
Last week we had a math's test on graphing and interpreting data tables. One question asked, how much longer is Africa's Nile River than Australia's Murray River? I sat with two students today and they reattempted the question with my support and using our problem solving techniques.

The girls then drew the problem using lines and labelling the length.
I suggested to the girls that they refer back to the counters and write a simple number sentence as a model. Once they did this, they had no problems looking at their drawing then writing the corresponding equation.
They were also able to apply their knowledge of inverse operations in order to solve it. Excellent job girls! Next stop - using counting on and other methods to solve such subtraction problems mentally!
I am more convinced than ever regarding the importance of using the concrete and representational stages when students are tackling challenging problems.
Great post! Its always nice to learn something new and apply it in the classroom. :)
ReplyDeleteDonna
Donna
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