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