María Cristina Alvarez

EDUC 531
Term III assignment

Goals/Objectives:

The mathematical concepts I wish to explore with this activity is to use physical objects
to represent ratios and proportions. These bean salads represent an complex algebraic activity
that can be explored using physical objects. The task will draw from their previous skills with
additive, multiplicative, and fractional thinking but present them with a different context to use
them in.

The mathematical practices that are the main focus for this activity are:
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

The PA Core standards and eligible content include:

CC.2.1.6.D.1 Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems.
Represent and/or solve real world and mathematical problems using rates, ratios, and/or percents.

The students will not be writing their work out in terms of formal ratios, but they will be
exploring ratios in a real world setting.

The Task:

Three Bean Salad:

The students will be working in partners with dried beans and small plates to make
“salads” that follow recipes written down for them. The dried beans will include: Lima, red, and
black beans. We will ask if anyone can name the beans, and connect it with the “top chef”
problems that they have been doing in math class.
This will be a challenging activity for my students. They will have limited experience
with thinking about proportions and algebraic thinking in general. However, their recent work
with fractions as well as previous experience with additive and multiplicative thinking will assist
them. Similarly, it will be helpful to have them work on part-whole relationships in a new way,
to help support their fractional reasoning. The beans will allow them to manipulate the objects
directly and use trial and error to create the salads if they need to. From this activity, they can
begin to notice patterns and develop the thinking that will lead them to understanding of ratios.
María Cristina Alvarez
EDUC 531
Term III assignment

I plan to introduce the students to the activity by solving one bean recipe to the whole
group. Then I will have them do one in pairs. The rest of the activity will be independent until
we share out at the end. I will be moving around the space checking their work and asking them
about strategies. After 5 minutes or sooner if they seem to be struggling, I will have them share
in pairs about any strategies they have found so far. The extension for students who finish early
will be to create their own bean salad recipes. After 20 minutes (or less if the students are
frustrated), we will discuss strategies as a full group.

Three Bean Salads

Each salad contains three counters or beans
1. This salad contains:
a. 2 lima beans
b. Twice as many red beans as lima beans
c. 10 beans in all
2. This salad contains:
a. 4 red beans
b. ½ as many black beans as red beans
c. 10 beans in all
3. This salad contains:
a. Lima beans make up ½ of this salad
b. The salad has exactly 2 red beans
c. The number of lima beans is double the number of red beans
4. This salad contains:
a. The same number of red beans as lima beans
b. 3 more black beans than red beans
c. a total of 18 beans
5. This salad contains:
a. 12 beans
b. ½ of the beans are red
c. Lima beans make up ¼ of the salad
6. This salad contains:
a. At least 12 beans
b. It has one more lima bean than red beans
c. It has one more red bean than black beans
7. This salad contains:
a. 3 times as many red beans as black beans
b. One more lima bean than red beans
c. 8 beans in all
8. This salad contains:
a. An equal number of red beans and black beans
b. 5 more lima beans than red beans
c. No more than 20 beans

(The italicized bean recipes are the ones that I imagine will be the most challenging to the
students.)
María Cristina Alvarez
EDUC 531
Term III assignment

This activity and recipes have been found in and adapted from the book Family Math.
(Stenmark, et. al. 1986)

Unpacking the Mathematics:

