Ms. Yee plays fetch with her dog, Abbey. Abbey starts by sitting beside Ms. Yee. After Ms. Yee throws the ball, Abbey runs to get the ball, and he brings it back. Ms. Yee throws the ball 3 times. Each time, Ms. Yee throws the ball 5 meters. How far does Abbey run, in total?
Source: Task shared by Tara Washburn from Brookline Public Schools, MA
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I taught this routine with the Playing Fetch math story to a small group of ELL students. My student with the highest language proficiency was able to process the fact that the dog had to run back and forth each time the ball was thrown. (He drew arrows, indicating that the dog runs back and forth.) He also wrote 5 + 5 = 10 and 10 x 3 = 30. My other three students did not draw as much and seemed to possibly miss the fact that the dog runs the 5 meters twice each time. Their equations were: 5 x 3 = 15 and 15 x 2 = 30. Students learned from the discussion and possibly just knew that they could double the 15 at the end, to account for the dog going back and forth. We discussed this tricky part of the story at the end.