Weka wobble
This is a level 2 number activity from the Figure It Out series. A PDF of the student activity is included.
About this resource
Figure It Out is a series of 80 books published between 1999 and 2009 to support teaching and learning in New Zealand classrooms.
This resource provides the teachers' notes and answers for one activity from the Figure It Out series. A printable PDF of the student activity can be downloaded from the materials that come with this resource.
Specific learning outcomes:
- Use a mental strategy (through tens) to solve problems.
- Show a strategy on a number line.
Weka wobble
Achievement objectives
NA2-1: Use simple additive strategies with whole numbers and fractions.
Required materials
- Figure It Out, Level 2, Number, Book 1, "Weka wobble", page 11
- number line marked in tens
- classmate
See Materials that come with this resource to download:
- Weka wobble activity (.pdf)
- Weka wobble number line (.pdf)
Activity
In this activity, the students record their addition and subtraction methods on a number line. This gives them a visual record of their mental strategies. Using a number line marked in decades (10, 20, 30,...) gives the students some structure for their recording. Later, as they develop a wider range of strategies and greater confidence about number relationships, an empty number line may be more suitable. The students should also be able to discuss and explain their recording.
The students often solve problems that ask, “How many more?” by using a missing-addend approach, that is,
- 63 + ? = 100.
Some students, though, will think of these as subtraction problems, that is,
- 100 – 63 = ?
Their strategy might be:
- I’ll start at 100 and go back to 60 … That’s 40. Then I’ll go up 3 to 63. 40 take away 3 is 37.
There are a number of other methods that the students might use when working on an empty number line. These include:
1.
Answers will vary. Teacher to check
2.
a. 91 more weka
b. 71 more weka
c. 45 more weka
d. 16 more weka
3.
a. 20 more robins
b. 69 more robins
c. 118 more robins
d. 96 more robins
The quality of the images on this page may vary depending on the device you are using.