Students in this class have not formally worked with ratios, but they have been working
with fractions and fractional reasoning all year (some started in 3rd grade and before). They have
experience with thinking of fractions as parts of a set, as this task will ask them to do. “Part-to-
whole ratios can be interpreted as fractions because they compare a part to a whole.” However,
other “ratios compare parts of a set to other parts of a set.” (Chapin and Johnson, pp 165, 2006)
They have less experience comparing parts of a set to other parts of a set directly.
Some of the 3 bean recipes do not have changeable quantities. One salad has 2 lima
beans, twice as many red beans as lima beans, and 10 beans in all. They can solve this in a
relatively straightforward way, by determining that there are 4 red beans and then using a
“change unknown” additive approach to find that there are 4 black beans. However, recipe 3 in
this exercise is more complex. This recipe asks them to find the amount of beans when there are
an equal number of red and black beans, 5 more lima beans than red beans and less than 20 beans
total. This gives them the opportunity to use a part-part ratio. In this case, even though the ratio
is 1:1, they must balance both parts to solve the problem. This problem also allows for multiple
correct answers, which I am predicting will be an unfamiliar situation for my students.
As Chapin and Johnson say in Math Matters, “the concept of comparison or change
between quantities is both simple and quite complex… many researchers suggest that students
should be introduced to these topics earlier…with a focus on reasoning.” (Chapin and Johnson,
pp 166 and 189, 2006) This is what I am trying to do here. As the students engage this problem,
they can use the dried beans or other methods to begin to build ratio reasoning for themselves.

Anticipating Student Strategies

o Demo:
o This salad contains:
o 2 Lima beans
o twice as many black beans as Lima beans
o 10 beans in all.

Strategies Representations
Adding and Multiplying 2 lima beans
2 x 2 = 4 red beans
10 beans total
10- 4 – 2 = 4 black beans

Direct Modeling with beans or drawing 

First :

Then:

Finally:
María Cristina Alvarez
EDUC 531
Term III assignment

Then add them all together to check.

o Recipe 1:
 This salad contains:
 4 red beans
 ½ as many lima beans as red beans
 10 beans in all

Strategies Representations
Fractional Multiplication 4 red beans
4 x ½ = 2 lima beans
10 total beans
10 – 4 – 2 = 4 black beans
Division (partitive)
4 red beans
4 / 2 = 2 lima beans
10 total beans
10 – 4 – 2 = 4 black beans

Direct Modeling with beans or drawing

First:
Second:

Finally: 

red lima black total

Ratio Table 4 2 1 7
4 2 2 8
4 2 3 9
4 2 4 10

 Recipe 2:
o This salad contains:
 12 beans
 ½ of the beans are red
 Lima beans make up ¼ of the salad

Strategies Representations
Fractional Multiplication 12 total beans
12 x ½ = 6 red beans
12 x ¼ = 3 lima beans
12 – 6 – 3= 3 black beans

Division 12 total beans

12 / 2 = 6 red beans
María Cristina Alvarez
EDUC 531
Term III assignment

12 / 4 = 3 lima beans
12 – 6 – 3= 3 black beans

Direct Modeling with beans or drawing


Ratio table
red lima black total
6 3 1 10
6 3 2 11
6 3 3 12
6 3 4 13

 Recipe 3:
o This salad contains:
 An equal number of red beans and black beans
 5 more lima beans than red beans
 No more than 20 beans

Strategies Representations
Table/ Guess and check red black lima total
1 1 6 8
2 2 7 11
3 3 8 14
4 4 9 17
5 5 10 20

Direct Modeling with beans or drawing



Etc.

Materials and Preparation:

 1 cup dried beans in deli Tupperware containers (can be others as long as they look
different)
o Black beans
o Red Beans
o Lima Beans
 Worksheets
 Scratch paper and pencils
María Cristina Alvarez
EDUC 531
Term III assignment

Classroom Arrangement and Management Issues:

I am going to take 4-6 students from the 5th grade. We will work in the “pod” outside the
math classroom. I will have two round tables pushed together with the plates on them. Each
student will have a station with their recipe, a 3 bean paper plate and a pencil. The red, black,
and Lima beans will be available on the table. (If we have 4 students we will use one table. If we
have 6 students, 2 tables.
I will advise them to model each task with the beans. I will tell them to ask each other for
help if they need it and to work at their own pace. I will set an expectation for only having
talking related to the task at hand. I will also tell them to try not to lose track of their beans, and
use them as tools, not toys.

