Figure Me Out: Working Backward to Solve Subtraction Problems

Rationale:
This lesson is meant to increase fluency in addition and subtraction in third graders. By
having students write their own number sentences, they will demonstrate their knowledge of
addition and subtraction because they will have to understand the operations well in order to
quickly come up with problems for solutions that they already have. This lesson is important
because it will increase fluency in addition and subtraction. By having students create their own
number sentences with numbers that are directly related to their own lives, they will make
meaningful connections to the mathematics that they will be doing. These connections will make
it easier for students to remember what theyve learned about addition and subtraction while
making future problems easier to find the solution to.This lesson was found on Pinterest, but has
been modified to allow only the use of addition and subtraction. Students will only be allowed to
use numbers that are small enough for the whole class to work with. These changes were made to
make the lesson more directed toward fluency in addition and subtraction.
Common Core State Standards:
3.NBT.2, which is defined as: Fluently add and subtract (with regrouping) two 2-digit
whole numbers within 100.
CCSS.Math.Content.3.NBT.A2: Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies
and algorithms based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between
addition and subtraction.
Objective
Students will be able to create their own number sentences using addition and subtraction
to increase their fluency with these operations.
Procedure:
1. To introduce this lesson, the teacher will show her own Figure Me Out chart (to be
made before the lesson begins). There will be a drawn picture of the teacher in the middle
with several number sentences around this picture, which will be labeled with the
different things that the number sentences represent (i.e. my age, my shoe size, my birth
date, etc.). These labels should not be something that can be easily figured out without
addition or subtraction (i.e. number of letters in my name, classroom number, etc.). The
teacher will explain that students can find out the numbers that go with the label by
completing the addition or subtraction problem that goes with it.
2. Together, the teacher and students will solve one or two problems on the teachers chart,
by way of example. The teacher will act as a scribe while the students provide the
mathematical information.

3. The teacher will explain that the students are now going to create their own Figure Me
Out charts.
4. Students will be given a blank sheet of paper, one marker (or any writing utensil), and
four sticky notes. They will be instructed to write the words Figure Me Out at the top
of the paper and draw a small picture of themselves in the middle (as the teacher has done
in her example).
5. Students will then create their own number sentences using addition and subtraction to
represent different facts about themselves (again, as the teacher has done in her example).
6. Once students are finished, the teacher will take volunteers to show off their work and
choose one fact about themselves for the rest of the class to figure out. If time allows,
every student should be encouraged to share one fact about themselves. However, if time
is an issue, volunteers can be chosen to share.
7. When a correct answer is given from the class, the presenting student should then write
out and solve the problem at the board. This will give students who may not have
understood the problem a chance to see it worked out at the front of the room.
8. To conclude the lesson, the teacher will lead a discussion on how this activity helped
strengthen students understanding of addition and subtraction. How did this activity help
you to understand more about numbers? How do you feel about these operations now?
How did creating your own problems affect their ability to solve other problems? Explain
how you started creating these number sentences that may have been different from the
way you usually work with number sentences.

Assessment:

The assessment is linked to the objective of the lesson because students will be creating
their own number sentences in order to show their fluency in addition and subtraction. Since
students will be required to share their work with the class, they will be clearly showing if they
understood the concept. Since this lesson is centered on fluency, rather than initial
comprehension, students will not need to provide rationale around choosing the numbers that
they did to get their answers.
Students should be able to explain that the two numbers they have chosen do, in fact,
equal the fact that they are talking about. This can be assessed by their ability to solve the
addition or subtraction problem on the board. The student should talk through the problem as
they are solving it on the board, almost as if they were teaching the problem to the class.
The teacher will know if students met the objective by how well they can solve each others
problems as well as how well they can explain how to solve their own problems at the board. If a
student is coming up with the right answers, but cannot explain how to arithmetically solve the
problem, that student has not met the objective because he or she does not have the fluency in
addition or subtraction to solve the problems in the correct ways. On the other hand, if a student
can explain how to solve the problems, but is not coming up with the correct answers, he or she
has met the objective because he or she understands how addition and subtraction are done, but
may be having trouble on the arithmetic side of it.
Other Considerations:
For this lesson, it is important that students understand that the answer to the number
sentences should answer the fact given (i.e. in the image above, the answer for My Age should
be 34 because 17x2 is 34). Students should not write the answer for the number sentence as this
would defeat the purpose of the activity. However, they should know what the answer is,
meaning that if they do not know what their shoe size is, they should not use their shoe size for a
fact.
This lesson requires one sheet of blank paper, four sticky notes, and one marker (or other
writing utensil) for each student.
Students should be encouraged to come up with at least one unique example, rather than just
copying the teachers examples. This could be a problem for students who are not quite as
creative with coming up with their own ideas. In this case, the teacher should have several
examples on hand for students who may struggle with coming up with their own facts. Another
problem that could come up would be that some students may not be able to come up with an
addition or subtraction problem that equals their age, shoe size, etc. In this scenario, the teacher
could either encourage the student to choose another fact about him or herself that he or she
could more easily find the answer to, or the teacher could encourage the student to continue to
try to put two numbers together to get the number they are looking for. Remind the student that
they can use addition or subtraction for this activity. If he or she is stuck trying to subtract two
numbers, encourage him or her to try addition, or vice versa.
Classroom management for this lesson should be easy to maintain because each student
should be working independently. Each student should have his or her own workspace, whether

