FS Session # __2___ Name:

Teaching Point: Mathematicians use multiple strategies to solve problems.

Problem: Problem Type:

There are 12 students in art class and 8 Equal sharing

packages of clay. Each student is to get the
same amount of clay. How much clay will
each student get?

Rationale for choosing this problem:

This is the first problem situation for the students. Students understand the concept of equal
shares which makes this problem accessible to all.

Differentiation:
Content (4 students, 6 packages of clay) (12 students, 6 packages of clay)
Process
Product
Launch:
Lead the students through the following discussion about equal sharing. Show solutions.

 Have you ever been in a situation where you had to share something? For example, if
you had 6 pieces of candy (i.e. tootsie rolls) and wanted to share them equally with
your two friends, how much would each of you get?

 What if you only had 1 large candy bar? How much would each of you get?

Read the word problem to the students and ask them what information do they remember.
Show them the word problem and read it again. Ask them to solve the problem showing
their work.

Independent Work:
Observe students working. Support productive struggle by asking questions. i.e. What do
you know? What do you want to find out? Would it help to draw a picture?

Sharing Out:
Ask each person to share their solution. Look for and discuss different strategies. Refer back
to the teaching point.