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Launch

Groups of 2
Display the table.

Activity

“What do you notice? What do you wonder?”
1 minute: quiet think time
1 minute: partner discussion
Share and record responses.

What do you notice? What do you wonder?

2023 prices	San Francisco, CA	Fort Wayne, IN
population	715,717	269,621
milk (1 gallon)	\$5.99	\$2.79
bread (1 loaf)	\$4.79	\$3.99
gasoline (1 gallon)	\$6.02	\$3.56
movie ticket	\$17	\$10.50
internet connection (1 month)	\$89	\$60
rent for a 3-bedroom apartment in the city center (1 month)	\$5,000	\$1,200
cost of a house	\$1,380,000	\$210,000

Student Response

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Advancing Student Thinking

Activity 1

Standards Alignment

Building On

Addressing

Instructional Routines

None

Materials

None

Activity Narrative

This activity prompts students to use multiplicative comparison to determine the cost of different living expenses in Bermuda and in India. Students use these costs to interpret and solve a multi-step problem. The multi-step problem can be solved in more than one way. Students might use multiplication or division. They also may choose to estimate rather than perform each calculation. Encourage students to use the Three Reads routine as needed to solve problems.

When finding the unknown costs in the table, students also have an opportunity to reason about how to find a value that is 12.5 times as much. Students are not expected to multiply whole numbers by decimals in grade 4, but may use their understanding of decimal notation and decimal fractions to estimate the cost by multiplying the price in India by 12 and adding another half of that price, or by reasoning that 12.5 is close to 13.

MLR8 Discussion Supports. Prior to solving the problems, invite students to make sense of the situations. Monitor and clarify any questions about the context.
Advances: Reading, Representing.

Launch

Groups of 2
“We saw one example of how the same items can vary a lot in cost depending on where you live in the United States. Let’s look at the costs of some other things in two different countries—one known to be very expensive and the other known to be inexpensive.”

Activity

5 minutes: independent work time on the first question
Monitor for students who use the multiplication or division algorithm, draw diagrams, write equations, or use estimation to find the unknown values.
Pause for a discussion. Select students to share their responses and reasoning for finding the costs in the table.
Highlight that to find the unknown cost in Bermuda, we can multiply the cost in India by the number in the middle column, and to find the cost in India, we can divide the cost in Bermuda by the number in the middle column.
4 minutes: independent work time on the second question
4 minutes: partner discussion

Bermuda is one of the most expensive countries to live in the world. India is one of the least expensive.

map of the world. India, shaded green. Bermuda, circled in red.

The table shows how prices (in U.S. dollars) in Bermuda and India compared in 2023. Estimate or calculate the missing information in the table.

Table. 6 rows, 4 columns. First row. blank, Bermuda, cost in Bermuda is blank as in India, India. Second row. a meal with drink, 1 person in parenthesis, blank, 12 times as much, 2 dollars. Third row. Gasoline, 1 gallon in parenthesis, 8 dollars, 2 times as much, blank. Fourth row. Brand-name jeans, blank, 2 point 5 times as much, 31 dollars. Fifth row. Men's leather shoes, 1 hundred 43 dollars, 4 times as much, blank. Sixth row. Internet connection, blank, 14 times as much, 13 dollars.
In 2023, rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Delhi (DELL-ee), the capital city of India, cost about \$182 per month. A similar apartment in Hamilton, Bermuda, costs 18 times as much.

Utilities (electric, gas, water, and heating) for a small apartment cost about \$65 per month in India and 2 times as much in Bermuda.

If a person earned \$3,500 per month, could they afford to pay rent and utilities in Bermuda?

Student Response

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Advancing Student Thinking

Activity Synthesis

Select students to share their responses and strategies for how they determined if a person with \$3,500 could afford rent and utilities for a month in Bermuda.

Activity 2

Standards Alignment

Building On

Addressing

Instructional Routines

None

Materials

None

Activity Narrative

In this activity, students continue to solve multiplicative comparison problems in the context of the cost of living. In addition to using multiplicative comparison to find a greater or lesser unknown value, students also find an unknown multiplier.

Students also work with greater numbers. Some questions (about the costs of utilities, for instance) could be answered by dividing one multi-digit number by another (for instance, ), but students are not expected to do this in grade 4. Instead, they may reason in terms of multiplication and by using estimation. For example, they may reason that is 188 or that is 200, so the unknown multiplier must be close to 4. Encourage students to use the Three Reads routine, as needed, to solve problems.

Action and Expression: Develop Expression and Communication. Provide access to a variety of tools, such as base-ten blocks, counters, pre-formatted tape diagrams, grid paper, and mini whiteboards.
Supports accessibility for: Conceptual Processing, Organization, Attention

Launch

Groups of 2
“Have you ever traveled to another place far away? Do you know a friend or a family member who has?”
Share responses.
“In this activity, you will compare the typical cost for things in the United States to the cost for the same things in Ghana.”

Activity

4 minutes: independent work time on the first question
2 minutes: partner discussion
Monitor for the different ways students make estimates, for example, whether they:
- Opt to multiply or divide.
- Use exact or rounded numbers.
- Round before computing or compute before rounding.
Pause for a brief discussion. Select students to share their responses and reasoning for finding the costs in the table.
4 minutes: independent work time on the second question
2 minutes: partner discussion
Monitor for different strategies students use to find how many months of rent the couple could afford in each country, including strategies based on estimation.

The cost of living in the United States is higher than in Ghana.

photograph of a city in Ghana

photograph of a crowded street in Ghana

The table shows how prices (in U.S. dollars) in the United States and Ghana compared in 2023.

Table. 6 rows, 4 columns. First row. Monthly cost, United States, cost in the US is blank as in Ghana, Ghana. Second row. 1 bedroom apartment in city center, 1 thousand 3 hundred dollars, 2 times as much, blank. Third row. 1 bedroom apartment outside of city center, blank, 9 times as much, 1 hundred 12 dollars. Fourth row. utilities for a 9 hundred 15 square foot apartment, 1 hundred 52 dollars, blank, 73 dollars. Fifth row. transportation pass, 70 dollars, 3 times as much, blank. Sixth row. private preschool for 1 child, 9 hundred 6 dollars, blank, 1 hundred 62 dollars.
In 2023, if a couple had \$3,000 for housing and wanted a 1-bedroom apartment outside of a city center, how many months of rent could they afford in:
1. the United States? Explain or show your reasoning.
2. Ghana? Explain or show your reasoning.

Activity Synthesis

See the Lesson Synthesis.