Part II: The Lesson Plan

Before (Launch)
 Establishing norms:
o Students should try and do their best.
o Students should be open to suggestions. Try new things!
o Use positive language. Support the students around you.
o Ask for help if you need it, and help people who ask you to.
o Try using the tools we have here! But remember, they are tools, not toys.
 Introduction and connections:
o So far in 5th grade, we have been connecting math with cooking. In today’s Top
Chef challenge, we are going to be making salads out of 3 different kinds of
beans. We have recipes but we don’t know how many of each bean to use—that’s
your job to figure out. Each recipe is different, with different amounts of each
kind of bean. Let’s get cooking!
 Explanations:
o Read out demonstration recipe and solve as a group:
 This salad contains 2 Lima beans, twice as many black beans as Lima
beans, and 10 beans in all. How many of each bean could be in this salad?
 What does “twice as many” mean?
o Ask for answer, step by step. What do we do first? What do we do second?
o strategies and list them collectively. (Beans, numbers, picture, table)
o Remind students of norms if needed
o What does this make you think of? Does anyone have any connections?
o How are the quantities of beans related? What order did you work in? Are there
other answers?
Instructions:
 Discuss norms to follow as a group and as we work with partners
 Introduce the lesson (see above)
 Some parameters to follow:
o All three types of beans go into each salad.
o Students can edit their thinking as needed
María Cristina Alvarez
EDUC 531
Term III assignment

o They will read the recipe for each salad

o Students can use any tools they have and feel free to ask questions of the teacher
and students around them
o Students should try to have stamina
o Check with your partner and make sure you agree on the solution before moving
on to another problem
o Record your solution and your strategy
o Be ready to explain your thinking
 Ask students to review instructions and ask for questions

During (Explore). There should be adequate time for students to work on the task; students might
work in small groups, pairs, or independently.
 Students will work on the tasks independently and I will go around and ask them what
their strategies are. They will receive three recipes at a time. When they are finished we
will discuss each problem as a group. If students are done early, I will have them come
up with another strategy, or write their own recipe.
 What parts are difficult for students? What strategies are they using? What operations are
they using? Are they finding the manipulatives helpful? Do they understand the relative
language in the problems (twice as many)
 For a student who might be struggling, I will give them assistance or have them work
with a partner. If they are having a very difficult time, I can offer them a 2 bean salad
recipe. For a student who is moving quickly, I will have them think of other strategies or
ways of showing their work.
 Recipe 1:
o This salad contains
 4 red beans,
 ½ as many black-eyed peas as red beans
 10 beans in all.
 Recipe 2:
o This salad contains:
 12 beans
 ½ of the beans are red
 Lima beans make up ¼ of the salad
 Recipe 3:
o This salad contains:
 An equal number of red beans and black beans
 5 more lima beans than red beans
 No more than 20 beans

 I will collect observations here, as well as taking photos.

Student Strategies for Recipe #1 Strategies for Recipe #2
María Cristina Alvarez
EDUC 531
Term III assignment

After (Discuss and Wrap-Up). End with a whole group sharing of strategies and discussion of
important mathematical ideas.
Discussion
 We will start sharing and recording strategies for the first and second recipes. We will go
through these quicker. We will spend more time discussing recipe 3.
o Ask students to explain their reasoning further
o Ask prompting and probing questions:
 Where did you start?
 Did you try anything that didn’t work?
 Are there more than one answer to any of these problems?
o Have students make connections with each others’ strategies. Ask for “connection
signs” and snaps for “me too”.
o Model ratio language throughout. We have 2 red beans for each black bean, etc.
Wrap-up
We used all kinds of strategies in this activity to use information we had about one kind
of bean to inform our knowledge about the others. We were able to balance the number
of beans to follow the recipes, and let me in on a little secret. This is the beginning of
thinking algebraically. I am so happy with how we did today.
Exit Slip
Please make up your own 3 bean recipe, and create instructions for someone else to make
it. Can you write your recipe in such a way that it won’t give away the final quantities?
Don’t forget to write your answer.
María Cristina Alvarez
EDUC 531
Term III assignment

Formative Assessment (used to inform your instruction)

 Photos and notes during the task. Informal.
 Exit slip

Accommodations
 For students who need help: assist students with the steps involved to solve the problem.
 As an extension: Ask students for other strategies and provide with additional recipes.