Solving Problems
Problem _____
Draw a picture and use words to show you used counters and/or base ten blocks to
model your problem.
Solution:
How is your problem like the other
problems in your group?
How is your problem different from the
other problems in your group?
Problem _____
Draw a picture and use words to show you used counters and/or base ten blocks to
model your problem.
Solution:
How is your problem like the other
problems in your group?
©2011 Texas Education Agency. All Rights Reserved.
How is your problem different from the
other problems in your group?
ESTAR Academy Grades 3-4
Sentence Starter Cards
Two sets of Sentence Starter Cards are provided.
We could use __________ to find the answer to all of the
problems.
My problem is different from the other problems because
was not about __________ or _________.
My problem was the only problem about _________.
We could use __________ to find the answer to all of the
problems.
My problem is different from the other problems because
was not about __________ or _________.
My problem was the only problem about _________.
©2011 Texas Education Agency. All Rights Reserved.
ESTAR Academy Grades 3-4
Four Groups
1. Record the letter of each problem that belongs in the group.
2. Record the solution to each problem.
3. Answer the two questions about each group.
Group 1
Problem _____
Problem _____
Problem _____
Problem _____
Solution
How are these problems alike?
How are these problems different from the other problems in different groups?
Group 2
Problem _____
Problem _____
Problem _____
Problem _____
Solution
How are these problems alike?
How are these problems different from the other problems in different groups?
Problem _____
Group 3
Problem _____
Problem _____
Problem _____
Solution
How are these problems alike?
How are these problems different from the other problems in different groups?
Group 4
Problem _____
Problem _____
Problem _____
Problem _____
Solution
How are these problems alike?
How are these problems different from the other problems in different groups?
©2011 Texas Education Agency. All Rights Reserved.
ESTAR Academy Grades 3-4
Four Corners Cards
Problem A
Problem B
Problem C
Tyson reads
45 minutes each day.
How many minutes
does Tyson read in
4 days?
Books cost 5 dollars
each. How much do
8 books cost?
Tyson has 6 model
cars. There are
4 wheels on each
model car. What is the
total number of wheels
on Tyson’s model cars?
Problem D
Problem E
Problem F
Delia runs 3 miles each
day. How many miles
does Delia run in
7 days?
Pizzas cost 7 dollars
each. How much do
6 pizzas cost?
Mrs. Jenkins’ pine tree
is 12 times as tall as
her azalea bush. The
azalea bus is 6 feet tall.
How tall is the pine
tree?
Problem G
Problem H
Problem J
Tyson is 2 times as tall
as Delia. Delia is
32 inches tall. How
many inches tall is
Tyson?
Delia drew 3 triangles.
There are 3 vertices on
each triangle. How
many vertices are there
all together?
Tyson weighs
4 times more than his
baby sister. His baby
sister weighs
24 pounds. How much
does Tyson weigh?
Problem K
Problem L
Problem M
Mrs. Jenkins walk
5 miles each day. How
many miles does Mrs.
Jenkins run in 12 days?
Model cars cost
12 dollars each. How
much do 5 model cars
cost?
Mrs. Jenkins has
5 pizzas. There are
8 slices of pizza on
each pizza. How many
slices of pizza does
Mrs. Jenkins have?
©2011 Texas Education Agency. All Rights Reserved.
ESTAR Academy Grades 3-4
Solving Problems Answer Key
Responses may vary.
Problem M
Draw a picture and use words to show you used counters and/or base ten blocks to
model your problem.
I placed 8 counters to represent the 8 slices in each of the 5 groups (pizzas).
Solution:
40 slices
How is your problem like the other
problems in your group?
How is your problem different from the
other problems in your group?
We could use multiplication to find the
solution to all of the problems.
This problem was not about a rate or
price and it did not compare two
quantities.
Problem B
Draw a picture and use words to show you used counters and/or base ten blocks to
model your problem.
I placed 5 counters to represent the 5 dollars it cost for each of the 8 books.
Solution:
40 dollars
How is your problem like the other
problems in your group?
How is your problem different from the
other problems in your group?
We could use multiplication to find the
solution to all of the problems.
This problem was the only one about
the price.
©2011 Texas Education Agency. All Rights Reserved.
ESTAR Academy Grades 3-4