That was the problem I gave the students on Friday. I gave them some time to work on their own with it....no helping, no hints...just silent working time. Of course everyone came up with 12 marbles and 12 bags. They love that 12 x 12 = 144 multiplication fact! Several of the students wrote their answer and turned their paper over. Done! I got a chuckle out of watching their faces when they realized I was giving way too much time to work if that was the ONLY possible answer. Back to work.....:)
After they finished working independently, I put them into groups (I love group work!) They were given some chart paper and the task of showing AND explaining their thinking on their paper. "Show and explain your thinking" is a great strategy for digging deeper.
It's so much fun and very interesting to watch their thinking come to life on their chart paper. Group work helps stretch their thinking. They are learning from each other.
Finally, they take a walk through the "Math Gallery" and look at all of the math posters. One person from each group stays with the poster and explains ALL of the thinking on the chart...not just their own. We follow up with a great whole group discussion and solve the question together.What worked? What didn't? Why did you choose the solution you did? How did you come up with that idea? So powerful to hear them share their thinking with each other!
Can you figure out how many different ways there are to divide 144 equally?
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