Being able to visualize a word problem is an important connection for some students to explain what they are thinking. Here is an example:
I made 24 steamed buns and gave half of them to my aunt. I ate one-third of the remaining buns. How many steamed buns did I eat?
There are several ways to solve this problem, but students may not always know how to express their answer. Sometimes they will be able to picture it before they can verbalize it. Here are a few ways it can be pictured:
I made 24 steamed buns and gave half of them to my aunt. I ate one-third of the remaining buns. How many steamed buns did I eat?
There are several ways to solve this problem, but students may not always know how to express their answer. Sometimes they will be able to picture it before they can verbalize it. Here are a few ways it can be pictured:
From their visualization, you can provide the language link they need to connect ideas and concepts and apply them to the correct operations.
Diagram 1: I divided the steam buns in half. I got two halves with 12 buns each. I took one-half and divided it into thirds. The answer is 4.
Diagram 2: The total is 24. Half of the buns are given to the aunt which is 12 buns. This means 12 buns remain. I ate one-third of the remaining 12. One-third of 12 is the same as 12 divided into 3 equal parts. 12 ÷ 3 = 4.
Diagram 3: Half of 24 is 12. I ate one-third of 12. This is the same as dividing 12 into 3 equal parts. 12 ÷ 3 = 4.
Diagram 1: I divided the steam buns in half. I got two halves with 12 buns each. I took one-half and divided it into thirds. The answer is 4.
Diagram 2: The total is 24. Half of the buns are given to the aunt which is 12 buns. This means 12 buns remain. I ate one-third of the remaining 12. One-third of 12 is the same as 12 divided into 3 equal parts. 12 ÷ 3 = 4.
Diagram 3: Half of 24 is 12. I ate one-third of 12. This is the same as dividing 12 into 3 equal parts. 12 ÷ 3 = 4.
