Seriously? 4th grade math question...

[sarahsthreads]

Here is one of the questions DD1 had for math homework today:

Q: Max has to send out 3 emails to 12 people in his address book.

a. Identify two operations that can be used to find the total number of emails Max needs to send.
(DD1's answer: Addition and multiplication)

b. Write 3 different equations that can be used to find the total number of emails Max needs to send.
(DD1's answer: 12+12+12, 3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3, 3x12)

c. Is 32 emails a reasonable total for the number of emails Jerome needs to send? Explain.

So. Part "c." What the heck? Who is Jerome? I thought we were discussing Max? So DD1 (and I) assumed that they just put the wrong name in and we were still talking about Max, and she wrote "No, it is not a reasonable total because it is the wrong answer. 3x12 = 36, not 32! 32 isn't even a multiple of 3!" And then she wrote "My mom helped me with this one." Though I'd argue that my "help" was basically me saying something like "What the hell is a 'reasonable total'? Isn't 3x12 = 36 a 'math fact'? Last I checked 'math facts' were not equivalent to 'math opinions', and a 'reasonable total' sounds like an opinion. Also, how on earth would I know if 32 is a reasonable total of emails to send? I get that many just from Children's Place, Gymboree and Naartjie practically every day, which I think is entirely unreasonable." (At which point DH stepped in and suggested that maybe DD1 should not ask me to help her with her math.)

So…anyway. Would you assume that Jerome == Max? Or should I have her erase her whole translation of my rant and write something like "There's no way to know since we have no information about Jerome in this problem."

Sarah :)

[o_mom]

I have no idea what to tell you, but I am seriously ROTFLMAO over here!!

[lalasmama]

I would want to write, "No idea since it gives no information about Jerome's emailing needs." However, I would assume Jerome = Max, and go for that answer. If DD needed help with the answer, I would help her figure it out... "If Max sent out 32 emails, would that be enough to get all 3 emails out to everyone? How many emails would he need to send total?" With those 2 questions, she should be able to figure out how many emails Max needs to send, and if 32 is enough or not.

Definitely a very poorly worded question!

[BunnyBee]

Lmao!!!

Not enough information is the multiple choice response I'd pick if if were multiple choice. Assuming "Whuck?!?!" wasn't one...

[squimp]

LOL I think my answer would be "who is Jerome?". But that is probably not helpful. If by Jerome you mean Max he needs to send 36 and no, 32 is not reasonable if he wants to reach everyone on his list. And why can't he just send everyone one email instead of three? Again, probably not helpful.

[sarahsthreads]

LOL I think my answer would be "who is Jerome?". But that is probably not helpful. If by Jerome you mean Max he needs to send 36 and no, 32 is not reasonable if he wants to reach everyone on his list. And why can't he just send everyone one email instead of three? Again, probably not helpful.

:ROTFLMAO:

Probably because he works for the marketing department of a store and figures if he sends three to each person they'll get annoyed enough to click the "change my email preferences" link on the bottom, which brings them to a page that says "are you *sure* you don't want to keep receiving sale notices?" and then they'll think, "well, yes, I really do want to know when there's a sale just in case I need something, so I guess I can't entirely unsubscribe. Sigh. I wonder what's on sale right now? Let me go click around and see..."

Oh. Wait, we were talking about math here, right? :)

Sarah :)

[sarahsthreads]

I would want to write, "No idea since it gives no information about Jerome's emailing needs." However, I would assume Jerome = Max, and go for that answer. If DD needed help with the answer, I would help her figure it out... "If Max sent out 32 emails, would that be enough to get all 3 emails out to everyone? How many emails would he need to send total?" With those 2 questions, she should be able to figure out how many emails Max needs to send, and if 32 is enough or not.

Definitely a very poorly worded question!

