6th Grade Task: "Coordinating" with the Rug

6th Grade Task: ?Coordinating? with the Rug

Standards & Objectives

Essential and guiding questions: 

Whole Group Questions:

  • Write the key understandings that students should come to in the discussion of this task and questions you can ask in the whole group setting to support arrival at these key understandings?

Representing Problems with Pictures:

  • Who drew a picture to start this problem?
  • Who solved it without a picture?
  • Now that you’ve seen how a picture could be used, do you think it is an easier way to solve the problem?

Using a Coordinate Plane to Solve a Problem:

  • Who can tell me how they used a coordinate plane to represent the problem?
  • What were the coordinates of the corners of the room and the rug?
  • Did anyone do this differently?
  • Why do you get the same answer regardless of where the rectangles are positioned?
  • What types of drawings can be put on a coordinate plane?
  • What types of things could not be represented this way?

The Distance Formula and Absolute Value:

  • Once you graphed the room and the rug, how did you determine the width and length of the rug?
  • Is there another way besides counting?
  • When can the distance formula be used?
  • Can you describe why the number line works using examples on a number line?
  • What does this tell us about absolute value? 

Activity/Task Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Understanding
Differentiation suggestions: 

Entry/Extensions Assessing and Advancing Questions

If students can’t get started….

  • Can you draw a picture of the situation described in the problem?
  • What math concept that we’ve discussed recently could help you determine the length and width of the rug?

If students finish early…. 

  • If the recommended width of the rug pad is 4 inches less than the rug on all sides, how large should the rug pad be?
  • Can you represent this situation using a coordinate plane and the distance formula?
  • When can the distance formula be used? Graph some points on a number line and determine their distances from one another using the distance formula. Collaborate with your group and be prepared to share with the class.