Problem of the Month

Observations and finding intention: In the higher math groups there are four or five advanced
students who need to be challenged more. Pulling these five students out for problem of the
months helps to challenge them and support their advanced math skills and provides higher
critical thinking skills.

Understandings: (Big Ideas)

Statistics

Setting: Where will you offer this?

This will be offered in small groups in a separate room for the duration of math time.

Materials

1. Problem of the month

2. Paper
3. Pencils

Standards

Standard 3: Data and Analysis

1. Visual Displays are used to describe data

a. Students can: Represent and interpret data. (CCSS: 3.MD)

Procedure:

1. Read target to students

2. Hand out problem of the month and read together.
3. Do first problem together.
4. Have students try remaining problems on own and support and help them out if needed.
5. Check to see if they were right and go over problems together.
Reflection: Overall, the students were challenged by the problem of the month. The problem
encouraged students to think critically and to collaborate together to think about how to solve the
problem. The students had to think about how to argue critically and look at data to support their
arguments. The students were able to use the data to argue for a city that wasn’t the coldest
month and explain why it could be. This problem pushed students to examine data in a different
way and think about how to use data for the purpose of persuasion. The second problem,
encouraged students to think about how to look at numbers and use unknown numbers to explain
their thinking. The students struggled with the second problem a little, but after making a
diagram were able to figure it out. If anything, the students needed one extra problem as they
finished the first two sooner than expected.