Yes, definitely. DD1 has no problem with figuring out how many emails Max needs to send, it's the "reasonable total" thing she asked about. Poor kid, she had no idea what kind of can of worms she was opening… ;)

I guess I'm just slightly worried that her teacher will take the answer she wrote as a smart-alecky response, and I know she adores her math teacher. Actually, I kind of feel like any variation on "who is Jerome" might be taken that way as well. Unless it was meant to be a trick question? Seriously, I have a degree in math. It's kind of ridiculous that I'm thinking about this at midnight on behalf of my kid!

Sarah :)

[PZMommy]

Welcome to common core math where you have to explain how you find your answer! I would assume Jerome means Max. As a teacher, I would get a good laugh if a student answered something about the problem doesn't mention Jerome and explained that is why they didn't answer it. Basically all they want is for the student to be able to explain why 32 isn't the right answer. By saying 3x12 equals 36 or something along those lines would be fine. That is what they mean by reasonable. They aren't asking if it is reasonable to send 3 emails to each person. I enjoy reading different comments when I am grading. I rarely find things smart allecky. I usually find it amusing.

[ahisma]

No. Jerome should be riding his bike. 32 emails is not reasonable. He needs to unplug.

Or - this problem makes no sense! I can usually manage to defend these things, but not this one!

[sarahsthreads]

No. Jerome should be riding his bike. 32 emails is not reasonable. He needs to unplug.

Or - this problem makes no sense! I can usually manage to defend these things, but not this one!

OMG I'm dying over here trying not to laugh out loud and wake everyone up! Jerome definitely needs to unplug!

Sarah :)

[sarahsthreads]

Welcome to common core math where you have to explain how you find your answer! I would assume Jerome means Max. As a teacher, I would get a good laugh if a student answered something about the problem doesn't mention Jerome and explained that is why they didn't answer it. Basically all they want is for the student to be able to explain why 32 isn't the right answer. By saying 3x12 equals 36 or something along those lines would be fine. That is what they mean by reasonable. They aren't asking if it is reasonable to send 3 emails to each person. I enjoy reading different comments when I am grading. I rarely find things smart allecky. I usually find it amusing.

Oh, good, I'm feeling better about her original response, then. I'm still confused by a question she got wrong on the last test:

Which is greater, 5/6 or 3/2. Explain how you know.

She wrote: 3/2 is greater than 5/6, because 3/2 is greater than 1 and 1 is greater than 5/6.

And it was marked wrong. I wanted her to ask her teacher why, but DH said to let it go because it was the only question she got wrong on the whole test. But still, what else would they have been looking for? I don't understand, and she couldn't explain what she should have written. I don't care that she got a problem wrong on her test, but her answer and explanation are both correct. :shrug:

I don't hate common core math with the passion that most people seem to, but that's probably because DD1 doesn't struggle with it. I don't especially like some of the methods they insist the kids use to solve problems because they seem inefficient to me, but I get where some of them could be useful for at least teaching the concepts. But once they're taught, why not let them pick the fastest/easiest way to solve things? I had to sit on my hands one day when she was in 2nd grade, while she made 3 grids of 48 boxes each to figure out how much 3x48 was. It took her forever. I wanted so, so, so badly to teach her "my" way to do it. Or at least show her how to write a math sentence…

Sarah :)

[ahisma]

Oh, good, I'm feeling better about her original response, then. I'm still confused by a question she got wrong on the last test:

Which is greater, 5/6 or 3/2. Explain how you know.

She wrote: 3/2 is greater than 5/6, because 3/2 is greater than 1 and 1 is greater than 5/6.



I *think* they wanted her to expand 3/2 to 9/6 and compare that to 5/6. Either way, her answer was spot on IMO.

I don't hate common core math either, but I resent the fact that the schools in our district don't have the funding to implement it in a practical manner. The kids who get it are stuck reviewing it over and over, the kids who don't get it are stuck not getting it. I hope it smoothes over soon.

