If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that word problems don't happen in real life...wait, isn't this a word problem?
Word problems happen several times a day; we just don't pay attention. Here are two that happened to me just this morning:
For Valentine's Day, my husband bought me a UNT College tee, license plate cover, and key chain. I had mentioned that I needed to take a trip to my alma mater to buy a new shirt and think it is very romantic that he paid attention and bought one for me. However, I know how expensive the shirts are and in my head I was calculating the total cost plus tax and shipping and handling.
I am slow cooking a roast and want it done by late lunch-- 2:00pm. What time do I need to start prepping the meal?
Our students often think of operations, expressions, and equations as a separate concept that only happens in the mathematics classroom. If we don't address this perspective and teach reasoning, they become adults who "don't need math in the real world." As educators, we need to start making connections outside of math time so our students do not have this misconception.
Word problems happen several times a day; we just don't pay attention. Here are two that happened to me just this morning:
For Valentine's Day, my husband bought me a UNT College tee, license plate cover, and key chain. I had mentioned that I needed to take a trip to my alma mater to buy a new shirt and think it is very romantic that he paid attention and bought one for me. However, I know how expensive the shirts are and in my head I was calculating the total cost plus tax and shipping and handling.
I am slow cooking a roast and want it done by late lunch-- 2:00pm. What time do I need to start prepping the meal?
Our students often think of operations, expressions, and equations as a separate concept that only happens in the mathematics classroom. If we don't address this perspective and teach reasoning, they become adults who "don't need math in the real world." As educators, we need to start making connections outside of math time so our students do not have this misconception.
Happy Valentine's Day!
