Grade 2: Place Value Unit
Instructional Math Task
A New Video Game
Austin and Eli have been saving pennies to buy a video
game. Austin and Eli know the video game will cost 1,000
pennies. Austin has five hundred fifteen pennies. Eli has
400 + 30 + 5 pennies. Austin and Eli have some bags.
Austin and Eli begin putting ten pennies in each bag.
Austin thinks they each need to save twenty-five more
pennies to have enough pennies to buy the video game.
Is Austin correct? Show all your mathematical thinking.
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A New Video Game
Place Value Unit
Mathematical Processes: 2.1A, 2.1B, 2.1E, 2.1G
TEKS Covered in Unit:
2.2B, 2.2C, 2.3A, 2.7B
Task
Austin and Eli have been saving pennies to buy a video game. Austin and Eli know the video
game will cost 1,000 pennies. Austin has five hundred fifteen pennies. Eli has 400 + 30 + 5
pennies. Austin and Eli have some bags. Austin and Eli begin putting ten pennies in each bag.
Austin thinks they each need to save twenty-five more pennies to have enough pennies to
buy the video game. Is Austin correct? Show all your mathematical thinking.
Alternative Versions of the Task
More Accessible Version:
Austin and Eli have been saving pennies to buy a video game. Austin and Eli know the video
game will cost 700 pennies. Austin has three hundred fifteen pennies. Eli has 300 + 30 + 5
pennies. Austin and Eli have some bags. Austin and Eli begin putting ten pennies in each bag.
Austin thinks they each need to save twenty-five more pennies to have enough pennies to
buy the video game. Is Austin correct? Show all your mathematical thinking.
More Challenging Version:
Austin and Eli have been saving pennies to buy a video game. Austin and Eli know the video
game will cost 1,000 pennies. Austin has five hundred fifteen pennies. Eli has 400 + 30 + 5
pennies. Austin and Eli have some bags. Austin and Eli begin putting twenty-five pennies in
each bag. Austin thinks they each need to save twenty-five more pennies to have enough
pennies to buy the video game. Is Austin correct? Show all your mathematical thinking.
TEKS Unit of Study and Evidence
Place Value Unit
The Place Value Unit involves understanding the relative position, magnitude and
relationships within the numeration system in order to answer questions such as:
• How could you use base-10 blocks to show what the numerals in this number mean?
• How can you use the additive property of place value to decompose this number?
• What other way(s) can you use thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones to show this
number without changing its value?
Exemplars Task-Specific Evidence
Students are expected to use different representations of whole numbers to find sums and
differences.
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Underlying Mathematical Concepts
• Additive Property of the Base-10 Number System
• Finding sums when the parts are known and differences when the whole and one
part is known.
• Number sense to 1,000
• Addition/Subtraction
• Comparison
Possible Problem-Solving Strategies
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Model (manipulatives)
Table
Diagram/Key
Number line
Possible Mathematical Vocabulary/Symbolic Representation
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Model
Table/Key
Number line
Total/Sum
Part/Whole
Odd/Even
Subtrahend
Minuend
Difference
Amount
Coin
Money: penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar, dollar
Money notation: $, ¢
Per
Tens, hundreds, thousands
Expanded notation/Standard notation
Equal share
Equivalent/Equal to
Possible Solutions
Original Version:
Yes, Austin is correct.
515
+ 435
900
40
+ 10
950
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Boy
400 + 30 + 5 = 435
1000 - 950 = 50
Pennies
Total Pennies
Austin
515
515
Eli
435
950
500
400
50
25 + 25 = 50
1
• 50 = 25
2
0
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Pennies
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More Accessible Version:
Yes, Austin is correct.
More Challenging Version:
Yes, Austin is correct.
Possible Connections
Below are some examples of mathematical connections. Your students may discover some
that are not on this list.
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Austin and Eli have a total of 950 pennies.
25 pennies is a quarter.
10 pennies is a dime.
Each bag holds a dime’s worth of pennies, 10¢, or 2 nickels.
100 pennies is a dollar, $1.00.
1,000 pennies is 10 dollars, $10.00.
It takes 100 bags to hold enough pennies to buy the video game.
40 quarters is 10 dollars.
Solve more than one way to verify the answer.
Relate to a similar task and state a math link.
Austin starts with more pennies (80 more).
25 pennies is a quarter.
50 pennies is a half-dollar.
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