Download Friday April 10 Junior Math Challenge Week 3

Problem Solving and the Ontario Curriculum
The set of skills our children need today extends beyond the traditional paper and pencil calculation
skills that dominated mathematics instruction that most parents remember. In addition to having a good
understanding of number facts and the ability to work with numbers, there are other important skills
such as reasoning, problem solving and the communication of mathematical ideas that are also essential
in the twenty-first century. For example, students need experience with making estimates, deciding on
and adjusting their strategies, persevering through to a solution, and justifying their thinking. The
Ontario Curriculum; Mathematics, Grades 1-8 (2005) supports the development of this mathematical
thinking in a way that is meaningful and relevant to students.
You can help your child to become a confident math problem solver by demonstrating persistence and a
willingness to try multiple strategies or ideas. Also, talking through these challenges will help your child
to develop his/her ability to improve communication skills and the development of math vocabulary. Be
sure to encourage the use of concrete materials (e.g., coins, counters, shapes) as well as visuals (e.g.,
making a chart, drawing a diagram) when working through these math tasks.
There are five strands in the Ontario Curriculum:
Number Sense and Numeration
Geometry
Data Management and Probability
Measurement
Patterning and Algebra
In addition, there are 7 Mathematical Process Expectations which permeate the curriculum:
Problem Solving
Reasoning and Proving
Reflecting
Selecting Tools and Computational Strategies
Connecting
Representing
Communicating
For more information on the Ontario Mathematics Curriculum visit:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/math18curr.pdf
The challenges for this week are focused on skills found within the Number Sense and
Numeration and Meaurements Strands (time unit relationships) and address several grade level
curriculum expectations including:
Grade Four:

Multiply two-digit whole numbers by one-digit whole numbers, using a variety of tools,
student-generated algorithms, and standard algorithms.
Grade Five:
 Multiply two-digit whole numbers by two-digit whole numbers, using estimation,
student-generated algorithms, an standard algorithms
Grade Six:
 Solve problems involving the multiplication and division of whole numbers using a
variety of tools and strategies
Here are the junior math problem solving challenges for this week:
Grade Four
A Canadian television station shows 3 minutes of commercials every hour between 8:00
p.m. and 11:00 p.m. every day.
About how many minutes of commercials are there on the station between 8:00 a.m. and
11:00 p.m. in two months?
Show your work.
Think about:
What do I know about the relationships between units of time?
How do I know that the answer is reasonable?
How can I organize my answer to make it easy to understand?
Grade Five
A Canadian television station shows 10 minutes of commercials every hour between 8:00
p.m. and 11:00 p.m. every day.
About how many minutes of commercials are there on the station between 8:00 a.m. and
11:00 p.m. in two months?
Show your work.
Think about:
What do I know about the relationships between units of time?
How do I know that the answer is reasonable?
How can I organize my answer to make it easy to understand?
Grade Six
*A Canadian television station shows 16 minutes of commercials every hour between 8:00
a.m. and 11:00 p.m. every day.
How many minutes of commercials are there on the station between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00
p.m. in 365 days?
Show your work.
Think about:
What do I know about the relationships between units of time?
How do I know that the answer is reasonable?
How can I organize my answer to make it easy to understand?
*This grade six question is taken from the 2013 – 2014 released EQAO Assessment questions
and is an example of the problem solving questions our grade six students will be asked to solve
during EQAO.
Try this problem with your child and afterwards take a look at the two sample responses below.
These do not represent the only way to show the answer, but do provide examples of student
responses at level three and level four.
Level 3 Response
Level 4 Response