Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals. Represent fractional quantities of distance and intervals of time using linear models.  (Computational fluency with fractions and decimals is not the goal for students at this grade level.)

[divider] [/divider]Students are able to…

  • Make sense of problems and identify an appropriate strategy to solve the problem.
  • Solve multi-step word problems where units are converted from a larger unit to a smaller unit.
  • Apply understanding of fractions when solving problems.
  • Represent thinking using diagrams, number lines and linear models.

[divider] [/divider]Students are able to…because teachers:

  • Pose a variety of problems that require students to use the four operations to solve, including problems with simple fractions and decimals.
  • Engage students in explaining the strategies they used to solve single and multistep problems.
  • Provide students opportunities to model time problems in linear models.

[divider] [/divider]Questions to ask students:

  • Ask students to explain the steps they took to solve the problem.
  • While a student is solving a word problem, ask what relationship they need to know to solve this problem. Where can that information be found?
    • Sample answer that indicates understanding: I know that the measure is 3 feet, but I have to figure out how many inches that is. I can look at my reference sheet to see how many inches are equal to a foot.  I’m also thinking how many inches there would be if I had 3 foot long rulers.  Like 12 + 12 + 12 or 3 groups of 12 inches.
    • Sample answer that indicates a misunderstanding or gap in knowledge: My teacher told me when you go from a bigger unit to a smaller unit you do times, so 12 times 3 is 36.
  • See if students can appropriately label expressions and equations to model what was happening in the word problem.

[divider] [/divider]FSA Notes

Cognitive Complexity Level: 2 – Basic Application of Skills and Concepts

Achievement Level Descriptors:

2- uses the four operations to solve word problems (involving distance, intervals of time, and money) with context, including problems involving whole numbers

3- uses the four operations to solve word problems (involving distance, intervals of time, and money) including problems involving simple fractions or decimals; represents measurement quantities using linear models

4- uses the four operations to solve word problems including problems involving simple fractions or decimals and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit

5- uses the four operations to solve multistep word problems, including problems involving fractions or decimals and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit

Assessment Limits:

Measurement conversions are from larger units to smaller units.

Calculations are limited to simple fractions or decimals.

Operations may include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Item contexts are not limited to distances, intervals of time, and money.

[divider] [/divider]Additional Resources:

Additional in depth content knowledge

Blog Post: Determine Elapsed Time using a Number Line

Video: Convert measurements to solve distance problems

[divider] [/divider]Sample Formative Assessment Tasks: