Using objects to model real problems

Mastery Evidence

Draw a picture or use objects to represent a simple real-world situation involving counting or comparing
Write or dictate a number sentence to describe a real-world situation (e.g. 'I had 5 apples and ate 2')
Use the model to answer a question about the situation

Assessment Prompt

“If you describe a simple real-life situation to [child] — like "there are 3 birds on a fence and 2 more land" — can they write a number sentence like 3 + 2 = 5 to represent it?”

Prerequisites2

Sorting into categories
softAges 5—6
Addition and subtraction word problems
softAges 4—6

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Sorting into categories soft
Classifying and counting objects into categories is an early modelling activity
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
  Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
  - Counting objects to 20 soft
    Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
    - How Many in Total? hard
      Answering 'how many?' requires the cardinality principle
      - One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
    - One-to-one counting hard
      Counting objects to answer 'how many?' requires one-to-one correspondence
- Counting objects to 20 hard
  Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
  - How Many in Total? hard
    Answering 'how many?' requires the cardinality principle
    - One-to-one counting hard
      Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
  - One-to-one counting hard
    Counting objects to answer 'how many?' requires one-to-one correspondence
Addition and subtraction word problems soft
Solving word problems with drawings exercises early modelling
- Representing Addition and Subtraction hard
  Solving word problems within 10 requires ability to represent the operations with objects/drawings
  - Addition as combining or putting together two hard
    Representing addition with objects/drawings requires understanding what addition means
    - How Many in Total? hard
      Understanding addition as combining groups requires knowing numbers represent quantities (cardinality)
      - One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
  - Subtraction as taking away or separating hard
    Representing subtraction with objects/drawings requires understanding what subtraction means
    - How Many in Total? hard
      Understanding subtraction as taking away requires knowing numbers represent quantities (cardinality)
      - One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'

Unlocks1

Connecting maths to real life
hardAges 6—7