[PZMommy]

Oh, good, I'm feeling better about her original response, then. I'm still confused by a question she got wrong on the last test:

Which is greater, 5/6 or 3/2. Explain how you know.

She wrote: 3/2 is greater than 5/6, because 3/2 is greater than 1 and 1 is greater than 5/6.

And it was marked wrong. I wanted her to ask her teacher why, but DH said to let it go because it was the only question she got wrong on the whole test. But still, what else would they have been looking for? I don't understand, and she couldn't explain what she should have written. I don't care that she got a problem wrong on her test, but her answer and explanation are both correct. :shrug:

I don't hate common core math with the passion that most people seem to, but that's probably because DD1 doesn't struggle with it. I don't especially like some of the methods they insist the kids use to solve problems because they seem inefficient to me, but I get where some of them could be useful for at least teaching the concepts. But once they're taught, why not let them pick the fastest/easiest way to solve things? I had to sit on my hands one day when she was in 2nd grade, while she made 3 grids of 48 boxes each to figure out how much 3x48 was. It took her forever. I wanted so, so, so badly to teach her "my" way to do it. Or at least show her how to write a math sentence…

Sarah :)

I wouldn't have counted that wrong. That is how she got to the correct answer, and she clearly understands fractions. Lots of kids would say 5/6 because they see five being bigger. Fractions can be very difficult to grasp. I see a PP response that they probably wanted her to convert to 9/6, and while that may be true, we have been taught that if the student can explain their method in a way that makes sense, then it is right. There is more than one right way to find an answer. I would have asked the teacher about that one. It would have bugged me to no end!

[anamika]

Reminds me of this pin

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/136937644894097041/

Her answer for the fractions is perfect btw - I would be the annoying parent casually mentioning that to the teacher...

[georgiegirl]

I would definitely mention the "wrong" answer to the teacher. That's ridiculous!

As for the original math question, better a bazillion emails than texts,

[egoldber]

DH and I jokingly refer to this as "math texts written by English majors who are actually afraid of math". :o Apologies to English majors who aren't afraid of math. Our texts are not quite this bad, but I look at the math papers my first grader brings home where she has to "describe how you got your answer" and her answers are often ludicrous. I can tell it was painful for her. I can only imagine how painful it is for the teacher! :)


She wrote: 3/2 is greater than 5/6, because 3/2 is greater than 1 and 1 is greater than 5/6.

I am generally pretty laissez-faire about this stuff, but does your DD know why this was counted wrong? I wonder if there was a specific skill they were supposed to demonstrate? Because IMO it's a beautiful answer that shows a very through understanding of fractions.

[MamaMolly]

LOL I think my answer would be "who is Jerome?". But that is probably not helpful. If by Jerome you mean Max he needs to send 36 and no, 32 is not reasonable if he wants to reach everyone on his list. And why can't he just send everyone one email instead of three? Again, probably not helpful.

Yup. I'd ask Who is Jerome? and add another answer to the multiple choice that says ONE email would be reasonable.

[MamaMolly]

Oh, good, I'm feeling better about her original response, then. I'm still confused by a question she got wrong on the last test:

Which is greater, 5/6 or 3/2. Explain how you know.

She wrote: 3/2 is greater than 5/6, because 3/2 is greater than 1 and 1 is greater than 5/6.

And it was marked wrong. I wanted her to ask her teacher why, but DH said to let it go because it was the only question she got wrong on the whole test. But still, what else would they have been looking for? I don't understand, and she couldn't explain what she should have written. I don't care that she got a problem wrong on her test, but her answer and explanation are both correct. :shrug:

I don't hate common core math with the passion that most people seem to, but that's probably because DD1 doesn't struggle with it. I don't especially like some of the methods they insist the kids use to solve problems because they seem inefficient to me, but I get where some of them could be useful for at least teaching the concepts. But once they're taught, why not let them pick the fastest/easiest way to solve things? I had to sit on my hands one day when she was in 2nd grade, while she made 3 grids of 48 boxes each to figure out how much 3x48 was. It took her forever. I wanted so, so, so badly to teach her "my" way to do it. Or at least show her how to write a math sentence…

Sarah :)

See this is the Common Core stuff that makes me so MAD. You have to explain it THE WAY THEY WANT YOU TO in order for it to be right. So it doesn't actually matter if your child got the answer right, what matters is if she was able to read the test maker's mind and magically know which of the 15 different stupid complicated ways they've been taught is the 'right' one to put down.

