Game Night Seating Plan
10 min
Narrative
The purpose of this Warm-up is to elicit ideas about equal groups in seating arrangements and about variables that might be important when solving a real-world problem. These ideas will be useful when students plan the seating arrangement for a game night in a later activity. While students may notice and wonder many things about this image, observations about equal groups are the important discussion points.
During the Synthesis students learn that the image represents a seating chart and consider information they may need if they were in charge of planning the seating arrangement for a game night. When students identify information they need to know to answer a question, they model with mathematics (MP4).
Launch
- Groups of 2
- Display the image.
- “What do you notice? What do you wonder?”
- 1 minute: quiet think time
Teacher Instructions
- “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
- 1 minute: partner discussion
- Share and record responses.
Student Task
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Solution Steps (4)
- 1Count the squares (tables)→6 squares arranged in 2 rows of 3
- 2Count circles around each square→4 circles (chairs) around each square (table)
- 3Find total circles→6 tables × 4 chairs = 24 circles total
- 4Connect to real-world situation→Seating arrangement for game night with tables and chairs
Sample Response
Students may notice:
- There are 6 squares.
- There are 4 circles around each square.
- There are 24 circles.
- The squares are arranged like an array with 2 rows and 3 squares in each row.
Students may wonder:
- Why are the circles around the squares?
- Does something go inside the squares?
- What situation could this represent?
- Do the squares represent tables? Do the circles represent chairs?
- Is this a game board?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
- “Somebody drew the diagram to illustrate a real-world situation. What could that situation be?” (table arrangement, gameboard, sports arrangement)
- “The image shows table arrangements for a game night.”
- “If you were in charge of planning the seating arrangement for a game night, what questions would you need to ask to have enough information to plan?” (How many tables are there? How many people can play each game? How many people can sit at each table? How many chairs are there? How many guests are going to the game night? How big are the tables?)
- Share and record responses. Keep this visible for the next activity.
- “In the next activity, you will create a seating chart for a game night. You will get answers to some of these questions. For other questions, you will need to make some decisions.”
Standards
- 3.OA.A·Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.
- 3.OA.A·Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.
25 min
15 min
Knowledge Components
All skills for this lesson
Game Night Seating Plan
10 min
Narrative
The purpose of this Warm-up is to elicit ideas about equal groups in seating arrangements and about variables that might be important when solving a real-world problem. These ideas will be useful when students plan the seating arrangement for a game night in a later activity. While students may notice and wonder many things about this image, observations about equal groups are the important discussion points.
During the Synthesis students learn that the image represents a seating chart and consider information they may need if they were in charge of planning the seating arrangement for a game night. When students identify information they need to know to answer a question, they model with mathematics (MP4).
Launch
- Groups of 2
- Display the image.
- “What do you notice? What do you wonder?”
- 1 minute: quiet think time
Teacher Instructions
- “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
- 1 minute: partner discussion
- Share and record responses.
Student Task
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Solution Steps (4)
- 1Count the squares (tables)→6 squares arranged in 2 rows of 3
- 2Count circles around each square→4 circles (chairs) around each square (table)
- 3Find total circles→6 tables × 4 chairs = 24 circles total
- 4Connect to real-world situation→Seating arrangement for game night with tables and chairs
Sample Response
Students may notice:
- There are 6 squares.
- There are 4 circles around each square.
- There are 24 circles.
- The squares are arranged like an array with 2 rows and 3 squares in each row.
Students may wonder:
- Why are the circles around the squares?
- Does something go inside the squares?
- What situation could this represent?
- Do the squares represent tables? Do the circles represent chairs?
- Is this a game board?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
- “Somebody drew the diagram to illustrate a real-world situation. What could that situation be?” (table arrangement, gameboard, sports arrangement)
- “The image shows table arrangements for a game night.”
- “If you were in charge of planning the seating arrangement for a game night, what questions would you need to ask to have enough information to plan?” (How many tables are there? How many people can play each game? How many people can sit at each table? How many chairs are there? How many guests are going to the game night? How big are the tables?)
- Share and record responses. Keep this visible for the next activity.
- “In the next activity, you will create a seating chart for a game night. You will get answers to some of these questions. For other questions, you will need to make some decisions.”
Standards
- 3.OA.A·Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.
- 3.OA.A·Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.