Free Math Curriculum - Day trip - Situational Problem for Grades 3 to 4 (Cycle 2)

 Free Situational Problem in Mathematics

I have another AMAZING freebie for you - another situational math problem!

If you missed the first one I released (which is also free!) you can grab it here!

What is a situational math problem?

Think of a project-based learning situation, except it's written all on one page. Kids need to figure out the pacing, planning, and answers themselves (with some guidance from you, of course!)

Unique to the Quebec Curriculum, situational math problems help students think through real-life scenarios and use a bunch of the math skills they have been learning to figure out a solution. In many of these problems, there is no one correct solution, but a few possibilities. That is the case with this one.

How do we solve a situational problem?

My advice is, if this is your first problem, take it s-l-o-w!

Here is an example of how you might work it out:

Day 1

Spend the first day you work on it reading through the problem and highlighting any important information. 

Next, use the "What I know" sheet to write this information down (this is optional, but really helps!)

Day 2

Today figure out how you will solve the problem. Use the "What I Need to Do" sheet to write down all of the steps you might need to take.  Help your learner(s) figure out what sort of math skills they might need to use, and any tools they might need to have on hand, like manipulatives or a calculator.

Day 3

Today get working on the problem! Take your list of what needs to be done and start.

Help your learner here and let them take breaks when they need to. Remember that this is a lot to work through, especially if it is the first time you're solving a situational problem.

Day 4

Continue working on the problem. If you solved it all yesterday, check it over together.

I have included an "answer sheet" but since there is no right answer, this is really just to guide you, as the teacher, to help your learner(s) figure out what to do.

Day 5

Go over any mistakes together and try to help your learner see why they didn't come out correctly. The point here isn't to stress them out about "wrong answers", but to help them figure out what might have gone wrong. 

Once you solve the problem in full, be sure to give your learner (and yourself!) a good round of applause! That is a LOT of thinking work!

What if it's too difficult?

I suggest trying a lower level. But PLEASE don't feel bad about this or even mention to your child it's a lower level. Just suggest maybe you should start with a simpler problem and work your way up to more difficult ones. Remember, all kids are on different levels of learning, no matter what grade they are in. Situational problems can be really complex and involve a lot of brain power!

You can download this situational problem below for FREE! It's a great math exercise to do with your homeschooled child(ren) or even in a classroom instead of a regular math assessment!

What Skills Does it involve?

This situational problem involves 

multiplying 2-digit numbers by one-digit numbers and ten

elapsed time

addition and subtraction

money

maps

Download it below!

**PLEASE if you are going to share, share this page, NOT the google drive! It helps me make time to make more great freebies like this one, Thank you!

Download the Problem for FREE Here!

Situational problem for Grades 1-2

Free Math Curriculum Counting Nested Groups Worksheets

 Counting Nested Groups Free Printable 

Read more about this freebie below, then find the free download link at the bottom of the page!

I'm at the store and trying to figure out how many rolls of toilet paper we will need this month. You know that story! There's 24 rolls in a bag, 48 in the bigger one. If I buy two bags and we use 9 rolls per week.....

We do math like this in real-life all the time. Figuring out amounts, totals, how many 150-gram servings are in that 1kg box. That's why it's so important to include skills like this for kids to practice in their earliest math years - just on their scale of learning.

I made these worksheets for a very specific progression in the Quebec progression of learning, but even if you don't follow that I hope you'll find it useful. "Represents natural numbers in different ways or associates a number with a set of objects or drawings - emphasis on apparent, accessible groupings using objects, drawings, or unstructured materials"

So what does that mean exactly? Well, think about the examples I gave you above - shopping at the grocery store and thinking about how many servings of 150 grams fit into 1.5kg. Now think of that on a second-grader's scale - if I have a big box full of 5 bags and inside those 5 bags are 2 objects each, how many objects do I have? 10!

Teaching The Concept

I would absolutely recommend teaching this with actual objects first. Use whatever you have around the house or classroom - blocks, toys, candies or cereal. Take some small snack baggies from the dollar store so kids can see through them and put an equal number of objects into each bag - start with something simple like 2 in each bag. Show the child(ren) that you are putting two things into each bag and count them as you do, 1 by 1. If child(ren) is familiar with skip counting already, skip count. If not, stick to counting objects one-by-one. Now put all of those bags into a box.

Ask your learner(s) how many objects (cheerios, blocks, etc) are in the box.

See what they say.