And yes, I have an axe to grind here. Lula got a 1st grade math question (((first flippin' grade!!!!!) wrong because when she was told to explain how she knew the answer she wrote 'because I added it in my head'. AND IT WAS MARKED WRONG. WTF?!?! It makes me nuts.

[wellyes]

Reminds me of this pin

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/136937644894097041/

Her answer for the fractions is perfect btw - I would be the annoying parent casually mentioning that to the teacher...

:rotflmao:

[wellyes]

No. Jerome should be riding his bike. 32 emails is not reasonable. He needs to unplug.

Or - this problem makes no sense! I can usually manage to defend these things, but not this one!

Max too!

[Kindra178]

DH and I jokingly refer to this as "math texts written by English majors who are actually afraid of math". :o Apologies to English majors who aren't afraid of math.

Yes! I am ok with how the common core math principles are taught. Common Core math takes "new math" to a new level by slowing it down and hitting fewer topics, which was a frustrating Everyday Math and teacher's interpretation of it issue. But, all this writing about how you got the answer drives me insane. It totally screws the boys, it totally screws the kids with expressive language issues that get numbers but do not want to/cannot explain how they got the answer. At least in second grade, the why is so painfully obvious my kid thinks it's the wrong answer.

[Indianamom2]

See this is the Common Core stuff that makes me so MAD. You have to explain it THE WAY THEY WANT YOU TO in order for it to be right. So it doesn't actually matter if your child got the answer right, what matters is if she was able to read the test maker's mind and magically know which of the 15 different stupid complicated ways they've been taught is the 'right' one to put down.

And yes, I have an axe to grind here. Lula got a 1st grade math question (((first flippin' grade!!!!!) wrong because when she was told to explain how she knew the answer she wrote 'because I added it in my head'. AND IT WAS MARKED WRONG. WTF?!?! It makes me nuts.

This exactly. If I had to try to explain every flippin' answer I ever got when I was doing the hated math in elementary school, I might have dropped out (and I was a straight A student). I loathe the common core math curriculum in particular.

[Kindra178]

See this is the Common Core stuff that makes me so MAD. You have to explain it THE WAY THEY WANT YOU TO in order for it to be right. So it doesn't actually matter if your child got the answer right, what matters is if she was able to read the test maker's mind and magically know which of the 15 different stupid complicated ways they've been taught is the 'right' one to put down.

And yes, I have an axe to grind here. Lula got a 1st grade math question (((first flippin' grade!!!!!) wrong because when she was told to explain how she knew the answer she wrote 'because I added it in my head'. AND IT WAS MARKED WRONG. WTF?!?! It makes me nuts.

But you agree her answer is wrong?

[mommylamb]

That is so bizarre. And besides, it's not reasonable. Why send 3 different emails to the same person, when you can just send one email with three action items?

[TwoBees]

I have no idea. I'm still ROTFLMAO.

[calebsmama03]

This is such a ridiculous question on so many levels! I am one who despises CC math (ours is Math Expressions). My DD is in 3rd grade and cries about math almost every time she has homework and she thinks she is dumb. Math is not her strongest subject, for sure, but this is a 3rd grader who is reading at a 6th grade level and excels at so many things but thinks she is stupid all because of one awful subject with a horribly written curriculum. I get the whole critical thinking aspect of it, but at least our curriculum focuses so much on that aspect that the BASIC MATH FACTS are totally glossed over, so kids who aren't strong in math have an even harder time because they never get a good solid foundation of the FACT that 3x12=36. Everything is open for interpretation in this teaching method, and while that may be the case for literature, history, science or almost any other subject, ath facts are called FACTS because they are, indeed, facts. No grey area. So frustrating to me. Teach them the basics in the early elem years then in upper elem and MS/HS focus on these interpretation things. That is when kids brains can start to handle those manners of thinking anyway. Argh!

