Numerical Reasoning Archives - Page 6 of 6

Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Real-World Problems Videos Word Problems

Word Problems: Don’t Put the Cart Before the Horse

A long-standing instructional practice has been to teach students how to multiply (or add, subtract, or divide) and then, after the students have learned to compute, give them word problems to solve. In this post I present a lesson with a different approach, where word problems become the lead and reason for learning to compute.

Marilyn BurnsMay 20, 2015

General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Problem Solving Real-World Problems Videos Word Problems

An Unusual Word Problem: “Dealing in Horses”

After I told Steven, the man seated next to me on an airplane, that I was a math teacher, he described the Dealing in Horses problem that he was given at a corporate management training session. The problem has been one of my teaching staples ever since.

Marilyn BurnsApril 28, 2015

General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Subtraction Videos

Another Way to Subtract

Here’s another post about subtraction. I’ve long been a fan of having students invent and use their own methods for computing, as long as they can explain why their strategies make sense. Here’s what I learned from Jesús, a fifth grader.

Marilyn BurnsMarch 30, 2015

Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Word Problems

A Problem with a Word Problem

A word problem on a third-grade standardized math test didn’t call for a numerical answer, but instead asked students to decide if the problem should be solved by adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing. One third grader complained to his teacher, frustrated because he thought there was more than one correct possibility.

Marilyn BurnsMarch 19, 2015

General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Subtraction

Why I Like Using Open Number Lines (Though I Don’t Like the Name)

This post is about subtraction, which is typically difficult for students to learn and for teachers to teach. Think about 503 – 398, for example. To estimate the answer, I can change the problem to 500 – 400 (rounding 503 to 500 and 398 to 400). That gives me an estimate of 100, which I know is close. But how can I know if the actual answer to 503 – 398 is greater or less than 100? I raised this question with third graders.

Marilyn BurnsFebruary 25, 2015

General Interest Math and Literature Numerical Reasoning Problem Solving

Connecting Math and Reading

Reading may seem like an odd subject for my math blog, but here I describe how my love of reading and math connected (and my confusion as an emerging reader about hearing voices). This post was included in Open a World of Possible, an anthology from more than 100 contributors that you can access as a free e-book.

Marilyn BurnsJanuary 22, 2015

General Interest Numerical Reasoning Problem Solving Real-World Problems

Math at the Deli

My friend Ann sent me an email about her unsettling experience at the supermarket deli counter. Ann has never felt particularly confident with her math ability, and I was pleased (and amused) that she asserted herself in this situation. Also, Ann’s comment to me about the work we face as math teachers rang true.

Marilyn BurnsJanuary 13, 2015

Assessment General Interest Interviews One-on-One Numerical Reasoning Videos

We Ask, We Listen, We Learn

How much is 12.6 × 10? This is a question from the Math Reasoning Inventory (MRI) decimal assessment. What do you think were the most common incorrect answers given by the more than 7,800 students who figured out the answer in their heads? And what about the boy who answered, “One hundred twenty and thirty-fifths?”

Marilyn BurnsJanuary 5, 2015

Numerical Reasoning