Making Sense of Numbers
Students’ mathematical sophistication should increase as they progress through school even as they are encountering similar tasks and problems. Although tasks and problems use easy-to-manipulate numbers at first, if students develop key conceptual understanding of the underlying mathematical structures, they should be able to transition to more complex number sets and operations easily.
Option A:
Watch the video “What is Number Sense?” linked on the Learning Objects page. Then develop an original response guided by these prompts:
Research, summarize, and comment upon the value of number sense competitions sponsored by the University Interscholastic League.
Demonstrate at least one mental “shortcut” similar to or different from Dr. Boaler’s methods to mentally solve one of the problems in a Sample UIL Number Sense Test.. APA citations are required only for the original response.
OR
Option B:
Play the game “Bridge Builder Fractions” linked on the Learning Objects page. Then develop an original response to these prompts:
What was your “cost?”
On a scale of 1 to 5, how challenging did you find this game? Justify your selection.
On a scale of 1 to 5, how challenging would this be for a 6th grade student with average mathematical ability? Justify your selection.
According to research, would this game support student learning of fractions? Justify your answer.
