Functional Math Unit Plan

Name: David Knapp

Grade Level: may vary; elementary to middle school
Primary Subject Area: Math
Unit Abstract:
The ability to accurately select methods that are appropriate for the context of the problem is
critical for real life application of mathematical concepts. Concrete Learners may struggle when
comparing a budget amount to the purchasing price(s) of items in order to make effective and
affordable choices. Two of the prerequisite skills needed for this higher level skill include basic
addition of two or more items and the ability to round to nearest whole number.
Unit Goal:
By the end of this unit students will have increased their knowledge as to when to use addition,
estimation and/or rounding process when applying real life skills needed for shopping. They
will also improve their skills using basic technology to support these math processes
(calculators).
Objective(s):
Lesson One: Students will demonstrate the count on technique (combining two groups by saying
the largest number and counting on with the second group to get the total) for finding the sum of
two items in three out of four trials. (The student will indicate that addition is needed when two
or more items are put together.)
Lesson Two: Students will be able to demonstrate that the order of two numbers does not matter
when solving for the sum of two items in three out of four trials. (Students will also be able to
identify that when using a calculator to add that it does not matter which order the numbers are
entered.)
Lesson Three: Students will be able to demonstrate the Place Value of ones and tens with
concrete objects while adding two-digit numbers whose sums are under 50 in three out of four
trials.
Lesson Four: Students will demonstrate the skill of estimating/rounding whole numbers to the
1s, 10s and 100s place value positions in three out of four trials.

Lesson Five: Students will be able to round off to the next highest dollar for prices under $49.99
in three out of four trials.
Lesson Six: Students will be able to count how much money they have and determine the next
highest dollar in three out of four trials.
Lesson Seven: Given a specific budget (amount of money to spend) students will apply the skills
of count on, estimating/rounding and/or next highest dollar to complete a mock shopping trip,
making purchases without going over the amount given in three out of four trials.
Iowa Core Standards:
* Generate and solve addition problems using whole numbers in practical situations.
* Use addition within 100 to solve one- and two-step word problems involving situations of
adding to, putting together, and comparing.
* Estimate to determine the reasonableness of an answer in mathematical and practical situations.
* Use place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.
* Determine totals for monetary amounts in practical situations.
* Select and use a digital tool appropriate to a task (online calculator)
* = Goal present at multiple grade levels.

Lesson
Lesson Plan Outline
#
Materials: two dice, paper and pencil
1
Anticipatory Set: Teacher will display various items
(appropriate to student interests) with prices attached.
Discuss the idea that if you go shopping with a
specific amount of money you need a way to
determine which of the items /how many of the items
that you can purchase.
Background Knowledge: Addition is used when
items are put together ; commutative property (order
of items) is not important in addition
Instructional Activities: Count On Technique
1. Each player in turn rolls two dice. That player
says the number of dots on one die and then counts
on the number of the second dice to reach the total of
both dice. The score keeper writes the total number
under the students name on the paper. The players

Differentiation
- Pair student with a peer
mentor
- Students may work in a quiet
area of the room
- Para support
- Large size / or virtual dice

take turns rolling and using the count on technique to

total the dice.
2. If a player counts all the dots on the dice rather than
counting on from a single die they do not receive a
score for that turn they also miss the points if they
count incorrectly.
3. Set a time limit for the game high score wins
Closure: Discuss how much faster it is when
combining the two dice when you count on versus
starting all over each time and counting each dot
separately. As a class list 4 addition problems on the
board and practice counting on (when we combine 9
and 5, we do not have to count each starting at 1 we
can start with larger number and count on much more
quickly 9 + 5 would be 9 then 10,11,12,13, 14)
** Real World Application: If we are adding 10
and 5 sometimes we dont have the actual things to
count but we can use the count on technique. A 10
dollar bill and a 5 dollar bill = begin at 10 then count
on to 11,12,13,14, 15 dollars total.
Materials: two paper or plastic dinner plates of
different colors, small craft sticks or straws, post-it
notes and marker, paper and pencil, teacher calculator
(either in document camera or a digital one on smart
board)
Anticipatory Set: We are going to pretend to be math
magicians today lets see if we can change a total
by playing tricks with the numbers.
Background Knowledge: Discuss what it means to
compute/combine numbers.
Instructional Activities: 1. Give each student (or
pair/small group) two plates and have them place
specific numbers of items on each (example 4 on one
plate and 2 on another). 2. Have them count the
items. Tell them to pretend they are a magician and
move the plates into different locations; ask them to
count again. Discuss: Do we have the same total
number of sticks? Move the plates again and count
the total. The total number of sticks is always the
same, even when we move the groups around. 3.

