Lesson 6

Compare Story Problems

Warm-up: Which One Doesn’t Belong: Equations (10 minutes)

Narrative

This warm-up prompts students to carefully analyze and compare equations. In addition to calculating the value of each expression, students also think about the structure of each expression, including both the operations and the numbers (MP7). In the synthesis, students compare an equation with addition and an equation with subtraction to focus student attention on comparing operations and reasoning about the relationship between addition and subtraction. 

Launch

  • Groups of 2
  • Display image.
  • “Pick one that doesn’t belong. Be ready to share why it doesn’t belong.”
  • 1 minute: quiet think time

Activity

  • “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
  • 2-3 minutes: partner discussion
  • Share and record responses.

Student Facing

Which one doesn’t belong?

  1. \(10 = 6 + 4\)
  2. \(16 - 5 = 11\)
  3. \(11 = 6 + 4 + 1\)
  4. \(3 + 8 = 11\)

Student Response

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Activity Synthesis

  • Display equations B and C.
  • “How are the equations the same? How are they different?” (They both have the value 11. The first equation uses subtraction while the second one uses addition. The 11 is on the right hand side in the first equation and on the left hand side in the second equation. In the second equation 11 is written using three numbers and there are only two in the first equation.)

Activity 1: The School Carnival (20 minutes)

Narrative

The purpose of this activity is for students to practice solving Compare, Difference Unknown story problems (MP2). In the synthesis, students revisit a representation of a Compare problem that was introduced in a previous unit. This representation lays the foundation for working with tape diagrams in grade 2. 

The teacher may want to incorporate movement into this activity by writing each problem on a piece of chart paper and placing each one in a different location around the classroom. Students can solve the problem at one location, discuss the problem with their partner, then move on to a new problem at a new location. 

Representation: Access for Perception. Provide appropriate reading accommodations and supports to ensure student access to word problems and other text-based content.
Supports accessibility for: Language, Visual-Spatial Processing, Attention

Required Materials

Launch

  • Groups of 2
  • Give each group access to connecting cubes in towers of 10 and singles.
  • “Today we are going to solve some problems about a school carnival. What are some things you know about carnivals?” (There are rides. You can play games. There is lots of food.)

Activity

  • Read the task statement.
  • 8 minutes: independent work time
  • 4 minutes: partner work time
  • For the problem about prizes, monitor for students who:
    • use cubes or draw pictures to represent both quantities.
    • write equations with a symbol to represent the unknown.
    • write equations to show how they used addition or subtraction to find the difference.

Student Facing

Solve each problem.
Show your thinking using drawings, numbers, or words.

  1. Lin has 7 tickets for rides.
    Mai has 12 tickets.
    How many more tickets does Mai have than Lin?

  2. The cotton candy booth sold 17 bags of blue cotton candy.
    They sold 7 bags of pink cotton candy.
    How many more bags of blue candy did they sell than pink candy?

  3. Tyler is picking out a prize.
    There are 13 toys and 9 stuffed animals.
    How many fewer stuffed animals are there than toys?

  4. The ferris wheel can hold 20 people.
    The swings can hold 14 people.
    How many fewer people can the swings hold than the ferris wheel?

Ferris wheel.

Student Response

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Advancing Student Thinking

If students add both quantities in the problems, consider asking:

  • “What is the problem about? What do you know? What do you need to figure out?”
  • “What did you do to solve the problem?”
  • “What does your answer mean in the story? Does it make sense?”
  • “How could you use the connecting cubes or a drawing to represent the problem?”

Activity Synthesis

  • Invite previously identified students to share.
  • “How do these representations match the story?”
  • If needed, “Where do you see how many fewer stuffed animals there are than toys?”
  • If needed, “What equations can we write to represent this problem?”

Activity 2: How Many Rides? (20 minutes)

Narrative

The purpose of this activity is for students to use given information to ask and answer different questions. Students may ask Put Together or Compare problems using the given information. A representation of the information is also provided. This representation is a precursor to the tape diagrams students will use to represent and solve Compare problems in grade 2.

When students recognize the mathematical features of things in the real world and ask questions that arise from a presented situation, they model with mathematics (MP4).

MLR2 Collect and Display. Circulate, listen for and collect the language students use as they create questions to match each task statement. On a visible display, record comparison words and phrases such as: more than, less than, how many fewer, and how many more. Invite students to borrow language from the display as needed, and update it throughout the lesson.
Advances: Conversing, Reading

Required Materials

Launch

  • Groups of 2
  • Give each group access to connecting cubes in towers or 10 and singles.

Activity

  • Read the task statement.
  • 15 minutes: partner work time
  • Monitor for students who can explain how the representation helps them answer the question they asked.

Student Facing

Write and answer 2 questions using the information.
Use the picture for the first one if it is helpful.

  1. Diego went on 7 rides.
    Priya went on 11 rides.

    Diagram. 2 groups. Top, Diego, 7 counters. Bottom, Priya, 11 counters.

  2. Jada went on 3 rides.
    Kiran went on 6 rides.
    Noah went on 9 rides.

Student Response

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Activity Synthesis

  • Display the representation in the student book. 
  • Invite previously identified students to share their question and how the representation helps them find the answer to the question. 

Lesson Synthesis

Lesson Synthesis

Display:

Jada went on 9 rides.
Mai went on 6 rides.

“Today we asked and answered ‘how many more’ and ‘how many fewer’ questions. What questions can we ask about this information?” (How many more rides did Jada go on than Mai? How many fewer rides did Mai go on than Jada?)

Display equation:

6 + 3 = 9

“How does the equation show the relationship between the rides Jada and Mai went on?” (It shows that you have to add three more rides to Mai’s rides in order to get to the number of rides Jada went on.)

Cool-down: Unit 8, Section B Checkpoint (0 minutes)

Cool-Down

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