Mathematical Montgomery Bus - Grades 3-4 - Part 2

Materials

Montgomery bus
Unifix cubes (other manipulatives could be substituted with some lesson revision)
3 Large dice - (use one die numbered 1-6 and one numbered 7-12 and one die with the
+, -, x, and divided by symbols)
What's in the Bus? Printable page 3-4b.
Use die in the same manner as K - 2.

By using the extension concept "people get on with babies" who will sit on their lap, and thus the Unifix cubes will be stacked, teacher can explain complex equation such as 2x5 people get on and 2x2 people get off or #people on bus + (2x5) - (2x2). This is how a real mathematician would write it.

By throwing the symbol die and using all four mathematical symbols this simple lesson becomes an activity about recording a complex multi-function equation. Ask children to record the solutions on "What's in the Bus" 3-4b in this way.

Homework: Hand out the "What's in the Bus?" blank page. Write story problems for a classmate. Don't write the answers on this page but be sure you know them. We'll be solving each others story problems in class tomorrow.

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