Sorry to rant- OP I would honestly write there is no info on Jerome so I canot answer the question. If they want critical thinking they've got it!

[larig]

Oh, good, I'm feeling better about her original response, then. I'm still confused by a question she got wrong on the last test:

Which is greater, 5/6 or 3/2. Explain how you know.

She wrote: 3/2 is greater than 5/6, because 3/2 is greater than 1 and 1 is greater than 5/6.

And it was marked wrong. I wanted her to ask her teacher why, but DH said to let it go because it was the only question she got wrong on the whole test. But still, what else would they have been looking for? I don't understand, and she couldn't explain what she should have written. I don't care that she got a problem wrong on her test, but her answer and explanation are both correct. :shrug:

I don't hate common core math with the passion that most people seem to, but that's probably because DD1 doesn't struggle with it. I don't especially like some of the methods they insist the kids use to solve problems because they seem inefficient to me, but I get where some of them could be useful for at least teaching the concepts. But once they're taught, why not let them pick the fastest/easiest way to solve things? I had to sit on my hands one day when she was in 2nd grade, while she made 3 grids of 48 boxes each to figure out how much 3x48 was. It took her forever. I wanted so, so, so badly to teach her "my" way to do it. Or at least show her how to write a math sentence…

Sarah :)

h.s. math teacher here...I like a lot of the types of questions I see out there that are attributed to common core, what I don't always like is the interpretation by the educators. In the case of this problem, I think Jerome is likely a typo, but the 32 vs. 36 I think is not a good example of reasonable vs. unreasonable. I think using a number like 300 vs. 36 would have been better, and demonstrates more what I think is important in mathematics--being in the right ballpark.

On the one from her test, I think her answer is good. I'd want to know what is wrong with it. Perhaps she need to explain how she knew 3/2 was greater than 1 or 5/6 was less than 1?

[BunnyBee]

h.s. math teacher here...I like a lot of the types of questions I see out there that are attributed to common core, what I don't always like is the interpretation by the educators. In the case of this problem, I think Jerome is likely a typo, but the 32 vs. 36 I think is not a good example of reasonable vs. unreasonable. I think using a number like 300 vs. 36 would have been better, and demonstrates more what I think is important in mathematics--being in the right ballpark.

On the one from her test, I think her answer is good. I'd want to know what is wrong with it. Perhaps she need to explain how she knew 3/2 was greater than 1 or 5/6 was less than 1?

I agree.

Typos exist in all curricula, and teachers make grading errors using all curricula. This example is clearly a poorly written question. Was it a mistake by the teacher? Or the fault of rushing a curriculum to print without sufficient proofing? Either way, it wasn't written by Common Core, which is not a curriculum. It's a set of standards. How the standards get interpreted is up to the textbook company, school district, and teacher. I use a CC "aligned" curriculum for homeschooling but do not have to worry about the testing requirements imposed by school systems. Making sure children understand the why behind the math concept *is* important. Regurgitating math facts does not equate to an understanding of the concept. How that understanding is "tested" seems to be the problem with many current math curricula and standardized tests.

[rlu]

So, here's another, paraphrased. DH, by the way, figured it out fairly easily but I didn't.

Draw a line. Using your right angle template draw a second line parrallel to the first.

DS drew a line. To the right of it he drew a right angle. to the left of the first line he drew a second line, parrallel to the eye. I knew this isn't what they wanted, but couldn't figure it out.

