Math is Yummy! A Problem-Solving Class for Mathematical Minds
What's included
1 live meeting
30 mins in-class hours per weekHomework
There will not be assigned homework for this class as we will do all the work during the class time itself. However, students may sometimes have a bit of work to finish at the end of the class period.Class Experience
This ongoing class will follow the format of a 3-Act Task for mathematical problem-solving and is absolutely packed with great mathematical thinking skills! 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝟏: At the beginning of each class, students will be presented with an intriguing, food-themed scenario. Together, we will work to ask questions and develop our own problems for solving, determine what information we need to solve the problem, and make estimates. 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝟐:Next, some more information about the scenario will be shared, which we will use to make revisions to our estimates and then work together to solve the problem. 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝟑: Students will share solutions, strategies and questions that came up as they worked through their problem-solving. We'll compare our final solutions to our estimates and debrief on our problem-solving and thinking processes, discussing what worked and what didn't. This class will run for fifteen weeks and then the lessons will repeat. Each class can function as a stand-alone class, so your learner can join for just one or all fifteen classes! 3-Act Tasks for math are a great way to challenge and extend learners and develop critical thinking skills. Many students will find these problems challenging, others they may find easier. However, my emphasis in this class is always on mathematical thinking and questioning and the process of arriving at an answer rather than on the answer itself. Learners are always encouraged to find more than one way to solve a problem and to explain their thinking to others, which adds an additional layer of challenge for many learners beyond doing calculations. I strive to ensure that all learners are challenged and stretched with every lesson! Students will be guided through the process of creating and solving their own math problems. I strongly believe there is tremendous value in the process of developing these kinds of mathematical thinking skills (asking questions, determining needed information, estimating, revising estimates based on new information, etc.) even if students are not able to arrive at one correct answer at the end of the process, and this is something we will discuss often in class as well. There is going to be a lot of great learning, discussion, and growing happening here and I hope your learner will join us! **Ideally, your learner will already know how to add and subtract numbers as these operations will be used in many of the problems we work on. However, they do not need to have knowledge of all the content or vocabulary needed as I will make sure they know what they need to be able to solve the problems (for example: It sounds like we're trying to figure out the capacity of the container. Does everyone know what capacity means?) I will always provide guidance and scaffolding where needed to help your learner be successful. Many of the lessons will provide a great introduction to beginning multiplication skills and seeing the connection between multiplication and repeated addition, but again your learner will be better prepared if they are already able to add and subtract at least within 20. ** Please note there is another version of this class for older learners ages 9-11. You can find the link to that class here: https://outschool.com/classes/math-is-yummy-a-problem-solving-class-for-mathematical-minds-ages-9-11-71MG2SVd?usid=nD85Y1ms&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link Week of Sept. 3 Whopper of a Problem Content: Addition and subtraction within 50 Week of Sept. 10 Cookie Monster Content: Addition and subtraction within 100 Week of Sept. 17 S’more graham crackers Content: Addition and subtraction within 100 Week of Sept. 24. Pringle Ringle Content: Addition and subtraction within 50 Week of Oct. 1 Sliced Up Content: Fractions; working with quarters and wholes Week of Oct. 8 Snack Machine Content: Addition and subtraction within 100, counting money Week of Oct. 15 Bag of Chips Content: Addition and subtraction within 20 Week of Oct. 22 FALL BREAK Week of Oct. 29 Ghost candy Content: Addition and subtraction within 20 Week of Nov. 5 Apple Farm Content: Addition and subtraction within 10 Week of Nov. 12 Lemonade Stand Content: liquid capacity Week of Nov. 19 M&M fight Content: Addition and subtraction within 20 Week of Nov. 26 Fun Size Adding Content: Addition and subtraction within 20 Week of Dec. 3 Stolen Skittles Content: Addition and subtraction within 100 Week of Dec. 10 Humpty Dumpty Content: Addition and subtraction within 20 Week of Dec. 17 The Candy man Content: Addition and subtraction within 10 Week of Dec. 24 WINTER HOLIDAY Week of Dec. 31 WINTER HOLIDAY Class will resume the week of January 7th, 2024 and the above-listed lessons will repeat.
Learning Goals
Through this class, students will develop a range of mathematical thinking skills including asking questions, creating problems, determining needed information, making good estimates, determining a good estimate versus a bad estimate, adjusting estimates when given new information, using different problem-solving strategies, discussing strategies, defending ideas and critiquing the thinking and ideas of others. In addition, students will work on mathematical content including addition and subtraction, fractions, measurement, and money counting.
Other Details
Supply List
A recording sheet for learners to use is attached and can be printed out before class. However, learners can also just use a whiteboard and markers or paper and pencil for recording estimates and solving problems.
1 file available upon enrollment
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
The 3-Act Tasks used for this class were developed by Graham Fletcher and Kristen Acosta and used with their permission:
https://gfletchy.com/
https://kristenacosta.com/3-acts/
Teacher expertise and credentials
North Carolina Teaching Certificate in Elementary Education
2 Degrees
Master's Degree in Education from University of Missouri at Columbia
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Calvin College
I have twenty years of classroom teaching experience at the elementary/primary school level and have been teaching the 3-Act Task problem-solving format for six years in brick-and-mortar schools.
Reviews
Live Group Class
$12
weekly1x per week
30 min
Completed by 7 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 6-8
3-6 learners per class