Teach-Primary-Issue-19.3

(a) Zack had £15. Then, he spent 1/3 of his money on a hat. How much did the hat cost? (b) Kam spent 1/3 of his money on a t-shirt. The t-shirt cost £15. How much money did Kam have? For (a), the correct method is to calculate 1/3 of £15, as shown by this bar model: However, for (b) £15 represents 1/3 of Kam’s money. This means that Kam must have 3 × £15 originally, as shown by this bar model: To get the maximum benefit from using these pairs of questions, we need to train children to spot the difference(s) between questions. Then, when the answers are found, we want pupils to identify why the answers to the questions are different. Visual representations like bar models can be especially helpful for illustrating the differences. I have found minimally different questions particularly effective for showing children the difference between one-step and a two-step questions. It can really help the pupils to see that second step! Consider this question: Max has 7 pencils. Tom has 3 more pencils than Max. How many pencils do Max and Tom have altogether? Children are often drawn to the numbers and the ‘key words’, such as the word more . Children are highly likely, though, to overlook the second step: the questions asks for the number of pencils Max and Tom have altogether . The pair of minimally different questions below address this, drawing our attention to the difference between a one-step and a two-step question: (a) Max has 7 pens. Tom has 3 more pens than Max. How many pens does Max have? (b) Max has 7 pencils. Tom has 3 more pencils than Max. How many pencils do Max and Tom have altogether? For question (b), we could show children this bar model and ask them to identify the correct answer (and, for the incorrect answer, explain the mistake): The spice of life Variation is one of the NCETM 5 big ideas in teaching for mastery. They describe variation as making ‘Purposeful changes... in order that pupils’ attention is drawn to key features of the mathematics… enabling them to reason logically and make connections.’ I hope that this article shows how variation can be applied to answering word questions, too. The next time you see a word question that would normally be given in isolation, think about the potential misconceptions that might arise. It could be that writing a minimally different ‘partner question’ could unlock the important understanding for your class. And in doing so, you will have climbed the Everest of maths teaching – getting children to read their word questions carefully! TP Gareth Metcalfe is the director of I See Maths and the author of the Deconstructing Word Questions , I See Reasonin g and I See Problem-Solving eBooks . @gareth_metcalfe iseemaths.com I SeeMaths: GarethMetcalfe £5 hat £5 £15 £5 £15 t-shirt £15 £45 £15 Tom Max Which answer? 10 7 3 10 17 www.teachwire.net | 35 F EATURE S MA THS