DH said instead to draw a line. Draw the right angle to the left of the line so the "bottom line" goes through the first line at a 90 degree angle. Now draw a second line to the right of the first line, also at a 90 degree angle (and therefore parrallel to the other two vertical lines).

reading through my description I see we could have shortened this by stopping after the drawing the right angle since we had two parallel lines now, but we were all a little flustered trying to get this done as DS had a meltdown. DS is good at math, but he hates it now with all the extra writing he has to do to explain everything (granted, not this particular problem, but in general math homework is dreaded).

OP, I would have assume Jermone was a typo and pretended they wrote Max.

and yes, i have no idea how to spell parallel correctly, sigh.

[maestramommy]

omg, ha ha ha! I'm wondering if there was either an error in printing, or cut and paste. One of my friends' 1st graders came home with a worksheet on time and the directions got the hour and minute hand mixed up (seriously).

As for c, when I read the initial question I thought, "wouldn't Max just want to send out a single email to 12 people, including the 3 sets of content? Would a 4th grade know enough about email (or message sending) to think the same thing?

[sarahsthreads]

I agree.

Typos exist in all curricula, and teachers make grading errors using all curricula. This example is clearly a poorly written question. Was it a mistake by the teacher? Or the fault of rushing a curriculum to print without sufficient proofing? Either way, it wasn't written by Common Core, which is not a curriculum. It's a set of standards. How the standards get interpreted is up to the textbook company, school district, and teacher. I use a CC "aligned" curriculum for homeschooling but do not have to worry about the testing requirements imposed by school systems. Making sure children understand the why behind the math concept *is* important. Regurgitating math facts does not equate to an understanding of the concept. How that understanding is "tested" seems to be the problem with many current math curricula and standardized tests.

Totally agree, which is why I don't get the hate about Common Core in general - I actually think it's a good thing for there to be a standard set of things children in each grade are supposed to master. And in general, at least for my two kids, I don't find our district's implementation of it to be all that crazy...so far. :)

Thank you for all of the responses, I was laughing out loud at a lot of them while waiting at the mechanic's earlier. I can't wait to see what's on her paper when she gets it back!

Sarah :)

[sarahsthreads]

So, here's another, paraphrased. DH, by the way, figured it out fairly easily but I didn't.

Draw a line. Using your right angle template draw a second line parrallel to the first.

DS drew a line. To the right of it he drew a right angle. to the left of the first line he drew a second line, parrallel to the eye. I knew this isn't what they wanted, but couldn't figure it out.

DH said instead to draw a line. Draw the right angle to the left of the line so the "bottom line" goes through the first line at a 90 degree angle. Now draw a second line to the right of the first line, also at a 90 degree angle (and therefore parrallel to the other two vertical lines).

reading through my description I see we could have shortened this by stopping after the drawing the right angle since we had two parallel lines now, but we were all a little flustered trying to get this done as DS had a meltdown. DS is good at math, but he hates it now with all the extra writing he has to do to explain everything (granted, not this particular problem, but in general math homework is dreaded).

OP, I would have assume Jermone was a typo and pretended they wrote Max.

and yes, i have no idea how to spell parallel correctly, sigh.

I think I would have drawn a straight line, drawn a line at right angles to that (so far I have an 'L' shape), and then finally drawn a line at a right angle to the other end of the second line. So now my first and third lines are parallel. Right?

Sarah :)

[Green_Tea]

On the one from her test, I think her answer is good. I'd want to know what is wrong with it. Perhaps she need to explain how she knew 3/2 was greater than 1 or 5/6 was less than 1?

I teach 5th. I think Larig is right - she needs to further explain her mathematical thinking.

[ilfaith]

So, here's another, paraphrased. DH, by the way, figured it out fairly easily but I didn't.

Draw a line. Using your right angle template draw a second line parrallel to the first.



Am I missing something? Because all I see here is that you need to draw two parallel lines. A right angle (presumably any L-shaped) template is to be used to line them up, but it doesn't say anything about actually drawing a right angle.

