Miss Blue is a problem about rounding in which students are asked to critique the work of two students. Both students are asked to round to the nearest tenth; one student rounds down and the other rounds up. Students must decide with whom they agree and explain the choice.
Microsoft Word version: 3_NBT_RoundingNearestTen_Problem_Critique_MissBlue
PDF version: 3_NBT_RoundingNearestTen_Problem_Critique_MissBlue
This task is designed for third graders to introduce rounding numbers to the nearest hundred. The task instructions include background knowledge on rounding to the nearest ten and argumentative language when asking the students to create a conjecture about how to round and how rounding to the nearest hundred compares to the nearest ten. Students are asked to practice the idea using a three-digit number.
Microsoft Word version: 3_NBT_RoundingNearestHundred_ThinkPairShare_Conjecture
PDF version: 3_NBT_RoundingNearestHundred_ThinkPairShare_Conjecture
This task requires third grade students to find a halfway point between two numbers (30 and 40) and construct an argument explaining how he or she knows that their number is the halfway point. Students are also asked to engage in a think-pair-share in which they discuss the process with a partner. The task may lead to a good discussion about medians or about rounding and how to round to the nearest tenth when a number ends in a 5.
Microsoft Word version: 3_NBT_Rounding_ThinkPairShare_Construct
PDF version: 3_NBT_Rounding_ThinkPairShare_Construct
Second graders are given a number to determine if it is odd or even. Many begin to look at the first digit of the number to determine if it is odd or even. I have students use a tool, most will choose counters to see if they can divide the number evenly.
Microsoft Word version: 2_NBT_PropertyOddEven_Problem_Critique
PDF version: 2_NBT_PropertyOddEven_Problem_Critique
Second graders are asked to critique a student response. Students must add three quantities using knowledge of place holders and place values. The task involves hundreds, tens, and ones places and asks students to explain their thinking. Student explanation requires an understanding of place values and how to write numbers given place values.
Microsoft Word version: 2_NBT_PlaceValue_Problem_Critique_SallysWork
PDF version: 2_NBT_PlaceValue_Problem_Critique_SallysWork
This task was used with second graders to understand place value. Students are asked to critique Lydia’s Idea on writing a number in expanded form and explain their reasoning. Lydia’s Idea involves the hundreds, tens, and ones place values and the expanded number contains a 0 in the tens place.
Microsoft Word version: 2_NBT_PlaceValue_Problem_Critique_LydiasIdea
PDF version: 2_NBT_PlaceValue_Problem_Critique_LydiasIdea
This task is geared towards second graders. Students are asked to critique a comparison of two numbers using what they know about place value. Students are asked to explain how they compare the two numbers using content knowledge. The task addresses a common misconception in which students simply look at the left-hand digits and compare them rather than looking at place values of the digits.
Microsoft Word version: 2_NBT_PlaceValue_Problem_Critique_BensThinking
PDF version: 2_NBT_PlaceValue_Problem_Critique_BensThinking
I used this task early on for my 3rd grade class. The reason for giving this task was to allow students to see and recognize the commutative property of addition. The problem is very basic, and allows space for students to give their claim and argument, and also to have a discussion with a partner. Students struggled with understanding what the word “equals” means. They were not used to seeing an equation after the equal sign. Once students understood that equals actually means “the same,” they had a better understanding of how the commutative property works.
Microsoft Word version: 2_NBT_PropertiesCommutative_ThinkPairShare_Construct
PDF version: 2_NBT_PropertiesCommutative_ThinkPairShare_Construct