Mathematics Math Expressions Lesson

Grade 4 Quarter 1 Day 21

Common Core State Standard(s)
4.NBT.4 Fluently add and subtract multidigit whole numbers using the standard
algorithm.
4.OA.3 Solve multistep word problems
posed with whole numbers and having wholenumber answers using the four operations,
including problems in which remainders must
be interpreted. Represent these problems
using equations with a letter standing for the
unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness
of answers using mental computation and
estimation strategies including rounding.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

Standard 1: Make sense of problems and
persevere in solving them.
Standard 2: Reason abstractly and
quantitatively.
Standard 4: Model with mathematics
Standard 6: Attend to precision

Materials Needed:
Whiteboards/markers
Sticky notes/index cards
Blackline Masters, Open ended
Multi-step Practice Problems
Transparency, School Store

Formative Assessment
Jack has 304 baseball, 919 basketball, 17
hockey, and 105 soccer posters. How many
more soccer posters than baseball and
hockey posters does he have?

Homework
Blackline Master, Practice Problem
Solving HW
LEARNING STRATEGIES:
Vocabulary
change, collection, compare, addition,
subtraction, equation, multi-step
Wake County Public School System, 2013
WCPSS/PROJECT ACHIEVE/C&I/2001

Alignment Lesson
Multi-Step Problems Using Addition and Subtraction
Activity 1: Think and Talk (engage and explore 15 min)
1. Post the following problem on the board and have the class
read aloud the problem together and then silently.
In the morning, 190 students were working on a science
project. In the afternoon, 35 students left and 76 more
students came to work on the project. How many students
were working on the project at the end of the day?
2. Ask the students to turn and talk about what they know about
the problem and what is unknown in the problem. Make a list
on the board as reference points into the problem.
-two-step problem because it has a plus/minus change
problem structure
-need to know result after the changes to find out how
many students were working on the project at the end
-know 190 students started in the morning
-know that 35 students left and 76 more came
3. Ask students to use their whiteboards to model and solve the
problem on their own. This can be a quick check
preassessment. Then continue with the solve and discuss
approach to solve the problem. Answer: Situation Equation:
190 35 + 76 = n n= 231 students that were working on the
project at the end of the day. Solution equations could be
represented differently: 190 +76 = n n- 35 = 231
4. Remind students that familiar addition and subtraction
problems can become unfamiliar as it requires more than one
step to solve for. Review the two steps needed to solve for the
problem above. Require students to attend to precision as they
are solving problems involving problems with more than one
operation.
Activity 2: Make and Model (explain and elaborate 30 min)
1. Display Transparency, School Store. Share the answer
before showing how to solve the problem. As a result,
students are more focused on the strategy rather than the
solution. Ask students to watch you model the problem using
picture/organizer and represent the unknown with a letter. Be
sure to discuss how to attend to precision when you label
quantities and calculate computations.
2. Have students to turn and talk to a partner after each step of
problem solving to reinforce understanding. Promote more
math talk in a whole group discussion by asking other
questions to connect and clarify ideas such as: What did
____just say? Can you tell me more? Who can repeat what
_____just said? Does anyone want to add on to what
____said? Do you agree or disagree with _____s idea? Is
this what you said? Can you prove it? What do you think will
happen if _____? What makes you say that?
3. Ask students to come up with another strategy for solving that
would lead to the same solution.
Lesson Continued on Next Page

Teacher Guide

Grade 4 Day 21 Standard(s) 4.NBT.4, 4.OA.3

Alignment Lesson Continued

Multi-Step Problems Using Addition and Subtraction
4. Distribute Blackline Master, Open Ended Multi-Step Practice Problems to each student. Tell students to begin by
thinking about the problem types (structures) represented in the problem. Then insert multi-digit numbers in the
blanks to create the problem. Model it for the students how to think through the problem by asking questions like:
What is the problem about? What do I need to find out? What do I know?
What is the unknown(s) I need to solve for? How can I represent the unknown with a letter?
5. Solve the comparison problem for students using comparison bars and make an equation with a letter representing
the unknown. Problem 1 uses the fewer language to describe to lesser value in the comparison problem structure.
6. Have students work in pairs to complete the remaining two problems. Students should be working with multi-digit
numbers in the problems. To differentiate for struggling students, the teacher may have them work with smaller
numbers (1-digit, 2-digit, or 3-digit). Teacher monitors students and ask probing questions such as:
Can you tell me more about why you . . .?
How did you know . . .?
What made you model your problem like . . .?
7. After the students have finished the two problems, have the class participate in the Circle the Sage Cooperative
Group Strategy: Select 4-6 sages, student leaders, who are able to facilitate small group discussion and have them
sit in a chair around the room. Assign the remaining students in the class to choose a sage and form around them
in a circle sitting on the floor. Have all students bring their whiteboards/markers. Sages will explain using precise
language and models to their small group how they solved a problem from the blackline master, Open Ended Multistep Practice Problems. Students who are circling the sage will need to repeat to clarify what the sage says or ask
questions to the sage to gain more information. Question starters or sentence stems might be helpful to support small
group math talks. Teacher monitors small groups of students throughout the room making informal observations and
taking anecdotal notes.
Answers will vary based on the numbers used in problems, but the problem structure remains the same.
Check to see that students have represented the unknown with a letter and have modeled/organized the
problem.
Problem 2: collection and change problem structures
Problem 3: collection, change, and comparison problem structures
Activity 3: Plan and Practice (Extend and Evaluate 15 min)
1. If time allows, have students create their own multi-step problems on their whiteboards to switch and share with a
partner. After math partners have solved each others problem, exchange and check solutions.
2. Have students complete the formative assessment problem as an exit ticket using index cards and/or sticky notes for
students to model the problem and make an equation. Check for understanding to make sure students use a letter to
solve for the unknown.
Jack has 304 baseball, 919 basketball, 17 hockey, and 905 soccer posters. How many more soccer posters than
baseball and hockey posters does he have? Answer: Jack has 584 more soccer posters than baseball and hockey
posters. Possible equations: 905 (304+17) = p ; 304+17 = 321 905 321 = p
3. Assign Blackline Master Practice Problem Solving for homework. Have students check answers with a partner
and review solving multi-step problems at the beginning of class tomorrow.
Answer Key:
1) Zack has 60 pages left to read.
2) Elena studied 80 more minutes than Thomas.
3)No, there would not be room to have 20 pages of social studies notes because there is only 18 pages left so
2 more pages would be needed.
Source: Teacher Created
Wake County Public School System, 2013

