In this lesson, students are asked to write an equation to match a story problem for the first time. When writing equations, students are encouraged to represent the story problem with a box to represent the unknown. Students should continue to have access to connecting cubes and counters to make sense of the story as they decide how to represent it with an equation. Some students may represent and solve the story problem and then represent their work with an equation with a box to indicate their answer. Accept any equation students produce as long as they can explain how it's connected to the story problem.