{"id":13361,"date":"2022-01-17T15:44:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T15:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/?p=13361"},"modified":"2022-01-17T15:44:17","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T15:44:17","slug":"comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams\/","title":{"rendered":"Comparison Problems with Tape Diagrams\/Strip Diagrams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Comparison Problems: Using Tape Diagrams to Represent Math Thinking<\/h3>\n

Word problems are a key part of rigorous standards everywhere, but teachers and students alike often dread tackling them.\u00a0 Even textbooks sometimes save them for the bottom few problems on a page or a separate lesson toward the end of a chapter.\u00a0 The thing is–word problems (at least good ones!) are the “real world” part of math.\u00a0 One type of word problems,\u00a0<\/span>comparison problems, can be particularly challenging for students.\u00a0 Let’s look at some teaching tips that might make them more accessible!<\/p>\n

\"teaching<\/a><\/div>\n

Critical Reading of Math Problems<\/h3>\n

As educators, we should always be striving to help our students understand that the skills we are teaching are them are FOREVER…not just to complete a math page or worksheet.\u00a0 One skill that we really want to make sure our students understand is the need to critically read math problems to figure out what is being asked, what information is given, and to make a plan for solving.\u00a0 So often we do the thinking and hard work for our students.<\/p>\n

For example, just consider how many of our math books are organized.\u00a0 A lesson entitled “Solving Addition Stories” doesn’t leave much room for student thinking, does it?\u00a0 It seems pretty clear what operation students will need to choose! Providing students with a constantly spiraling variety of problems forces them to think for themselves, learn to look for key information in problems, and make solution decisions accordingly.<\/p>\n

One idea?\u00a0 Use highlighters to find and notate important information.\u00a0 Underline or circle the question.\u00a0 One thing I do NOT recommend? Looking for key words like “fewer” or “total”.\u00a0 These words may seem like a quick fix for students…but they can lead them down the wrong path.\u00a0 How?\u00a0 How about this problem…<\/p>\n

“Larry has 14 baseball cards.\u00a0 This is 25 fewer than his sister Kara has.\u00a0 How many cards does Kara have?”\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By teaching “fewer” as a signal word that indicates subtraction, a student will certainly not think through this problem correctly!
\n\"comparison<\/a><\/p>\n

Visualization and Modeling with Comparison Problems<\/h3>\n

One strategy that can really help students make sense of problems is to be able to visualize and draw models of different problem types.\u00a0 Comparison problems–sometimes represented with “tape” or “strip” diagrams are a GREAT way to help students visualize the math!\u00a0 I thought I’d share a few ways that these can be super helpful for students–whether used as whole class lessons or for intervention groups.<\/p>\n

Using a blank “template” or outline of a tape diagram with manipulatives can really help students see the comparison that appears in a problem.\u00a0 The photo below showcases a visual representation of the following problem:<\/p>\n

“Bucky has 13 candies.\u00a0 If Samantha has 5 more than Bucky, how many candies will Samantha have?”<\/strong><\/div>\n
Now…this is a VERY simple example and is perfect to use with our students who really need to back up and see the actual manipulation of the numbers. Often we make too many assumptions.\u00a0 Sometimes we move to the “abstract” too quickly and need to make things more concrete for students to truly “see” the math happening.<\/div>\n
\"comparison<\/a><\/div>\n

Next Steps with Comparison Problems<\/h3>\n

As students get more adept at these problems, you might see that a sketch with only numbers placed in the diagram is appropriate.\u00a0 Check out this lesson where we “filled” a diagram and then brainstormed a ton of different questions that could work with this problem.\u00a0 Again, part of making sense of problems is realizing that the QUESTION matters..\u00a0 Students need to learn to be detectives as they problem solve.\u00a0 Finding the missing part is the first step!
\n\"comparison<\/a><\/p>\n

Another strategy to get students really visualizing is to take a blank diagram and create different stories to go along with them.\u00a0 This is a fantastic way to help students get flexible with their thinking.\u00a0 I start with modeling some problems and then have students progress to writing and sharing their own.\u00a0 It truly helps them understand the problems at a deeper level.<\/p>\n

\"comparison<\/a><\/p>\n

Hope you found this information valuable!\u00a0 These problems don’t HAVE to be as challenging if we help students bridge the gap between the problem and a meaningful strategy to solve them!<\/p>\n

Looking to try some of these on your own?<\/h3>\n

Click the image below to see more!
\n\"Comparison<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Comparison Problems: Using Tape Diagrams to Represent Math Thinking Word problems are a key part of rigorous standards everywhere, but teachers and students alike often dread tackling them.\u00a0 Even textbooks sometimes save them for the bottom few problems on a page or a separate lesson toward the end of a chapter.\u00a0 The thing is–word problems […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[356,182,373],"class_list":["post-13361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-math-lessons","category-problem-solving","tag-math-practices","tag-problem-solving","tag-word","wpbf-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nComparison Problems with Tape Diagrams\/Strip Diagrams - The Teacher Studio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Using tape diagrams to teach comparison problems helps students move from concrete to more abstract reasoning as they solve problems.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Comparison Problems with Tape Diagrams\/Strip Diagrams - The Teacher Studio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Using tape diagrams to teach comparison problems helps students move from concrete to more abstract reasoning as they solve problems.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Teacher Studio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FourthGradeStudio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-17T15:44:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/comparison-post-2022-blog-post-header.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"924\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"M Anderson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FourthGrStudio\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FourthGrStudio\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"M Anderson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"M Anderson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c3b0c69281391207ef312471004a5552\"},\"headline\":\"Comparison Problems with Tape Diagrams\/Strip Diagrams\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-17T15:44:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams\/\"},\"wordCount\":718,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/comparison-post-2022-blog-post-header.png\",\"keywords\":[\"math practices\",\"problem solving\",\"word\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Math Lessons\",\"Problem Solving Lessons\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theteacherstudio.com\/comparison-problems-with-tape-diagrams-strip-diagrams\/\",\"name\":\"Comparison Problems with Tape Diagrams\/Strip Diagrams - 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