Problem Solving & PicCollage

Yesterday we focused on problem solving. I love to use exemplars to involve the students in rich, deep meaningful problem solving. Today I picked two different questions for my different groups. Sometimes students tell the answers to problems at lunch, so I try to mix it up after lunch so that the experience is still worthwhile.

Here is the first problem that we tackled:

I gave the students money manipulatives to help the students physically work out the different ways they can make 25 cents. Students worked in groups of three.

After students came up with the correct number of ways to make 25 cents, the students were to make a PicCollage to display their problem solving process.

Here are a couple of examples:

This activity took a full 90 minutes. The students were engaged and determined to skillfully work out how many ways they can make 25 cents.

The other class solved this problem.

I was surprised that most of the students solved this problem very quickly. What they had a problem with is the “why?” Students often have a tough time justifying their answers.

After students could write in order to justify their answer, they also made a PicCollage to display their solution.

PicCollage is an awesome FREE app that can be an amazing resource in your classroom. Students can easily share their PicCollage using google drive. To get the app visit your app store and look for PicCollage or visit their website https://pic-collage.com/

Here is where I find my Math Exemplars: https://sep.southeastpolk.org/exemplars2/html/main_grade2.html

Have a wonderful weekend!
Peace, Love, Math- Jennifer