Teacher Guide

Wake County Public School System, 2013

Grade 4 Day 21 Standard(s) 4.NBT.4, 4.OA.3

Blackline Master

Grade 4 Day 21 Standard(s) 4.NBT.4, 4.OA.3

Name:_______________________________Date:______________________
Open-ended Multi-step Practice Problems
Directions: Think about the problem structures represented below. Insert multidigit numbers and solve carefully using an equation to represent the unknown.
Model each problem and attend to precision when calculating computations
and labeling quantities in the problems. Write your solution in a complete
sentence to answer the question.
1. A school cafeteria has ______vegetable servings. Altogether, the cafeteria
has ____ fruit and vegetable servings. How many fewer fruit servings
than vegetable servings are there?

There are _________fewer fruit servings than vegetable servings in the school cafeteria.

2. Zara has _____pencils, ____pens, ____markers, and ____ crayons. She

gave ____ pencils and ____ pens to her friend. How many writing
utensils does she have left?

3. At the school library there are _____ biography books, ____ mystery
books, and _____comic books. If a student checked out ____ biography
books, how many more mystery books and comic books are there than
biography books?

Wake County Public School System, 2013

Blackline Master

Grade 4 Day 21 Standard(s) 4.NBT.4, 4.OA.3

Name:_________________________________Date:__________________
Practice Solving Problems HW
Directions: Read each problem and solve carefully. Model each problem by
organizing the information and writing an equation to represent the unknown
with a letter. Be sure to use precision when labeling quantities and when doing
calculations. Write your solution in a complete sentence to answer the
question.
1. A teacher assigned 560 pages to read by the end of the week. Zack
finished 195 pages on Monday. This was 10 pages fewer then what he
finished on Tuesday. He read 100 pages on Wednesday. How many pages
does he have left to read?

2. Thomas studied for 55 minutes and Elena studied for 2 hours and 15
minutes. How many more minutes did Elena study than Thomas?

3. A 120-page notebook contains 38 pages of science notes and 64 pages of

math notes. Is there room in the notebook to contain 20 pages of social
studies notes? Would there be any pages left or how many pages would be
needed? Explain.

Wake County Public School System, 2013

Transparency

Grade 4 Day 21 Standard(s) 4.NBT.4, 4.OA.3

School Store
The school store was having a sale. They were selling pencils to raise
money for a service project. The sale was going to last two weeks.
-The schools goal was to raise $1,225.00.
-Pencils cost $1.00 a piece.
-They sold 309 pencils the first week.
-They sold 875 pencils the second week.
How many pencils does the school store need to sale to reach their
goal?
ANSWER: They need sell 41 pencils to reach their goal.
Show how the answer was generated.
Use models, words, and symbols.
Write an equation with a letter for the unknown.

Wake County Public School System, 2013

Answer Key Grade 4 Day 21 Standard(s) 4.NBT.4, 4.OA.3

School Store (answer key)

The school store was having a sale. They were selling pencils to raise
money for a service project. The sale was going to last two weeks.
-The schools goal was to raise $1,225.00.
-Pencils cost $1.00 a piece.
-They sold 309 pencils the first week.
-They sold 875 pencils the second week.
How many pencils do they still need to sale to reach their goal?
The school store needs to sell 41 pencils to reach their goal
Show your work with models, words, and symbols. Write an equation
with a letter for the unknown. (This is just one solution strategy as
there are multiple entry points into solving the problem. Have students
work together to find another strategy for solving that will lead to the
same solution.)
309 + 875 = p
p = 1184
1,184 pencils at $1.00 a piece = $1,184
$1,225 Goal

$1,184 =
Raised

$41
Need to reach their goal

Problem doesnt ask how much money, but how many pencils are
needed to be sold to reach their goal. Since the price of pencils is
$1.00 a piece, then that would mean that the school would need to sale
41 pencils.

Wake County Public School System, 2013