- Pair student with a peer

mentor
- Students may work in a quiet
area of the room
- Para support
- Large size manipulatives
- Adaptive calculators

Write the corresponding numerals on post-it notes and

attach them to the appropriate plates. Say: Now we
have written the number on each plate which matches
the number of sticks. (move the plates around again)
Are the numbers the same are the totals the same?
4. Make up 5 different problems with sums less than
10 and this time instead manipulatives draw them as
tally marks to illustrate the numbers. Two of the
problems should be the reverse of two other problems.
Ex:(11+1111) (1111+11) Discuss if the problems are
the same. Write the appropriate numeral next to each
group of tally marks and have the students repeat that
the numerals stand for the tally marks.
**Calculator connection: using a demonstration
calculator show the students where the +/= signs are
located. Model doing simple addition problems on
the calculator. (Do some problems that are reverse of
others.) Demonstrate how you can enter the numbers
from the problems into the calculator in any order and
that the calculator will magically give them answer
once they hit the enter/equal sign.
Closure: Ask students if there is a rule they can infer
from todays activities (i.e. the rule in addition is that
the order of numerals does NOT matter).
Materials: dice, record sheets (see sample),
manipulatives as needed (blocks, clothespins, etc.)
Anticipatory Set: In order to learn how to round
numbers, estimate totals and know how much money
we have to spend we need to know when pennies can
becomes dimes or dimes can become dollars.
Background Knowledge: vocabulary: place value,
ones, tens
Instructional Activities: Working in pairs or small
groups students roll the dice once and write the
amount in the tens column on their recording sheet.
Students roll the die again and write the amount in the
ones column on the recording sheet. After the
amounts have been recorded, students will write the
amount of 102, and 1s and then show/write the
number sentence to represent their number.

- Large dice
- Pair student with a peer
mentor
- Students may work in a quiet
area of the room
- Para support
- Alternative size/type support
manipulatives
- Assistance with writing
responses OR alternative way
of recording response

Closure: Discuss what the numbers in place value

mean (ex. A 3 in the tens column is actually 30;
or 3 dimes is the same value as 30 pennies.)
Materials: index cards, markers, game board and
problem cards for estimation fish game
Anticipatory Set: (Real World connection) Introduce
students to the notion of using mental math by
discussing shopping in a grocery store; prompt
students to identify the typical process (perhaps a list
of items needed, maybe a budget, etc) Talk about
how you could know how much you are spending
as you place items in your cart (calculator or using
paper/ pencil adding specific items costs or guessingestimating).
Background Knowledge: Students must know that
rounding is a form of estimation. Students must
reason where a number would be placed on the
number line. Special Note: Avoid using the
description of rounding up or rounding down -- in
reality we never actually round down. Instead tell
students to simply keep the digit or increase it.
Rounding down is confusing language concrete
learner will think they need to decrease a digit in
order to round down. This leads to students to answer
incorrectly.
Instructional Activities: Part A: Physically
demonstrate place value by giving 3 students index
cards with the name of a place on it (ones, tens,
hundreds). Introduce the vocabulary word digit. Tell
students they will model digits in a number and each
of them has a special place. Then have students line
up in the front of the class in the correct order.
Include all students by having the nonparticipants
determine whether or not the lineup is correct. The
group can use thumbs up or thumbs down to quickly
assess. Once students have the correct place and the
class has assessed, participating students may give
their card to another student who did not get to line
up. Repeat the procedures until everyone has had a
chance to review.

