Are you curious about our Problem of the Week series?  In this episode, we introduce a problem from our fourth grade series along with student work samples.  We will look at some mistakes in student work, also.  What does that tell us about their understanding? What important things should we consider when evaluating word problems from any source?

Helping students to make sense of problems and persevere in problem solving is one of the Standards of Mathematical Practice, but it is also an important goal for life!  Our Problem of the Week series is related to mathematics curriculum for the grade level and is accessible for all students.  It is not, however, a worksheet in disguise!  Problems are designed so that students who just ‘take all the numbers and do something with them’ will not find the correct answer.  Detailed solutions model one method for solving the problem.

For more challenging problems and strategies, consider Building Problem Solving Strategies.  We will give examples of those problems in a Mind-Bending Monday episode, too!

You can download the slides from today’s episode and use this word problem with your students.  We hope you will try it!

Do you use these in your classroom?  We would love to hear about your experiences!  Just comment below or email us!  We really appreciate your support!

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