Exemplars
Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite!
Three boys are talking about their bedtimes. Joey
goes to bed at the same time each night.
Maurice says his parents make him go to bed five
times a week at 9 o’clock at night. They let him
stay up an extra hour the other two nights a week.
Samuel says for three days a week he goes to bed
two hours earlier than the latest time Maurice gets
to stay up. The other times Samuel stays up as late
as Maurice’s latest bed time.
They realize that all of them have at least one
common bedtime, and they all get up at 7 o’clock
in the morning. They are confused about who gets
the most sleep during a week. Please explain to
them how you figured out the answers to the
following questions:
Who gets the most sleep during the week?
What is their common bedtime?
Exemplars
TM
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite!
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Exemplars
Grade Level 3–5
Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite!
Three boys are talking about their bedtimes. Joey goes to bed at the same time each night.
Maurice says his parents make him go to bed five times a week at 9 o’clock at night. They let
him stay up an extra hour the other two nights a week.
Samuel says for three days a week he goes to bed two hours earlier than the latest time
Maurice gets to stay up. The other times Samuel stays up as late as Maurice’s latest bed time.
They realize that all of them have at least one common bedtime, and they all get up at 7
o’clock in the morning. They are confused about who gets the most sleep during a week.
Please explain to them how you figured out the answers to the following questions:
Who gets the most sleep during the week?
What is their common bedtime?
Editor’s Note: This teacher presented the task above with the chart seen. To encourage your
students to choose their own problem–solving strategy, it is recommended that you leave the
chart off when presenting the task to your students.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Bedbugs Bite (cont.)
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Exemplars
Context
This task was given to students who were working with charts as a problem–solving strategy.
What This Task Accomplishes
This task requires students to read, understand and translate a problem mathematically. It
requires them to be organized in their approach. It also requires them to apply concepts of
time to a problem–solving situation.
Time Required for Task
This task took one 45 minute period.
Interdisciplinary Links
This task could lead to a study of typical bedtimes of students the ages of those in your class,
and the average amount of sleep students get. This could be written up into a report for
parents who are wondering what an appropriate bedtime might be for their child!
Teaching Tips
You may want to discuss the word “common” with students before they attempt the task. To
make the task more or less complicated, you could adjust the number of students or the
bedtimes to be fractions of an hour.
Suggested Materials
Pencil, graph paper, lined paper, and some students may require a Judy clock.
Possible Solutions
Joey goes to sleep 7 nights a week at ten o’clock. He sleeps 63 hours per week.
Maurice goes to sleep 5 nights a week at nine o’clock and 2 nights a week at ten o’clock. He
sleeps a total of 68 hours per week.
Samuel goes to sleep 3 nights a week at eight o’clock, and 4 nights a week at ten o’clock. He
sleeps for a total of 69 hours per week.
Samuel sleeps the longest. The common bedtime is ten o’clock.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Bedbugs Bite (cont.)
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Exemplars
Benchmark Descriptors
Novice
The novice will have difficulty organizing the information presented and therefore will
achieve an incorrect solution.
Apprentice
The apprentice will have a partially corrrect solution. There may be some problems in
calculating the hours of sleep or in understanding information that needed to be
inferred. The apprentice will use some math language, and representations will be
attempted.
Practitioner
The practitioner will have a correct solution to the problem. All work will be shown,
and the approach will be evident. Math language will be used throughout, and
representations will be complete and detailed.
Expert
The expert will have a correct solution. The approach and reasoning used will be
explained, and math language and representations will assist in communicating the
solution. The expert will go beyond the requirements of the task and make
mathematically relevant comments or observations about the solution.
Author
Kim Royle teaches at Diamond Elementary School at Fort Stewart, Georgia. She is currently
working with language and reading services but has experience in teaching reading,
language arts, and math in grades 3 through 9.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Bedbugs Bite (cont.)
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Exemplars
Novice
The student seems unclear on
how to use the chart provided.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Bedbugs Bite (cont.)
No conclusion
is made.
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Exemplars
Novice (cont.)
Little or no understanding
is demonstrated.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
It is unclear what the
student is trying to do.
Bedbugs Bite (cont.)
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Exemplars
Apprentice
Work is
somewhat
organized.
Part of the
solution is
correct.
A representation is
attempted.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Some parts of the
solution are unclear.
Some math language
is used.
Bedbugs Bite (cont.)
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Exemplars
Practitioner
The student shows
his/her work.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Bedbugs Bite (cont.)
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Exemplars
Practitioner (cont.)
The approach is
explained.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Bedbugs Bite (cont.)
Correct answers
are achieved.
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Exemplars
Expert
All parts
are correct.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Work is well
organized.
Bedbugs Bite (cont.)
All work is shown
and labeled.
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Exemplars
Expert (cont.)
The student explains
his/her approach.
Math language is
used throughout.
The student makes a
relevant math observation.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Bedbugs Bite (cont.)
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