and perform addition/subtraction calculations involving money using decimal notation.

Party Planners Wanted:

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The students will be asked to assist a businessman who is planning a party for his employees. They will need to read several ads and decide which company offers the best deal in renting tables, chairs, and tablecloths for the client. They will need to take into consideration the amount of guests attending the party and the budget allowed. A twist is added to the problem when the students are asked to consider an additional ad and the fact that the guest list is now slightly larger.

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.

Pickle Pick:

This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) asks students to develop a procedure to select a pickle brand for a sandwich shop. Students will need to consider appearance, texture, price, flavor, length of shelf life, and estimating shipping costs. In the second portion of the problem statement, the students will need to trade off what they have previously considered and give more worth to the estimated shipping costs, while adding three more brands for consideration. The students will complete a culminating activity of making a commercial to advertise their selected brand. Student will need to work together and use the standard conventions of writing to write and perform their commercial for the other groups.

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. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Robotics on a Budget:

The P.T.A. President at ABC Elementary needs your students' help in selecting a robotics model that fits the needs of the students and the after school enrichment program. There is a budget of $2,000 that the students must adhere to. Students will be asked rank 4 models based on criteria given to them and the budget. Students will be given a data set to help them develop a procedure for doing so. In their teams they will write a letter to the P.T.A President giving their procedures and explanation of the strategy they used. Students will practice adding, subtracting and multiplying numbers to the thousands in order to calculate the amount of models that can be bought of a certain model without going over the budget. Rubrics are included to help grade students.

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. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Travels and More MEA:

In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will be need to help a travel agent come up with the best vacation hotel package for a family of four. They need to take into consideration all the amenities, prices, perks, and reviews into consideration. A twist comes in when the travel agent will need to provide vacation hotel packages for families of 5 members.

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.

Walk This Way:

Students will be asked to rank the different floor tiles for the playrooms in activity centers throughout community parks. They will need to take certain factors into consideration when making their rankings. They will also need to calculate the costs of installing the floor tiles using the given measurement of the playroom and the floor tiles. The "twist" will be that the client now needs to include a storage room for some of the playroom's equipment. They will need to decide if to use the same floor tile or different from the playroom and the additional cost of the storage closet. After, they will add the total costs of the playroom and the storage closet. They will report their findings and reasons by writing letters to the client.

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.

Yards to Yards:

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers. The students will be asked to assist a landscaping company in deciding which hedges will be the best to use in replacing the existing hedges which are currently not thriving due to insect infestation. They will need to take into consideration factors such as height, cold, drought tolerance, price, and the client's comments. A twist is added to the problem when students are asked to consider if it would be a good idea to treat the existing hedge instead of replacing it.

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. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

MFAS Formative Assessments

Estimating the Solution:

Students are asked to use a mental estimation strategy to evaluate the solution of a multistep word problem.

Juice Boxes:

Students are given a two-step word problem and are asked to solve the problem and write an equation with a letter representing the unknown in the equation.

Picking Strawberries:

Students are asked to solve a three-step word problem.

Roller Coaster Rides:

Students are given a multi-step word problem to solve that requires interpreting remainders.

Original Student Tutorials Mathematics - Grades K-5

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 1):

Take a field trip while learning how to interpret remainders in multi-step division word problems.

This is part 1 of a four-part series of interactive tutorials. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 2):

Learn how to interpret remainders in multi-step division problems related to a field trip in this interactive tutorial.

This tutorial is Part 2 in a four-part series about remainders. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 3):

Learn how to interpret remainders in multi-step division problems in this interactive tutorial

This is the third tutorial in the Field Trip Frenzy Series about remainders. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 4):

Learn when to write the remainder of a multi-step division process as a fraction or decimal in this interactive tutorial.

This is the final tutorial in the Field Trip Frenzy Series about remainders. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Note: This tutorial extends beyond whole number quotients with whole number remainders to whole number quotients with fractional or decimal remainders.

Student Resources

Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Original Student Tutorials

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 4):

Learn when to write the remainder of a multi-step division process as a fraction or decimal in this interactive tutorial.

This is the final tutorial in the Field Trip Frenzy Series about remainders. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Note: This tutorial extends beyond whole number quotients with whole number remainders to whole number quotients with fractional or decimal remainders.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 3):

Learn how to interpret remainders in multi-step division problems in this interactive tutorial

This is the third tutorial in the Field Trip Frenzy Series about remainders. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 2):

Learn how to interpret remainders in multi-step division problems related to a field trip in this interactive tutorial.

This tutorial is Part 2 in a four-part series about remainders. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Field Trip Frenzy (Part 1):

Take a field trip while learning how to interpret remainders in multi-step division word problems.

This is part 1 of a four-part series of interactive tutorials. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Problem-Solving Tasks

Carnival Tickets:

The purpose of this task is for students to solve multi-step problems in a context involving a concept that supports financial literacy, namely inflation. Inflation is a sustained increase in the average price level. In this task, students can see that if the price level increases and people’s incomes do not increase, they aren’t able to purchase as many goods and services; in other words, their purchasing power decreases.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Karl's Garden:

The purpose of the task is for students to solve a multi-step multiplication problem in a context that involves area. In addition, the numbers were chosen to determine if students have a common misconception related to multiplication. Since addition is both commutative and associative, we can reorder or regroup addends any way we like. Students often believe the same is true for multiplication. 

Type: Problem-Solving Task

What is 23 ÷ 5?:

When a division problem involving whole numbers does not result in a whole number quotient, it is important for students to be able to decide whether the context requires the result to be reported as a whole number with remainder (as with Part (b)) or a mixed number/decimal (as with Part (c)). Part (a) presents two variations on a context that require these two different responses to highlight the distinction between them.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Converting Fractions of a Unit into a Smaller Unit:

The purpose of this task is to help students gain a better understanding of fractions and the conversion of fractions into smaller units.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Tutorial

Division: Intro to remainders:

In this video tutorial from Khan Academy, you will get an introduction to the meaning of remainders.

Type: Tutorial

Parent Resources

Vetted resources caregivers can use to help students learn the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Problem-Solving Tasks

Carnival Tickets:

The purpose of this task is for students to solve multi-step problems in a context involving a concept that supports financial literacy, namely inflation. Inflation is a sustained increase in the average price level. In this task, students can see that if the price level increases and people’s incomes do not increase, they aren’t able to purchase as many goods and services; in other words, their purchasing power decreases.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Karl's Garden:

The purpose of the task is for students to solve a multi-step multiplication problem in a context that involves area. In addition, the numbers were chosen to determine if students have a common misconception related to multiplication. Since addition is both commutative and associative, we can reorder or regroup addends any way we like. Students often believe the same is true for multiplication. 

Type: Problem-Solving Task

What is 23 ÷ 5?:

When a division problem involving whole numbers does not result in a whole number quotient, it is important for students to be able to decide whether the context requires the result to be reported as a whole number with remainder (as with Part (b)) or a mixed number/decimal (as with Part (c)). Part (a) presents two variations on a context that require these two different responses to highlight the distinction between them.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Converting Fractions of a Unit into a Smaller Unit:

The purpose of this task is to help students gain a better understanding of fractions and the conversion of fractions into smaller units.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Tutorial

Division: Intro to remainders:

In this video tutorial from Khan Academy, you will get an introduction to the meaning of remainders.

Type: Tutorial