that means each student working at his or her own desk, or, if the room happens to have tables,
students could find space in other parts of the room to have more room to work. Allowing
students to use other parts of the room would be helpful because they will not be confined to
their seats; if they are working in a space they are comfortable in, they may be more likely to do
better work. It is also important for the teacher to be walking around during the lesson and
conferencing with students to make sure they are on the right track. The teacher should ask
students what their shoe size, for example, is and make sure that their math is correct. Since the
students will be sharing their facts, it is important to make sure that they have their own facts
correct.
Building on the idea of students sharing their work, it is also important to make sure that
no student feels like his or her fact is weird. By this I mean that if a students fact is My Shoe
Size, and this student happens to have bigger feet for his age, it is important to make sure that
the other students in the class do not make fun of the presenting student for this fact. This can be
avoided by prefacing the activity with a phrase such as, Remember, everyone is different, and
thats okay. We dont want to hurt anyones feelings if we think that their fact is different from
anyone elses.
I expect students to respond well to this lesson because they are coming up with number
sentences that represent themselves. Students love the opportunity to share things about their
own lives; math is typically a difficult place to do that. This lesson allows students to share facts
about themselves while also learning fluency in addition and subtraction by looking at every part
of the problem, not just the answer.
Differentiation:
This lesson is currently designed for a third grade class at the beginning of the year. It
can, however, be differentiated for different grade levels. For example, fewer facts could be
required for lower grade levels; instead of having four, students could create two. For higher
grades (fifth and sixth), multiplication and division could be required instead of addition and
subtraction, meaning that students would have to use those operations to find the different facts.
Like the lower grade level differentiation, the number of facts could be changed, but this time
they would be increased to six or more.
This lesson could also be narrowed down to include only one operation. This would make
the lesson more specific to addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.
Students who may have difficulty understanding the directions of choosing facts on their own
could be given certain facts to focus on. For example, the teacher could give a student getting
frustrated with picking facts some specific ones to focus on. This takes the unknown element out
of the activity and gives the student something specific to focus on.
Students who have problems with writing can give their facts orally, either to a teacher, or even a
friend who finishes early. The teacher or the friend will write down the students facts for him or
her. This way, the struggling student still gets his or her facts down on the paper, and the friend
gets to help another student. (Note: if a friend is helping the struggling student write, that friend
should not be allowed to give answers during the sharing part of this lesson. The teacher can say,

Its very nice of you to help Jimmy, but when he shares his facts with the class you will already
know the answers. Do you think it would be fair to the other students if you call out the answer
to Jimmys problems? I dont think it would, so please give the other students a chance to solve
Jimmys problems, okay?)
Students who find this activity easy and finish early can be encouraged to try to find
some other things about themselves that they can put into number sentences. The teacher should
have a long list of facts to get students thinking about other things that they can use
multiplication and division to find.
Assessment
The assessment is linked to the objective of the lesson because students will be creating
their own number sentences in order to show their fluency in addition and subtraction. Since
students will be required to share their work with the class, they will be clearly showing if they
understood the concept. Since this lesson is centered on fluency, rather than initial
comprehension, students will not need to provide rationale around choosing the numbers that
they did to get their answers.
Students should be able to explain that the two numbers they have chosen do, in fact,
equal the fact that they are talking about. This can be assessed by their ability to solve the
addition or subtraction problem on the board. The student should talk through the problem as
they are solving it on the board, almost as if they were teaching the problem to the class.
The teacher will know if students met the objective by how well they can solve each others
problems as well as how well they can explain how to solve their own problems at the board. If a
student is coming up with the right answers, but cannot explain how to arithmetically solve the
problem, that student has not met the objective because he or she does not have the fluency in
addition or subtraction to solve the problems in the correct ways. On the other hand, if a student
can explain how to solve the problems, but is not coming up with the correct answers, he or she
has met the objective because he or she understands how addition and subtraction are done, but
may be having trouble on the arithmetic side of it.