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Lesson 2-4 – stripping good problems into great problems.
This is the original problem.
I would take this problem down to the basic building block and show a picture similar to this.
I would have to tweak the numbers a little to make them fit the picture, but this tells a great story.
After WDYN/WDYW finished I’d feed them the information that there were 56 shots made. I’d give them some time to process what that could mean, steering them toward representing the 56 shots in an equation. The second equation would be a story about the different ways they could have scored 98 points to win the game. Since we don’t really know we should make a way to represent it with variables.
I would try and lead them to solving this one by substitution since the first equation lends itself to that so easily.
The trick with systems is showing the students a better way than brute forcing/or guessing and checking their way to the answer.
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3 Replies
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Nice work here. If we were using visual models like tape diagrams or bar models, might the strategy you’re after emerge?
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Something like this? To be honest, this is the first time I have tried to strip these problems down and I am struggling with how to not give them too much. I am super guilty of pre-teaching, or the second they struggle I help them along.
Maybe giving them a tape diagram of the situation with no numbers in it overlayed on the picture? Or does the context of the picture give them too much?
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We are all guilty of preteaching too much and giving away too much information upfront. It’ll come with time and practice!
As for this situation, it depends on what the goal of the problem is. For example, if I want them to practice modelling the situation, then giving the tape diagrams might be too much information. On the other hand, if you want them to practice interpreting a tape diagram, it might be a great fit. It is all dependent on your intentionality for the lesson.
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