Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 62043
Show What You Know: First Grade Problem Solving
Strategies Project
This project is to be used at the end of the school year once all of the addition and subtraction problem solving strategies for first grade have been
taught. This is a review of the strategies and is an excellent way for students to show what they know about their understanding of the problem
solving strategies.
Subject(s): Mathematics
Grade Level(s): 1
Intended Audience: Educators
Instructional Time: 2 Hour(s)
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: problem solving, doubles, doubles plus one, doubles minus one, related facts, counting on, counting
back, addition, subtraction, make a ten
Instructional Design Framework(s): Direct Instruction
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will apply the addition and subtraction strategies that were learned in first grade to complete a math strategies step book.
Students will show how they have developed an understanding of addition, subtraction, and the strategies for addition and subtraction within 20.
Students will analyze a problem and develop a plan for solving the problem.
Students will use pictures and number sentences to conceptualize the problem.
Students will persevere in solving a problem by determining what methods and strategies they have learned and apply them to solve the problem.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students will need to know the prerequisite standard from Kindergarten:
MAFS.K.OA.1: Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from.
Students will also need to know the strategies that have been taught in First Grade:
Doubles
Doubles Plus One
Doubles Minus One
Make a Ten
Related Facts
Counting On
Counting Back
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
What strategies have you learned this year to help with solving addition and subtraction problems?
page 1 of 4 How do you use the doubles strategy?
How do you use the doubles plus one and doubles minus one strategies?
How do we count on or count back to help us solve a problem?
How does knowing related facts help us solve an addition or subtraction problem?
Can you make a ten to help with the solution?
How does thinking about addition help us to subtract?
Students may have some misconceptions, so it might be helpful to be ready with some counterexamples, should this occur. Here is a sample of what to do in the case of
a student who may focus on using key words as a way of solving a problem. Students often think they must subtract when they see the word "left", but this is not
always the case. You can pose a problem of this sort: "John no longer wanted 9 of his toy cars so he gave them to his friend Mark. John has 11 cars left. How many
cars did John have to begin with?" The word "left" in this problem does not indicate that subtraction is the way to solve the problem.
Note: The guiding questions can be used throughout all phases of the lesson to assess understanding. Please refer to these questions when you
are working with students.
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
The teacher will introduce the project by telling students to think about the strategies that they have used to solve addition and subtraction problems in first grade.
The teacher will write the following (or similar) problems on the board to review the facts and strategies (this is also a formative assessment):
3 + 3 = _______ (doubles)
6 + 5 = _______ (doubles minus one)
2 + 8 = _______ (make a ten or counting on)
3 + 4 = _______ (doubles plus one)
5 + 7 = _______ 12 - 5 = _______ (related facts)
8 - 2 = ________ (counting back)
The teacher will go through each math sentence and solve using one of the strategies that were learned in first grade. Students can copy these down in their math
notebook or on a sheet of paper to use as a review to help them when they create their math strategies step book.
The teacher will explain how the step book is to be created and what is required of students (see summative assessment for explanation).
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
The teacher will provide students with several problems that pertain to each math strategy. Teachers can use their current math curriculum and find problems that
students had difficulty with during the year. These can serve as an excellent review and will help get students ready for second grade. Students can complete these
problems with a partner as the teacher circulates around the room to check for understanding (refer to guiding questions). Here is an example of problems that
can be given to students:
Give students a few related facts and have them write down the 4 equations that go with each set of numbers: 11, 7, 4 (7+4=11, 4+7=11, 11-7=4, 11-4=7)
Please see teaching phase for examples of all types of problems that students will be using.
The teacher can also give students problems that will have students using the other strategies to solve for the answer. When students have finished solving the
problems, they can check their solutions in whole group. The teacher will be able to use this guided practice to make sure that students can move on to the
independent practice.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
This is the summative assessment phase, so students will be creating their math strategies step book on their own. Teachers should have already put together the
step books, unless they want their students to do this on their own. It will take some time, so it suggested that they be made prior to this portion of the lesson. See
attached for the instructions and the final step book. This is the same item that is included in the summative assessment section. Problem Solving Strategy Step
Book Instructions.docx
This is a picture of step books that have been completed:
Problem Solving Strategy Step Book Instructions.do
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
Students can share their step books with each other and explain how they came up with the equations to show their understanding of the strategies that they learned.
