Starting out problems
Here are some starting out problems. They are challenging (for year 3/4) and deliberately so but the focus should not really be on the maths but the teamwork and the collaboration. They should be implemented in conjunction with other strategy and ideas in starting out drop down box. Grabbing one of these and expecting your kids to work together is likely to be a failure. Good questions promote and support talk and engagement they don't cause it.
Here is the answer - what is the problem?
This strategy has good novelty value, but is also useful for assessing the breadth of student knowledge. It is suitable for mixed abilities because there is no one right answer. It is also a chance for the creative student to excel and for the benefits of cooperative group work to be demonstrated.
Some ideas: 42, a triangle, 1/2, 0, -1, 4 groups of ten,
Directions
Some ideas: 42, a triangle, 1/2, 0, -1, 4 groups of ten,
Directions
- Provide students with answers based, for example, on a concept such as change, multiplication, punctuation or gravity. Ideally, they should relate to a topic under investigation. The answers can be written on the board, supplied on strips of paper or sealed in an envelope.
- In groups, students meet to discuss the questions that could lead to the answer.
- Responses are shared. Creative and logical responses can be applauded.
- Supply some students with the same answers and have them work individually. They could then find others who have responded differently to them.
- Secretly provide different answers related to the same topic to various groups. They can then read out their questions to the class and challenge them to guess their answer.
- Have a competition to see who can get the most questions.
- Allocate different criteria for judging the quality of the questions. For example, the most creative or the simplest.
An example: 12 is the answer - what is the question?
Bricks Problem
You may need to change the numbers to suit you class. As focus is on teamwork - you can make them really low 2,3,5 etc
I introduced this problem by google image searching brick patterns so the kids had a idea of what we were talking about.
I introduced this problem by google image searching brick patterns so the kids had a idea of what we were talking about.
Ants in rows Problem
(1)After listening to the story One Hundred Hungry Ants, choose one of the following numbers: 12, 24, or 36.
(2) Suppose that there were this number of ants going to the picnic.
How many different ways could the ants arrange themselves in equal rows
(3) Draw an array and write an equation for each way you find.
(2) Suppose that there were this number of ants going to the picnic.
How many different ways could the ants arrange themselves in equal rows
(3) Draw an array and write an equation for each way you find.
Any Double Calculation Problem
A pencil costs 49c and a ruler costs 20 cents less - how much do they cost together?
I ran 18km and my dog ran 6km further than me - how much did we run all together?
I ran 18km and my dog ran 6km further than me - how much did we run all together?
Triangle Problem - Gloss Last year :)
Which is the odd one out?
What is all the same?
Can you make up some rules to tell when something is a triangle?
These questions are designed to take kids past the obvious and find more than one answer to each. For example: one is smaller, the middle is not a right angle triangle. They all have three sides AND three points.
What is all the same?
Can you make up some rules to tell when something is a triangle?
These questions are designed to take kids past the obvious and find more than one answer to each. For example: one is smaller, the middle is not a right angle triangle. They all have three sides AND three points.
Fractions Question
Eating Leaves
“The Tui Room needs five leaves each day to feed its 2 caterpillars.
How many leaves would they need each day for 12 caterpillars?”
How many leaves would they need each day for 12 caterpillars?”
References
More questions:
13 is the answer. What is the question?
My dog is half as old as me.
How old might I be and how old is the dog?
I doubled a number and kept doubling so that the original number was doubled four times.
What might the answer be?
Record a number sequence of at least 4 numbers where each new number is five more than the previous number.
Make this number sentence true in as many ways as you can-
____ + ____ = ____ + ____
Which number in this group does not belong? Why?
15 2 8 13 16
My dog is half as old as me.
How old might I be and how old is the dog?
I doubled a number and kept doubling so that the original number was doubled four times.
What might the answer be?
Record a number sequence of at least 4 numbers where each new number is five more than the previous number.
Make this number sentence true in as many ways as you can-
____ + ____ = ____ + ____
Which number in this group does not belong? Why?
15 2 8 13 16
http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Learner-centred-Primary-Classroom-Strategic/dp/0415454328
http://www.atm.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/Journals/MT212/Non-Member/ATM-MT212-32-34.pdf
Google :p
http://www.atm.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/Journals/MT212/Non-Member/ATM-MT212-32-34.pdf
Google :p