Now pull the bags out one by one and cont the objects. If anyone looks confused, be sure to clarify that the bags are not objects - they are holding the objects. The box is not an object we want to count - it's just a container for our bags.

Repeat this exercise with different objects and amounts. 

What's Included

In this freebie unit, I've included a poster and 3 worksheets. 

The poster explains the concept in a simple way. It's a great reminder to keep on the wall after teaching the concept as I outlined above.

The first worksheet is simple questions with some visual representations. This is a great practice to use after you've taught the concept.

The other 2 sheets are a little more of a challenge. Kids need to create their own visuals to help them solve the problem. I've included a hint at the bottom of each page that you can use to help them solve. I have also included those same problems without the hints if you have kiddos ready for the challenge!

An answer sheet is also included to give you a visual.

Grab this freebie below!

**Please remember if you are going to share, share THIS page link, NOT the google drive link. Thank you!**

Download Your Free Nested Objects Unit Here

See my other Situational Math Problems:

Situational Problem for Grades 1-2

Free Number Writing and Word Worksheets 1 to 20

 Free Printable Number Writing Worksheets 1 to 20

I have a new freebie for you today! This is one that I know is soooooo important for early math, but can sometimes be hard to fit into your math schedule. Number writing and number sense!

It can be so tempting to skip making a good solid foundation in number sense. Once kids can count to 100, we often assume they know what numbers truly are - representations of amounts. But so often that concept gets lost on kids. They can count to 20, they can count 20 things - but can they really visualize what 20 looks like? What about 20 on a ten frame or a number line? Practicing these concepts can really help our learners to advance more easily through math concepts in older grades.

These worksheets are a great help in teaching your child or class that concept. After using hands-on manipulatives like place value blocks, legos, big number lines or ten frames, you can have them practice this concept by filling in one of these sheets. 

These sheets include:

• Writing the number in numeral form
• Writing the number in word form
• Showing the amount on a ten-frame or twenty-frame
• Showing the number on a number line
• Showing the amount with their own drawing
• Showing the amount with place value blocks

All in one sheet!

I do hope you and your learners enjoy these sheets, and that they are a help in your classroom or homeschool!

Get this freebie at the link below!

**Just a note that when you are sharing this freebie, please share the link to this page on my blog, not the google drive link! Thank you!**

Get the FREE Number Writing Worksheets Here!

Free Situational Math Problem for Grade 1 or 2

 Free Situational Math Problem (Quebec Education Program-aligned) for Elementary Cycle 1 (grades 1 or 2)

Have you ever heard of a situational math problem? Chances are if you have, you live in Quebec, Canada! A situational problem related to mathematics is basically a large problem for students to solve that uses many different skills they have learned in math. It allows kids to practice deciding which skills are best to use and helps them to sort through lifelike situations.

Although these problems are pretty unique, they can be used by anyone! Not only are they great for practice, but they help students think differently - as opposed to a problem-solving question with just one solid answer. Situational problems, like this one, can have many solutions that are correct. It all depends on if students follow what is asked of them, and figure out a good solution.

I made this freebie because these problems, although a HUGE requirement in our provincial curriculum, are seriously difficult to come by! This would make a great addition to a classroom lesson, especially if you're working on a farm unit! It would also be perfect for homeschoolers looking to add a situational problem to their portfolios! And yes, it includes a sample answer key 😉

Stay tuned for higher grades to come :)

Grab this freebie below the graphic below! All I ask is that you share the link to my BLOG when sharing this freebie, NOT the google drive! Thank You so much!

GRAB THIS FREE SITUATIONAL PROBLEM HERE

Skip Counting Collections - Free Math Curriculum Units

 

Skip Counting Collections Printable Worksheets / Cards

Skip counting pre-grouped objects is an important skill for kids to master, but oftentimes grouping and counting things by themselves is not taught. This is a super important progression though, and a great way for kids to sharpen their visual math skills!

Take a look at the card in the picture above. It shows a bunch of peppers spread out all over the page and asks kids to circle them in groups of ten, then skip count to find how many there are in total. Although this may look different than the skip counting sheets you're used to seeing, it's actually a super important aspect of the progression of learning in mathematics. 

Having your learner's group things on their own teaches them to visually discriminate and estimate how many things may be in a group. It is also a great way to teach them the value of skip counting - how it may help them in their daily lives.

These sheets could function on their own as worksheets or could be cut out and pasted into a math journal. They all feature cute clipart that most skids love to colour too!

