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  • Unit Rate Problems using Manipulatives and Visuals

    Unit Rate Problems using Manipulatives and Visuals

    Link to a YouTube video showing how it works Link to a Google Slides presentation showing the steps. Make a copy to use it. Link to a Facebook Reel showing how it works.

  • Word Problems with Unit Rates

    Word Problems with Unit Rates

    Word problems are challenging. In middle school and high school, word problems for proportional relationships and linear functions are particularly challenging. This post shows an visualization approach to unpacking the unit rate component of such word problems. Visualizing Unit Rate Below is an excerpt from a handout used to introduce such word problems. It starts…

  • Multiplication Problems as Intro to Unit Rates and Slope (follow up)

    Multiplication Problems as Intro to Unit Rates and Slope (follow up)

    I previously related elementary school word problems with math topics in secondary schools. The photo below shows a method to help elementary school students unpack the multiplication problem, to help middle school students identify the unit rate, and to help algebra students identify slope (you can focus on simple problems like this as an entry…

  • Comparison Shopping – Real Life Example

    Comparison Shopping – Real Life Example

    Saw the following price tags, shown in the two photos, at an office supply store. $4 for 4 batteries or $9 for 8 batteries. To compare we can double the smaller pack to see that 2 packs would cost $8 for 8 batteries for a better deal. Another method is to use unit rates. Rates…

  • Unit Rates

    Real life applications in of themselves will not make a concept real for many if not most students with special needs. They likely need the concept broken down into more concrete form (CRA). For this problem I would fudge the numbers and have 42 oz at $6 (7 oz per dollar) and a 5 oz…