1. PROBLEM-SOLVING WITH GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS Presented by: Kendra Bookout, Math Facilitator

2. Key Words Pitfalls  Complete the Key Words sheet  Discussion:  What are the pitfalls of assigning absolute meanings to “key words” in story problems?  What should the focus be on? Key words must represent the meaning of a mathematical idea in the problem

3. Challenges for Students in Solving Word Problems  Difficulty with vocabulary  Lack of confidence when solving problems  Confusion on the proper operation to use when solving a problem  Students’ lack of knowledge of various problem- solving strategies

4. Addressing These Challenges  “When students gain access to mathematical representations, and the ideas they represent, they have a set of tools that significantly expand their capacity to think mathematically.” (Wu, et. al.)  Students benefit from  Active, cooperative learning  Multiple representations  Sharing and reflecting with peers

5. Mathematician’s Chair  A place where students sit and share problems they have authored along with their individual solution strategies.  4 initial steps:  Classroom instruction  Student group discussion  Student presentation  Student evaluation

6. Classroom Instruction  Model the entire process using the graphic organizer.  Guide the students on how to..  Construct a problem  Circle the important numbers  Identify key words  Use pictures or representations  Choose a mathematical operation or number sentence to solve the problem NOW LET’S TRY IT!

7. Students’ Group Discussion  Have students work in groups to construct and solve their own problems.  Group Roles/Duties include:  FIND and list the numbers used in the problems.  LOCATE and list the clue words.  DRAW pictures or representations.  WRITE equations or number sentences used to solve the problem. NOW LET’S TRY IT!

8. Student Presentations  Groups share their problems with the class  Engage the other groups to solve their problems  Writes problem on the board for other groups  Have one child circle the important numbers, one find the key words, another draw the picture or representation, and one student choose the operation to solve the problem.  Students from the presenting group circulate around the room, helping the other students  NOW LET’S TRY IT!

9. Student Evaluation  The entire class scores each other using the Mathematician’s Chair Scoring Rubric  Scorers have to provide justification for the score they choose  NOW LET’S TRY IT!