Clip 4/21: Standard 7: Look for & Make Use of Structure Using Multiplication & Division Part 3B
Overview
Mathematically proficient students look closely to discern a pattern or structure. Young students, for example, might notice that three and seven more is the same amount as seven and three more, or they may sort a collection of shapes according to how many sides the shapes have.
Becca Sherman works with 4th grade students in a “number talk” to connect the basic components of the Singapore Bar Model with students’ original thinking, thus front-loading students with several applications of the Bar Model as a representation of equal parts. In the exploration problem the words “three times” becomes a division problem or a missing factor problem. The intermediary step of drawing a “math picture” or model of the problem, poses a challenge for many students who have limited exposure to models.