Parts of a Number
You have some pieces of red and blue candy (pick a fun candy to talk about). This task practices putting groups together or pulling them apart.
- Find the total number when two (or three) groups are combined. This task is a warm up for the second and third tasks.
- Decompose a larger group into two smaller groups. Add restrictions on the groups, such as one of them must be larger than the other.
- This is the same as the second task, only now decompose into three smaller groups.
Use whatever large group size is appropriate for the math skills you want your students to practice.
Putting Together
Tell your students that you have some red and blue candies, and then ask how many pieces of candy you have altogether.
Write the full color names at first, but gradually transition to using just the first letter. This is another step in helping your students adjust to symbolic representations.
Examples:
- 3 Red and 2 Blue
- 4 Red and 1 Blue
- 5 Red and 5 Blue
- 3 R and 6 B
- 1 R and 7 B
If this is going well, say you bought some more candy that has pieces that are red, blue, and green. Ask for totals again.
Examples:
- 3 R, 2B, 3 G
- 1 R, 5B, 2 G
Making 2 Groups
This is a decomposing task. Tell your students you have a total number of candies and you are wondering how that total can be created using red and blue candies. As your students get better at it, start putting in requirements on how the counts for the red and blue relate.
It will probably help your students, especially at first, if you draw a picture of the full collection of candies, perhaps in a line, and ask them how to break it into two parts.
For the groups of students who can do this easily, ask them to come up with more than one answer.
Examples:
- 5 candies
- 8 candies
- 6 with there bing more Red than Blue
- 7: Red < Blue
- 10: R = B
- 9: R < B (discuss why R = B is impossible, if you like)
Making 3 Groups
This is the same as the last task, only now you have red, blue, and green pieces of candy.
Examples:
- 4 total
- 5: R > B, B = G (discuss if R > B > G is possible)
- 7: R < B, B > G
- 9: R = B = G
- 10: R = 1, B > G
- 10: B = 5, R < G