Making Sense of Problems
Mathematics · Mathematical Thinking · meta
Make sense of a problem by identifying what is being asked, choosing concrete objects or pictures to represent the situation, and explaining a pathway to the solution
What mastery looks like
- When given a word problem within 10, explain what the problem is asking before attempting to solve
- Choose objects, fingers, or drawings to represent a problem situation
- After finding an answer, check it makes sense (e.g. re-count objects to verify a total)
Check your understanding
When Making Sense of Problems gets a maths problem they don't immediately know how to solve, do they stop and think about what the question is asking — maybe drawing a picture — before diving in?