Algebra Readiness Made Easy Grade 1

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How Much Is This Bag?

Overview

Clues are given in the form of two food bags, each showing the total cost of different

foods. Children solve for the cost of each food.

Algebra

Solve for the values of one or two unknowns • Replace unknowns with their values

Problem-Solving Strategies

Reason deductively • Test values

Related Math Skills

Add single-digit numbers, or multiples of 10 • Use skip counting to solve problems

Find half of a number • Double a number

Math Language

¢ (cents symbol) • Cost • Costs the same

Introducing the Problem Set

Make photocopies of “Solve the Problem: How Much Is This Bag?” (page 66) and

distribute to children. Have children work in pairs, encouraging them to discuss

strategies they might use to solve the problem. You may want to walk around and

listen in on some of their discussions. After a few minutes, display the problem on the

board (or on the overhead if you made a transparency) and use the following ques-

tions to guide a whole-class discussion on how to solve the problem:

• Look at the two bags. What is in the bag with two things? (2 apples)


• How much is the bag of apples? (10¢)


• How can you figure out the cost of one apple? (Two apples are 10¢, so one apple is half

of 10¢ or 5¢. Or, like Ima, think of two numbers that are the same and that add to 10:

+ = 10)

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Algebra Readiness Made Easy: Grade 1 © Greenes, Findell & Cavanagh, Scholastic Teaching Resources