Exemplars
Thanksgiving Day Celebration!Copyright 2012, exemplars, Inc. All rights reserved 1 of 4
Thanksgiving Day Celebration!
Mrs. McNair is having her family over for Thanksgiving. Her relatives are supposed to arrive at 2:00 p.m. She will have lots to do that day to get ready.
Here is what she has to do and how long she thinks each job will take:
Clean the house: 1 hour•Preptheturkey,stuffingandmashedpotatoes:11/2hours•Set the table and arrange the decorations: 45 minutes•Take a shower, get dressed, etc.: 30 minutes•Put out snacks: 20 minutes•Pick out CDs to listen to and set them in the CD player: 5 •minutes
If Mrs. McNair hopes to get everything done before her family arrives, at what time will she need to start preparing?
Exemplars
Thanksgiving Day Celebration!Copyright 2012, exemplars, Inc. All rights reserved 2 of 4
Thanksgiving Day Celebration!
Suggested Grade Span
3–5
Grade(s) in Which Task Was Piloted
5
Task
Mrs. McNair is having her family over for Thanksgiving. Her relatives are supposed to arrive at 2:00 p.m. She will have lots to do that day to get ready.
Here is what she has to do and how long she thinks each job will take:
Clean the house: 1 hour•Preptheturkey,stuffingandmashedpotatoes:11/2hours•Set the table and arrange the decorations: 45 minutes•Take a shower, get dressed, etc.: 30 minutes•Put out snacks: 20 minutes•Pick out CDs to listen to and set them in the CD player: 5 minutes•
If Mrs. McNair hopes to get everything done before her family arrives, at what time will she need to start preparing?
Alternative Versions of Task
More Accessible Version:
Mrs. McNair is having her family over for Thanksgiving. Her relatives are supposed to arrive at 2:00 p.m. She will have lots to do that day to get ready.
Here is what she has to do and how long she thinks each job will take:
Clean the house: 1 hour•Preptheturkey,stuffingandmashedpotatoes:1hour•Setthetableandarrangethedecorations:1/2hour•Putoutsnacks:1/2hour•Pick out CDs to listen to and set them in the CD player: 10 minutes•
If Mrs. McNair hopes to get everything done before her family arrives, at what time will she need to start preparing?
Exemplars
Thanksgiving Day Celebration!Copyright 2012, exemplars, Inc. All rights reserved 3 of 4
More Challenging Version:
Mrs. McNair is having her family over for Thanksgiving. Her relatives are supposed to arrive at 2:00 p.m. She will have lots to do that day to get ready.
Here is what she has to do and how long she thinks each job will take:
Clean the house: 1 hour•Preptheturkey,stuffingandmashedpotatoes:1hour,55minutes•Set the table and arrange the decorations: 44 minutes•Take a shower, get dressed, etc.: 33 minutes•Put out snacks: 22 minutes•Pick out CDs to listen to and set them in the CD player: 11 minutes•
If Mrs. McNair hopes to get everything done before her family arrives, at what time will she need to start preparing?
NCTM Content Standards and Evidence
Measurement Standard for Grades 3–5: Instructional programs from pre-kindergarten throughgrade 12 should enable all students to ...
Apply appropriate techniques, tools and formulas to determine measurements.
NCTM Evidence:• Select and apply appropriate standard units and tools to measure length, area, volume, weight, time, temperature and the size of angles.
Exemplars• Task-SpecificEvidence: Students need to measure time and apply concepts of time to this problem-solving situation.
Time/Context/Qualifiers/Tip(s)FromPilotingTeacher
This task is a short- to medium-length task. I piloted this task with low-level 5th graders who were just learning to tell time. I used the task to see which concepts and skills they learned in class would be carried over to a problem-solving situation. Since many of my students still relied on Judy Clocks to assist them in telling time, I was curious to see what other strategies they might use to solve the task. Students had also just completed the “Crunchkins Pyramid” task and knew the importance of organizing their work. I wondered if this strategy would carry over as well.
Links
Thistaskwouldfitathemeofpartiesorholidays.
Exemplars
Thanksgiving Day Celebration!Copyright 2012, exemplars, Inc. All rights reserved 4 of 4
Common Strategies Used to Solve This Task
Many students create a chart or timeline to solve this task. Some determine the total number of minutes needed and then subtract from the time the party is to start. Others rely on manipulating Judy Clocks or use clock stamps. Students who used Judy Clocks documented each step in their solutions using a digital camera.
Possible Solutions
It will take Mrs. McNair 4 hours and 10 minutes to get ready for her guests. That means she will have to start getting ready at 9:50 a.m.
More Accessible Version Solution:
It will take Mrs. McNair 3 hours and 10 minutes to get ready for her guests. That means she will have to start getting ready at 10:50 a.m.
More Challenging Version Solution:
It will take Mrs. McNair 4 hours and 45 minutes to get ready for her guests. That means she will have to start getting ready at 9:15 a.m.
Task-SpecificAssessmentNotes
General NotesNot only can you assess students’ problem-solving skills with this task, but you can also assess their application of time concepts and skills.
NoviceTheNovicewillshownounderstandingoftheneedtodetermineastartingtimeforpreparation.S/he will use little or no math reasoning and will demonstrate little understanding of concepts of time.
ApprenticeThe Apprentice will have an approach that would work but will make errors in computation or have flawsinreasoningthatleadtoanincorrectanswer.
PractitionerThe Practitioner will have a complete and accurate solution with all work shown and organized.
ExpertThe Expert will have the same qualities as that of a Practitioner but will demonstrate a greater understandingofconceptsoftime.S/hewillmakemathematicallyrelevantobservationsorwilldemonstrate other characteristics of good problem solving, such as verifying the correctness of the solution.