- Pair student with a peer

mentor
- Students may work in a quiet
area of the room
- Para support
- Alternative size/type
manipulatives
- Alternative game parts

Part B: Students work in pairs or small groups to play

the Estimating Fish Game (see sample attached).
First player draws a card and answers the math
problem. Check back of card for correct answer. If
answer is correct move ahead 1 space. If answer is
incorrect move back one space. Play continues until
one player reaches the finish square.
Closure: Have students discuss situations (like the
grocery store) where you would want to be able to
quickly but as accurately as possible guess the
value of a number or combination of numbers.
Materials: whiteboard or Smartboard, a large display
number line (1 to 20) or a straight line marked off
into 20 equal parts, a number line for each student or
small group, six prices under $20 written on index
cards or the display board (example: $1.11, $9.08,
$12.10, $17.62, $6.10, $18.12)
Anticipatory Set: Another important strategy to use
when working with money/planning shopping
purchases in the next-highest dollar strategy. When
I drive through a fast food place like Taco Bell, if the
clerk tells me my item will cost $4. 83 instead of
counting change in the drive thru line I will usually
just hand them $5why is that?
Background Knowledge: While students have been
exposed to rounding a number to the closet dollar,
students who are concrete learners may struggle with
several options are given for different problems.
Instructional Activities: 1. Choose one of the prices
($1.11) and ask students to pretend they have only
dollars (no coins, no credit/debit cards); how many
dollars would you need to purchase this item (some
students may say one dollar since that is the amount in
the dollars place value question if this would be
enough to buy the itemhow do we plan for the 11
cents, etc) 2. Lets look at a way to make sure we
have enough money to purchase an item
demonstrate using the number line where each price
would be located and have students identify what the
next whole number (next highest dollar) would be. 3.

- Pair student with a peer

mentor
- Students may work in a quiet
area of the room
- Para support
- Alternative size/type support
manipulatives
- Assistance with writing
responses OR alternative way
of recording response

Ask students if they see the pattern that the next

whole number/highest dollar is one more dollar. 4.
Provide students/pairs or small groups with individual
number lines and the price examples. Have them find
and mark the prices on the number line and then either
write or circle the next highest dollar. 5. Repeat as
often as is needed for students to recognize the
pattern, explain the rule and be able to apply the
strategy.
Closure: When/why would it be good to use the
next- highest dollar strategy? (Possible answers
include: Its faster (as in the example of drive through
food purchases) and it will make sure you have
enough money and wont be embarrassed the way
rounding to lower amount result in you not having
enough money to make a purchase)
Materials: six or more pieces of construction paper
strips, play money dollars and pennies, preprinted
record sheets
Anticipatory Set: Tomorrow we are going to go on a
virtual grocery shopping trip; lets make sure we
know how to count our money and use the strategies
we have learned to make sure we stay within our
budget when planning our purchases.
Background Knowledge: Students will need a basic
understanding of paper money /coin
denominations/values.
Instructional Activities: Provide students various
amounts of money and preprinted sheets where they
can record the amounts AND what the next highest
dollar would be. Have students review each others
work, have students model for each other as they
count the money AND explain what the next highest
dollar amount would be. Rotate the money groups
around as many times as needed to make sure all
students are able to get the correct solutions in at least
three out of our trials.
Closure: trip Review the strategies from the six
lessons, have students discuss how each might help in
tomorrows grocery shopping trip.

- Pair student with a peer

mentor
- Students may work in a quiet
area of the room
- Para support
- Alternative size/type support
manipulatives
- Assistance with writing
responses OR alternative way
of recording response

Materials: blank 8 x 11 paper, colored markers,

scissors, envelopes, grocery store shopping list,
calculators
Anticipatory Set: Refer back to the lesson #4 and
the reference of shopping in a grocery store. Tell
students that today they will get a chance to see if they
are ready to be in charge of their own grocery store
virtual field trip.
Instructional Activities: Gather flyers from local
grocery stores with pictures of items (choose items
that students with be familiar with) with prices clearly
visible. Create a different grocery list for each small
group. Provide a set budget for the mock shopping
trip. Have students work together to purchase as
many items on their list as they can afford.
As a class, have each small group present what
processes they used to decide what items they could
afford.
Closure: *Once activity is finished, give the students
an opportunity to share their favorite or most
important lesson from the unit.

- Pair student with a peer

mentor
- Students may work in a quiet
area of the room
- Para support
- Assistance with writing
responses OR alternative way
of recording response

Assessment(s)
1.
2.
3.
4.

informal observation of daily actitviies

individual/pair/group record sheets
purchase summary (listing specific items purchased with provided budget)
student self evaluations

Sample record sheet for Roll, Record, Write & Solve (Lesson 3 Place Value)

Sample Problems for Estimating & Rounding (Lesson 4)

Sample materials for Virtual Grocery Shopping Trip (lesson 7)