Numeracy “Gone are the days when the teacher explains meaningless rules from the textbook and students only practice computational methods” –Grayson Wheatley “Most, if not all, mathematical concepts and procedures can best be taught through problem-solving.” -John Van De Walle We want our students to develop a deep understanding of mathematics, we want them to be able to think critically and creatively, and to be able to use math confidently to solve problems.

Write the numbers from one to ten Write the numbers from one to ten. Cross out any two numbers and write down their difference. Add that number to the end of the list. Keep going until the last number. Tell me something about that number. Once you have a conjecture, how are you going to check that it’s true?

What is a good problem? Low floor high ceiling, multiple entry points, every student can experience success at their level, engaging, allows for different strategies and lots of conversation. A problem that leaves you with something to think about!

Make a tower of dice so all visible sides add up to 74. Bucky the Badger is a mascot for his school’s football team. Every time his team scores Bucky does a number of push-ups equal to his team’s total points at that time. If his team finished with 50 points, how many push-ups could Bucky have done? If you write out the numbers from 1 to 1000, how many times will you write the number 7? 68, which numbers won’t work

Resources NRICH Peter Liljedahl Puzzles and Problems Stories and Books www.aliciaburdess.com

Division One Problem Solving Project Grade Two Grade Three Grade One Carrie Sutton Brian Andrews Rachel Graham Cheryl Snoble Katie Haughn Emily Whalen Kathryn Smith Billy Tokusheva Dana Slawson Rose Saathoff Geri Ann Lafleur Danny O’Leary Kim Henry Grade Four Carmen Giles Starleigh Genovese Evelyn Dickmann Christie Watson Monica Robertson Kelly Samson Holly Gould Chelsea Lizotte Anna Taplin   Amanda Morrison Get in groups and get to work!

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