Sticker Number Story - 3 Versions of Join with Result Unknown
Another round of number stories is here and all the setup is done for you! Just grab some stickers (or any small toy), sit down with your child, and show them the number story video.
Why number stories?
Number stories are the key to helping your child build a connection between their counting skills and learning to add, subtract, multiply, and divide:
Contextual problems are the primary teaching tool to use to help children construct a rich understanding of the operations [addition, subtraction, multiplication, division]. These contexts are what elicit problem-solving strategies (Schwartz, 2013) and help children make sense of the operations. (Van de Walle, Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics, V1, pg 147)
Number stories allow our children to develop meaningful connections between their daily lives and their developing understanding of mathematics.
What type of problem are we solving today?
In this week’s number story, your child will be solving a joining problem with an unknown result. A joining problem describes a context in which two or more quantities are being brought together (joined). A joining problem can have an unknown amount in three different spots: an unknown starting amount, an unknown amount being joined (the change), or an unknown result. This week’s problem has an unknown result because we know how much we start with, we know how much is joined to it, and we need to figure out how much results at the end.
Why this problem type again?
Last week’s number story was a joining problem with an unknown result and this week’s is too. Why? It’s helpful for children to solve number stories in pairs because it allows them to apply their learning from the previous problem to the second problem. I don’t recommend directly telling a child that the problem type is the same as the one from the time before because that takes away their critical thinking. However, the natural exposure to a repeated problem-type supports their ability to make sense of the problem.
This Week’s Problem
All the setup is done for you! Just grab some stickers (or any small, countable toy), sit down with your child, and show them the number story video.
There are three versions, so you can pick the one that’s the best fit for your child (same story, different numbers):
(1) Version 1: Numbers within 5 (Click button below for video): I have 2 stickers on my paper. Later, I put another 2 stickers on my paper. How many stickers are on my paper altogether?
(2) Version 2: Numbers within 10: I have 4 stickers on my paper. Later, I put another 4 stickers on my paper. How many stickers are on my paper altogether?
(3) Version 3: Numbers within 20: I have 6 stickers on my paper. Later, I put another 6 stickers on my paper. How many stickers are on my paper altogether?
After the story, pause to give your child time to solve.
Once they solve, the second half of the video shows one possible way to solve the story! Discuss similarities and differences between their strategy and mine. (REMEMBER there are LOTS of ways to solve! Flexible thinking is the goal.)
Join us next week for another number story!