Mom and Me Math Activities

4.NBT.5 Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

PARCC Buses, Vans, and Cars Then click on Elementary School Tasks to find this activity.

Before starting the activity, we had to make sense of the problem.

How many children and teachers were going on the fieldtrip?

Our assumptions did not influence the final answers, but the discussion did engage the class! Even our teacher, Mr. Brown, was eager to find the solution.

First, we had 4 minutes of silent reading and independent work time, before sharing answers in our small table groups.

We all knew algorithms to correctly solve the problems, but how could we justify our answers?

Mrs. Penniman said we had to use mathematical pictures, numbers, and words to prove our solutions. She also said we could use the distributive property to find our answers. But how can we do that?

Soon we started getting a game plan.

"If 3 of the solutions are correct and 2 are incorrect, which ones are the right answers?" we wondered.

"Okay, there are 72 people going on the fieldtrip," we decided. "But none of the possible answers match this!"

Some began to wonder, "So are all of the answers wrong?"

It took several minutes for some groups to decide that there could be empty seats on the bus, in the vans, or in the cars.

Whew! We're making progress!

Answers: Why or Why Not? Do They Work?

Answer #1: 1 bus and 4 vans

1 bus = 20 seats
4 vans = 16 x 4 = 64 seats.

72 people and 84 seats.

"It doesn't work because 84 is too big of an number to fit 72. There is 12 more seats left all together."

Again on #2, the student thought that 103 seats was too many seats for only 72 people, "so it doesn't work. There is 31 seats that are available."

Answer #3: "72 people and 66 seats. It completely doesn't work, because there is only 66 seats. Many kids will be left out."

When the number of available seats was less than the 72 students, the children were able to understand why this was not a viable answer. "You can't leave kids at school, it wouldn't be fair. Everybody gets to go on the school trip--unless they're absent."

Correct solutions! And beautiful arrays... but now can you write sentences that justify your answers?

Although the class knew how to multiply with double-digit numbers, most preferred to show their work using repeated addition.

However, counting on fingers and writing long columns of numbers can make for careless mistakes.

I praised this young man for his simple math pictures. (Notice his 3 rectangles with 16 written in each, representing the vans.) These simple pictures do the job and save valuable problem-solving time.

Finally, it was time to publish our answers and display them on posters for everyone to admire.

This takes the most planning of all. How can we convey our answers in a way that makes sense to others?

Stay tuned for our finished products!

7.G.A.3 Describe the two-dimensional figures that result from slicing three-dimensional figures, as in plane sections of right rectangular prisms....

Galilea proudly shows her building plans for the letter G. Great job, Gali!!

You can see the front view, top view, and side view on her Building Plans activity sheet.

Cristal and Esmeralda study the front of the building to determine which blocks show, and how they can draw this orthogonal view on their activity sheets.

Jimmy constructs his robot and rotates it on his half sheet of paper that is marked with the words front and side so he won't get confused as he turns his shape.

Make sure the students rotate the paper and not the shape as they turn it. This helps them keep track of where the front of the object is.

Sometimes the students confuse left or right side of their design, so you may also want to label that on the paper. It looks like Jimmy rotated his block shape instead of the paper, so he is showing the left side of his robot instead of its right side. This activity is excellent for developing spatial awareness--especially because all future jobs will be on the computer.

Here's a great computer resource that emphasizes my point.

Building Houses Activity

Fatima is looking down on her shape to see the top view.

Jessi holds his paper at eyelevel to see the front of his building.

Leslie uses the construction mat to determine the front and side views of her building.

Kimberly constructs a challenging building, and I'm impressed with how well she is able to show the various orthogonal views.

Way to go, Kimberly!!

Notice the second set of building plans that go with her building construction seen above in her photo.

Later, I showed the students how to label their building plans on the base (or top view) in order to construct each of the three views.

We talked about saving building costs by using the fewest number of blocks possible--without changing any of the viewpoints.

This is also a great Mom and Me Math activity!

Even little brother is enjoying the activity.

Thanks for your wonderful support and encouragement, Mom! This builds tremendous self-esteem in the child, too.

It also helps parents understand the homework, the new standards, and why spatial development is important for their children.

When it was our turn for the computer lab, I taught the children how to use Google SketchUp. They felt like real architects and loved creating their own shapes, textures, and building designs.

Here is a third grade enrichment activity from the student homework book that correlates with this activity.

The children loved figuring out this brainteaser puzzle! Can you determine how many cubes it takes to build this tower?

At first, some of my students thought they only needed to color the top row of blocks. However, make sure they color the entire row of blocks seen from the top or the side as they look at their shapes.

Mariana realized that the top view of her duck did not just include the top two blocks of its head, but also included its nose and tail blocks as well.

Cesar, does your front view match your beautiful drawing? Did you rotate the cube shape or the construction mat when you turned your design?

This is the most difficult part of the activity and needs to be stressed before the children begin drawing their plans on paper.