Grades 3-5 Math Problem Solving in Action_ Getting Students to Love Word Problems

58 ◆ Problem Types Across the Curriculum

Figure 3.29

Sample Problem

Riki said that 7 hundredths is more than 2 tenths because 7 is more

than 2. Jessie said that is not true because tenths are more than hun-

dredths. Use the decimal grids to reason out the problem.

Explain your thinking.

Figure 3.30

The wingspans of birds can be amazing. The wandering albatross has

a wingspan between 2.51 and 3.5 meters! This is the largest

living bird.

Measure the least and greatest sizes.

Sketch it out on butcher paper.

The museum wants to make a display case of the wandering albatross.

If the wall is 15 feet long, about how many albatrosses can they show

spreading out their wings to full wingspan at one time?

In the next problem, students are expected to actually measure out
the problem. By acting it out, the problem begins to make more sense (see
Figure 3.30).

Key Points

• There are many different problem types across the domains.


• Operations and algebraic thinking problems focus on single-digit
  and multi-digit multistep operations.