Lesson 11
How Do You Solve Story Problems?
Lesson Purpose
The purpose of this lesson is for students to represent and solve story problems involving addition and subtraction within 50 that require composing or decomposing a ten when adding or subtracting by place.
Lesson Narrative
In previous lessons, students interpreted and solved story problems within 100 that did not require decomposing a ten when subtracting by place. Students interpreted diagrams and equations with unknowns and connected them to story problems.
In this lesson, students are encouraged to use the methods and representations that make the most sense to them as they solve problems of different types. The activities in this lesson can be used to assess how students make sense of different types of story problems and the methods they use to solve them.
In this lesson, students are encouraged to use the methods and representations that make the most sense to them as they solve problems of different types. The activities in this lesson can be used to assess how students make sense of different types of story problems and the methods they use to solve them.
- Engagement
- MLR2
Learning Goals
Teacher Facing
- Represent and solve story problems within 50 in a way that makes sense to them.
Student Facing
- Let’s solve story problems.
Required Materials
Materials to Gather
Required Preparation
Lesson Timeline
| Warm-up | 10 min |
| Activity 1 | 20 min |
| Activity 2 | 15 min |
| Lesson Synthesis | 10 min |
| Cool-down | 5 min |
Teacher Reflection Questions
Reflect on how comfortable your students are asking questions of you and of each other. What can you do to encourage students to ask and answer questions from their peers about their work?
Suggested Centers
- Target Numbers (1–5), Stage 5: Subtract Two-digit Numbers (Addressing)
- Capture Squares (1–3), Stage 4: Subtract within 20 (Addressing)
- Shake and Spill (K–2), Stage 5: Cover (up to 20) (Supporting)