The purpose of this activity is for students to create a plan for how many paper flower garlands their team could make in 3 hours. Students use information given in the task and information they learned in the previous activity to develop their plan. They also make decisions about information not given in the task, such as the size and colors of the paper flowers, the pattern used in the garland, the size and spacing of the flowers on the garland, and the specifics of how to use the three hours. When students identify information they need to know to answer a question and consider assumptions about information not given in a situation, they model with mathematics (MP4).
Although students are using what they learned in the previous activity to estimate how many flowers they can make in 3 hours, avoid using or encouraging more formal rate language (for example, 12 flowers per 10 minutes or 72 flowers per hour). Encourage students to use what they know about equal groups to estimate how many flowers they can make (for example, for each group of 10 minutes, I can make 14 flowers) and encourage them to adjust their estimates based on other factors (for example, planning for extra time to attach the flowers to the string). Students will learn more about rates and solving rate problems in grade 6.
MLR7 Compare and Connect. Synthesis: After all strategies have been presented, lead a discussion comparing, contrasting, and connecting the different approaches. Ask, “¿Alguien resolvió el problema de la misma manera, pero lo explicaría de otra forma?” // “Did anyone solve the problem the same way, but would explain it differently?” and “¿Por qué al usar distintas estrategias obtuvimos el mismo resultado (o resultados diferentes)?” // “Why did the different approaches lead to the same (or different) outcome(s)?”
Advances: Representing, Conversing
