Lesson 2: Math is Exploring and Thinking5.NF.B.4

I can…

I can make sense of a problem, plan a strategy, and use fractions of a whole number to compare quantities.

Key words

• quantity — An amount in a problem — a number with a meaning attached, like 540 meters.
• relationship — How two quantities compare or connect to each other.
• strategy — A plan for how to solve a problem before you start computing.
• reasonable — A solution that makes sense in the context of the problem.
• persevere — To keep working on a problem, checking your progress and adjusting your plan when you get stuck.

Steps

1. A bowl is full of peas — far too many to count one at a time. About how many peas are in the bowl?
2. I do not count every pea — I look for a group I CAN count, like one small cluster of about 10.
3. Then I ask how many of those clusters would cover the whole bowl. I count about 12.
4. 12 clusters of about 10 is 12 × 10 = 120, so my estimate is about 120 peas — a reasoned answer, close enough to be useful.

Try it

Which statement best shows what this lesson means by "math is exploring and thinking"?

Check your answer

We make sense of problems, plan a strategy, check our progress, and try other strategies at dead ends

The summary names the whole cycle: make sense of the problem, develop a plan, check progress and adjust, and make sense of the solution in context.

Sentence starter

I know ___ because ___.

Goal: I can explain my plan using the words we know, we don't know, and my strategy is ___ .