Planning tool

Students:

• decide whether to use addition, subtraction, multiplication or division in a given situation, and provide reasoning
• model and solve simple money problems involving whole dollar amounts with addition, subtraction, multiplication or division
• model and solve problems involving sharing and decide what to do when there is a remainder.

Some students may:

• not yet grasp that assigned money values don’t necessarily relate to size or colour. To help address this, hold regular conversations that build on existing knowledge of fairness. For instance, ask: Would it be fair for me to give you this $1 coin in exchange for that $2 coin? Why/why not?
• have trouble interpreting a problem due to the literacy demands involved. To help address this, use problems that are accompanied by visual representations. Another strategy is to use photos involving number, for example, a scene with countable animals and provide key language such as ‘whole group’, ‘altogether’ and ‘how many’ to invite students to generate their own story problems. This is one way of building understanding and language over time.
• have trouble interpreting exactly what a problem is asking. To address this, provide regular opportunities to ask questions that give less information than is required to solve the problem. For instance: Martin bought an apple. How much change did he get from $5? Questions like this with incomplete information provoke discussions that involve thinking deeply about the situation. Over time, these deep-thinking opportunities about contexts will support general ability to solve everyday problems.

The Learning from home activities are designed to be used flexibly by teachers, parents and carers, as well as the students themselves. They can be used in a number of ways including to consolidate and extend learning done at school or for home schooling.

Learning intention

• We are learning to solve everyday problems that involve making calculations.

Why are we learning about this?

• We use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in everyday life.

What to do

1. Play with numbers as they come up in the environment, for example:

• 'I spot a number plate with the numbers 5, 4 and 8 on it. What would those numbers make added together? (5 + 4 + 8)
• I spot the house number 39. I wonder: How many more is 50 than 39? What about 70? Or 100?'

2. Link addition and subtraction to everyday situations, for example:

• Notice and discuss situations involving addition and subtraction in storybooks.
• Discuss the scores in a game of sport and talk about the difference between scores, for instance, how much the winning team has won by.
• Provide opportunities to play with, sort and add up money. Engage in imaginary situations involving paying and working out change.
• When shopping, or when playing shops, talk about the total number of items in the basket, for example, 'There are 8 apples, 6 bananas and 5 oranges. How many pieces of fruit altogether?'
• When making money calculations, use whole dollar amounts, for example, 'The milk costs $3, the bread costs $3 and the bananas cost $4. So altogether, how much do we need to pay? If we pay with a $10 note, how much change will we get? What if we pay with a $20 note?'

3. Think about and discuss different ways of solving everyday number problems. For example, to solve 17 + 6 you might decide to:

• count up from 17 using two jumps of 3 (17… 20… 23!)
• break the 6 up into 3 and 3 to make a ‘friendly 20’, 17 + 3 = 20, then 20 + 3 = 23
• start with a known doubles fact of 6 + 6 = 12, then add 11 more to get 23.

Know that mistakes are a normal part of building mathematical understanding. Be curious about mistakes and see them as opportunities to learn. Take plenty of time to solve problems.

Success criteria

I can:

• think about what’s happening in a situation and explain how I might solve it
• use my knowledge of number and making calculations to work through everyday situations
• consider whether an answer seems correct by thinking carefully about the situation
• repeat the process of solving a problem if it doesn’t seem right.