The teacher can listen as students speak collaboratively with each other. Students should be talking about the following:
They can look at similar problems that each of them used in their step book and solve it the way the other students solved their problem.
They can draw pictures on dry erase boards or sheets of paper to show each other how they solved their problems.
They can make up questions for each other (the teacher can write some of the guiding questions on the board as a guide).
Summative Assessment
The completed step book will be the summative assessment. The attachment shows how the step book should be set up. This is to be worked on in class, as the
page 2 of 4 teacher will be using this as the final assessment for this lesson.
Problem Solving Strategy Step Book Instructions.docx
The following rubric can be used:
2: Student shows a complete understanding of the strategies. They are able to recall the addition and subtraction facts and uses the appropriate strategy to find the
solution.
1: Student shows a partial understanding of the strategies. They can recall some of the facts and uses some of the strategies appropriately.
0: The student shows little or no understanding of the addition and subtraction strategies taught in first grade.
Formative Assessment
Students are going to be working on a math strategies "step book" to show understanding of the math strategies that they have learned throughout the year. It is
important for teachers to formatively assess the understanding of the strategies prior to having students complete the project on their own.
The teacher will ask the following questions to check for understanding:
What strategies have we learned this year that can help us remember how to solve 5 + 5? (Doubles facts, 5 + 5 =10)
Are there any other strategies that you remember how to use in order to help us solve problems? (doubles plus and minus one, related facts, make a ten, counting
on and counting back) Students can demonstrate these different strategies with partners, in groups, or as a whole group with the teacher.
The teacher can post sample problems (see Teaching Phase for examples) for each strategy and have students tell which strategy can be used to solve the
problems. Once it is determined that students can use these strategies effectively, they can begin working on the math strategies step book.
When asking the second question, teachers should write student responses regarding the strategies on the board or chart paper. This will be the visual that students
will use to then demonstrate understanding of the strategies.
It is important to note that students will be working independently, with partners, or in a group during this time to show how many of the strategies learned will be
recalled. Students will be recording their answers in their math notebooks or on a sheet of paper in order for the teacher to have a concrete way to check for
understanding. The teacher will be circulating throughout the room to assess understanding (see Feedback to Students). This formative assessment is used to get
a sense of which strategies will need to be reviewed and in some cases, retaught.
Feedback to Students
While students are working on the formative assessment questions, the teacher will circulate throughout the room asking questions to probe for understanding (Can you
explain the strategy you are using? Why did you choose that strategy?)
Once students are working on the math strategies step book, the teacher will continue to ask probing questions and give positive or corrective feedback to students in
order to help them remain on task. It is important that the students are working independently on this project, as this will be the summative assessment. The teacher
can ask the same questions as stated above in order to guide students in the right direction.
See guiding questions section for sample questions.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
In addition to having the step books stapled and ready to go, the titles for each section can be pre-written for students who may have difficulty with writing.
A sheet with different examples of the problem solving strategies can also be provided and students can cut out the correct example for each strategy and glue it
onto the correct section in the step book.
Extensions:
In addition to completing the step book, students can create their own book of each math strategy. They can choose from one of the strategies and create a book
using numbers and pictures to illustrate 8-10 equations for the chosen strategy.
Special Materials Needed:
Teachers can staple the step books prior to the lesson (4 sheets of paper for each book).
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
The following Mathematical Practice Standards apply to this lesson:
MP.1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them (This resource allows students to explain the meaning of a problem and look for its solution and check their
answers to a problem using different methods, while asking themselves "Does this make sense?". Students will also be able to understand how fellow students approach the
solving of problems using varying methods.)
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Janine Fernandez
Name of Author/Source: Janine Fernandez
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Miami-Dade
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
page 3 of 4 Related Standards
Name
MAFS.1.OA.3.6:
Description
Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10. Use strategies such as
counting on; making ten (e.g., 8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 10 + 4 = 14); decomposing a number leading to a ten (e.g., 13
– 4 = 13 – 3 – 1 = 10 – 1 = 9); using the relationship between addition and subtraction (e.g., knowing that 8 + 4 =
12, one knows 12 – 8 = 4); and creating equivalent but easier or known sums (e.g., adding 6 + 7 by creating the
known equivalent 6 + 6 + 1 = 12 + 1 = 13).
page 4 of 4