As for the OP's original math problem, I got nuthin'...blame it on Singapore math translated from Malay to English by someone fluent only in Mandarin.

[dhano923]

Oh, good, I'm feeling better about her original response, then. I'm still confused by a question she got wrong on the last test:

Which is greater, 5/6 or 3/2. Explain how you know.

She wrote: 3/2 is greater than 5/6, because 3/2 is greater than 1 and 1 is greater than 5/6.

And it was marked wrong. I wanted her to ask her teacher why, but DH said to let it go because it was the only question she got wrong on the whole test. But still, what else would they have been looking for? I don't understand, and she couldn't explain what she should have written. I don't care that she got a problem wrong on her test, but her answer and explanation are both correct. :shrug:

Her answer was technically correct, but in relation to the lesson, it was not the right explanation. They were looking for her to explain that 3/2 and 5/6 can also be written as 9/6 and 5/6, and 9 is greater than 6, therefore 3/2 is greater. The thing about common core is that you have to explain the answer relative to the lesson they are working on, in this case it was probably common denominators. So the answer had to use the common denominator lesson. That's how common core was explained to us at back to school night last year - use the current lesson as your guide.

[egoldber]

The thing about common core is that you have to explain the answer relative to the lesson they are working on, in this case it was probably common denominators.

Then I think they should say something like "use common denominators to explain you answer". Her answer was better IMO. I hated questions like this in school and they do nothing for mathy kids except make them hate math and doubt themselves.

[Kindra178]

Then I think they should say something like "use common denominators to explain you answer". Her answer was better IMO. I hated questions like this in school and they do nothing for mathy kids except make them hate math and doubt themselves.

You hit the nail on the head with the doubt themselves issue.

[sariana]

I taught MS language arts, not math or any elementary school, but if I WERE an elementary school teacher, I would accept the answer about the fractions (though maybe with a note about using the desired methods). I probably would give extra credit if a student said, "There is not enough information provided about Jerome"! LOL

The question is poorly worded overall. No English major would write it! My first thought was that Max was sending 3 emails total, to 12 people. I was thinking it was a division problem, but there isn't enough information to solve it that way.

The problem should read, "Max needs to send 3 emails each to 12 people" or something like that. Sorry, I got interrupted and lost my train of thought. But my point is that the question is unclear as written.

I like that the Common Core makes the students explain their thinking. I think much of the problem with its implementation is that too many elementary school teachers do not have good math skills. So they have gone from one "scripted" program to another, but they still don't have the ability to help the students UNDERSTAND what they are doing. Or to understand it themselves. So they can't assess answers that don't echo the lesson guides, which penalizes students who "think outside the box."

[niccig]

c. Is 32 emails a reasonable total for the number of emails Jerome needs to send? Explain.



I would assume Jerome = Max.
As for why she was given a wrong answer and asked to explain, DS gets these all the time. They want the kids to work out what the error was, so they know not to do that. Eg. DS had a question: 1/4 + 2/4 = 3/8. Is this a correct answer, if not, why not? DS quickly spotted the person added the denominators together and not just the numerator. It's checking they know the process.

[sntm]

Then I think they should say something like "use common denominators to explain you answer". Her answer was better IMO. I hated questions like this in school and they do nothing for mathy kids except make them hate math and doubt themselves.

Word.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Snow mom]

The question is poorly worded overall. No English major would write it! My first thought was that Max was sending 3 emails total, to 12 people. I was thinking it was a division problem, but there isn't enough information to solve it that way.

The problem should read, "Max needs to send 3 emails each to 12 people" or something like that.

I agree. The question states he needs to send three emails so I'd say three is the answer. The 12 people is not correctly linked to the three emails.

Anyway, I think Max needs to send one email, preferably using bcc, with his three bullet points. If he emails these people a lot he might set up a group list to save time next time.