ALEX Learning Activity

  

Making a Shelf for Matchbox Cars

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Jennifer Towles
System:College/University
School:University of Montevallo
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2662
Title:
Making a Shelf for Matchbox Cars
Digital Tool/Resource:
Google Slides Presentation: Explore: Making a Shelf for the Matchbook Cars
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

During this explore measurement activity, students will collaborate to solve a real-world math problem. The problem requires students to use multiple addends and report their solution in centimeters.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
Mathematics
MA2019 (2019)
Grade: 2
21. Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve word problems involving same units of length, representing the problem with drawings (such as drawings of rulers) and/or equations with a symbol for the unknown number.
Unpacked Content
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • use concrete models and/or pictures to make sense of a word problem.
  • write an equation with a symbol for the unknown in the problem.
  • explain verbally how the problem was solved.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Units of length
  • Drawings
  • Equations
  • Symbol
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Students know strategies for solving addition and subtraction word problems involving length.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • represent quantities and operations physically, pictorially, or symbolically.
  • strategically use a variety of representations to solve problems with all addition and subtraction contexts.
  • use symbols to represent unknown quantities in equations.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • that they can apply the concept of length to solve addition and subtraction word problems for numbers within 100.
Diverse Learning Needs:
Essential Skills:
Learning Objectives:
M.2.21.1: Solve one-step addition and subtraction word problems with an unknown by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.
Examples: question mark, blank, box, or letter.
M.2.21.2: Demonstrate the understanding of terms in addition and subtraction word problems involving length.
Examples: adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, sum, difference, all together, how many more, how many are left, in all, inches, feet, yards, longer, shorter, nearer, farther, closer.
M.2.21.3: Locate the unknown number regardless of position.
M.2.21.4: Add and subtract within 50, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.
M.2.21.5: Model writing equations from word problems.
M.2.21.6: Apply signs +, -, = to actions of joining and separating sets.
M.2.21.7: Identify units of measurement for length.
Examples: inches, feet, yard; centimeter, meters.

Prior Knowledge Skills:
  • Establish one-to-one correspondence between numbers and objects.
  • Point to matching or similar objects.
  • Add and subtract numbers within 20 using objects, pictures and fingers.
  • Pair "taking away" with subtraction.
  • Take a smaller set out of a larger set.
  • Pair putting together with adding.
  • Combine two sets to make a larger set up to twenty.
  • Count items in a set up to twenty.
  • Using counting, find one less than a number 2 through 20.
  • Using counting, find one more than a number 1 through 20.
  • Understand +, -, = and what they represent.
  • Define more, less, length, width, weight and height.
  • Use vocabulary related to length, width, weight and height.
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
M.AAS.2.21 Increase or decrease length by adding or subtracting nonstandard unit(s).
Learning Objectives:

The students will make sense of a problem and persevere in solving it.

The students will solve real-world measurement problems involving length.

The students will use strategies based on place value and the properties of operations to add.
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:

  1. Open and download Google Slides Presentation: Explore: Making a Shelf for the Matchbook Cars 

  2. The teacher will read the learning targets for the students prior to dividing them into groups to solve a problem (Slide 3).

  3. The teacher will ask, “What do you notice?” The teacher wants to highlight the observations involving 8 cars on each shelf and there are 3 shelves (Slide 4).

  4. The teacher will hold up a measuring tape or a centimeter cube. The teacher will hold up the Matchbox car. For the purposes of our problem, we are going to agree that each car is about 7 centimeters long (Slide 5).

  5. The teacher will place the students with a partner. Although the length of the cars may vary slightly, for the purposes of problem-solving, students will use 7 centimeters as the standard length of a typical Matchbox car. As the students work, look to see who finds the length of one row and then adds the length three times and who counts all (adds 7 twenty-four times or counts all by ones). The teacher will ask each partnership to estimate how many centimeters of wood they will need to build three shelves. This helps them evaluate the reasonableness of their final answer. The partnerships will record their estimate on their recording sheet. To help the students solve the problem, provide them with either centimeter cubes, centimeter paper, several paper rulers, regular rulers, or measuring tape. Students may need paper clips to mark seven centimeters on the standard measuring tool (measuring tape or printed rulers) of their choice (Slide 6). 

  6. Distribute a recording sheet to each partnership. Quickly review with the students the parts of the recording sheet (Slide 7).

  7. Review the problem the students will solve. This slide needs to be projected at all times or print copies of this slide to give to each partnership. While the students work, the teacher will circulate and ask prompting and probing questions. “What do you know? How will you use that information? What measurement unit are we using in the problem? What addition strategy could you use to help you add multiple addends? How does that strategy change or stay the same when the addends are the same number being added over and over?” (Slide 8).

  8. Choose three partnerships to share. The lowest level shares first. The highest level shares last. The complexity of strategy may vary due to skill level or the time of the school year, so each teacher will have to look at their individual class to rank strategy complexity to determine what is the lowest level and what is the highest level. Typically,  the lowest level will count on by 7 each time. The highest level will determine the length of one row (56 cm), then add 56 cm three times, decomposing by place value to add 56 + 56 + 56. The additive framework may be helpful when evaluating work (Slide 9).

  9. Review the problem the students will solve. Keep the problem posted as students share their work. As the students share, use the checklist to formatively evaluate their work (Slide 10).
Assessment Strategies:

The teacher will use a checklist to make notes about students' understanding of solving measurement word problems.

The additive framework may be helpful when evaluating work and deciding who will share first (lowest level strategy) and who will share last (highest level strategy).
Advanced Preparation:

  1. Open and download Google Slides Presentation: Explore: Making a Shelf for the Matchbook Cars 

  2. Retrieve the chart "What Did You Notice?" from the engagement activity. If the engagement activity was not taught, gather chart paper and a chart marker to create the chart.

  3. Determine heterogenous partnerships prior to the lesson.

  4. If the teacher chooses not to project Slide 8 while students work, he or she will need to print Slide 8 for each partnership.

  5. Gather metric measurement tools (rulers, tape measures), centimeter cubes, or print centimeter paper, centimeter rulers. 

  6. If using centimeter paper, cut in strips. 

  7. If using paper centimeter rulers, they will also need to be cut into individual rulers. 

  8. Print a recording sheet for each partnership.

  9. Print checklist to use as a formative assessment.
Variation Tips (optional):
 
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

ALCOS 2019

ALCOS 2.21). Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve word problems involving the same units of length, representing the problem with drawings (such as drawings of rulers) and/or equations with a symbol for the unknown number.
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: Adding within 1000, measurement, multiple addends, real world problems, second grade, solving measurement word problems