Word Problem Wednesday was such a hit, we’re going to continue throughout the year with one problem a month.
This problem popped up in my Medium feed last month:
Algebraic expressions — the return! Guess the Misconception author Craig Barton noted that on a quiz website for test prep in the UK, only 1 in 3 students could answer this problem correctly. At the time, I was also analyzing the value of model drawing by reviewing released problems from the 6th-grade STAAR tests, so my first thought was, hmm, how would this work as a bar model?
Pretty well, actually. If I know that:
I can find:
The AQA is an independent education charity that offers GCSE testing in the UK. DiagnosticQuestions.com provides multiple choice questions so you can build your own assessment, or use one of their collections.
Check out a bar model solution:
Finally, this month’s problem comes from the Grade 6 STAAR 2013-2017 Released Test questions from lead4ward aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills or TEKS. It aligns to the standard:
6.4(B) (New) Proportional Reasoning: Apply qualitative and quantitative reasoning to solve prediction and comparison of real-world problems involving ratios and rates.
There are 176 slices of bread in 8 loaves. If there are the same number of slices in each loaf, how many slices of bread are there in 5 loaves?
Submit your solutions by the end of the month!
The prior problem was from the Teacher’s Guide for Primary Mathematics US Edition 5A.
We had a couple of submissions.
Here’s Shirley Davis’ model and algebra combo:
