In this unit, students use algebraic thinking to explore properties of addition. The food pyramid is the starting point for these explorations. Students’ ability to classify forms the basis of algebraic thinking. In this unit, students explore sorting and patterning and apply these logical processes to the operation of addition in the set model. They also construct sets of a given number and find missing addends.
Individual Lessons
Lesson 1 - Sorting Foods
Students sort foods using the categories of the Food Pyramid. They also create sets up to 10 and write numerals up to 10. Finally, students use an Internet-based tool to apply their knowledge of the Food Pyramid. This lesson makes a natural connection to the science of nutrition.
Lesson 2 - Eating Patterns
Students sort pictures of food and create patterns. They also analyze a partner's patterns and extend those patterns.
Lesson 3 - Pyramid Power
In this lesson, students make sets of a given number, explore relationships between numbers, and write numbers that name how many elements are in a group. They make and record sets of one more and one less than a given number.
Lesson 4 - Combining Foods
In this lesson, students explore addition and comparison subtraction by modeling and recording related addition and subtraction facts for a given number. Comparison subtraction is the focus of this lesson because later in the unit, the students will explore the idea of "how many more?" to complete a set. The students also investigate the commutative property and model fact families, including those in which one addend is zero and those in which the addends are alike.
Lesson 5 - Try for Five
In this lesson, students explore the many ways to decompose numbers, and they build on their knowledge of addition and subtraction to find missing addends.
