Goal: Think like a mathematician! Read the problem multiple times.
The 7th graders at Sunview Middle School were helping to renovate a playground for the kindergartners at a nearby elementary school. City regulations require that the sand underneath the swings be at least 15 inches deep. The sand under both swing sets was only 12 inches deep when they started.
The rectangular area under the small swing set measures 9 feet by 12 feet and required 40 bags of sand to increase the depth by 3 inches. The rectangular area under the large swing set if it is 1.5 times as long and 1.5 times as wide as the area under the small swing set. [How many bags of sand will the students need to cover the rectangular area under the large swing set?]
Source: Illustrative Mathematics 7.RP.A.3 and 7.G.B.6 Task
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I am excited to try this task out! It’s great to be reminded of that value that exists in not providing the question for students. This is the type of complex problem that my students get lost in before they even get to the actual question. I’m excited to see how reading the problem with a different intention three times will helps them to unpack the task.