I made these sheets to help fulfill the Quebec Progression of Learning for my own kids which says students should be able to count collections of objects by grouping them. It is something I am using with my own daughter in second grade now, and I hope you find it useful in your classroom or homeschool too!

Grab this freebie below!

Get the FREE Counting Collections Unit HERE

Free Skip Counting Pattern Strips - Free Math Curriculum Helps

 

Free Printable Skip Counting Pattern Strips

Skip counting is such an important part of early math skills. But basic skip counting should go beyond the regular number patterns we're all used to - students should be able to skip count starting at any number.

If you teach kids the CONCEPT of skip counting and give them visual examples of what it looks like, then it's much easier for them to grasp repeated addition and multiplication and division in future lessons or grades. 

Learning to skip count the regular pattern (2, 4, 6, 8) is a perfect way to demonstrate how to count equal groups. But it is also important for learners to recognize number patterns and be able to skip count starting at any number. So if you say "skip count by two's starting from number 5", they should be able to visualize and count "5, 7, 9, 11...." and so on. 

This skill helps a LOT in solving tougher math problems throughout elementary and high school, and can really help kids develop strong number sense.

This freebie unit is made to help reinforce this skill. I have included a bunch of things here to help your learners practice:

• Skip counting strips for counting by 2's, 3'2, 4'2, 5's, 6's, 7's, 8's, 9's, 10's, 11's, and 12's. 
• Strips feature 2 regular pattern strips (eg 5, 10, 15, 20..) and two irregular number pattern strips (eg 2, 7, 12, 17...)
• Blank strips are included with 5, 10, and 12 spaces
• Blank strips are also included with some apples

Ways to Use Counting Strips

Laminate and reuse

One great way to use these strips is to make them into a sort of math center. You could laminate them and have kids write on them using dry erase pens, or you could put them into sheet protector sleeves.

Math Journals

Another great way to use these strips is inside kids' math journals. Simply cut out and glue the strips in (or have students do this) and have them fill in the pattern. You could also add questions above as I did, such as "What is the pattern? (+3 for skip counting by 3's)" and ask students to continue it.

On Screen

Another great way to use these strips would be on screens. You could display these on a TV or computer screen/projector and have students tell you the missing numbers out loud. This could be a great warmup before practicing these in a math journal. You could also have learners use a tablet and stylus to write in the missing numbers.

I really do hope you and your learners get good use out of these skip counting strips. Scroll down below for the link to this freebie!

YOU CAN GRAB THE SKIP COUNTING STRIPS FREE HERE (Google Drive download)

**Please be sure to share the link to THIS page, not the google drive link, when sharing my resources! It helps me keep track of how many people are using them, and how effective they are. Thanks so much!**

The Discover Bundle - It's Here!

I am so excited to be bringing you this AMAZING bundle of educational resources today, so lovingly made by teachers and parents all around the world - including me!

The Discover Bundle is a HUGE bundle of over 90 resources from over 35 small shops that make printables and fun activities for kids. When you purchase the bundle you will get instant access to the download link and be able to keep these files forever - to print over and over and over again, whenever you need them!

I LOVE these bundle sales for stocking up my curriculum shelves - we are always ready to study anything at any time! If we're reading a history textbook about ancient Egypt and my kids want to know more - boom! - I've got about 10 resources I have from previous bundles (and some new ones in this bundle!)

They're also a great buy this time of year because you can plan to fit them into next year's school schedule! I'm going to share with you here just a PREVIEW of SOME of what you'll get inside this bundle, and let you know which of my products are in it too! I

The Discover Bundle is put into different categories. here is a preview of some of the resources in each....

Discover Early Learning and Imaginative Play

Discover the World

Discover the Ocean

Discover the Farm and Garden

Discover the Cosmos

Discover Nature

Discover Insects

Discover Habitats

Discover Flowers

As you can see there is plenty to choose from!

So what are MY contributions to the bundle? Some of my favourite products!

My Pretend Play Coffee Shop

Playdough Addition to 20 Mats

Draw and Write - 50 Writing Prompts

CVC Blending Play Mats

Subitizing Bundle

So much from just my shop - buying these products separately is pretty much the price of the bundle - around $25! But if you choose to buy the bundle you'll get all of the other products too.

You can check out more of what is inside the bundle and see all of the wonderful freebies there will be every day too here:

SEE THE DISCOVER BUNDLE HERE!

PS - If you have any questions let me know!