Teacher Script: More or Less Fun!

Warm-Up: Three Number Addition Review (5 minutes)

(Display More or Less Fun! Slide Deck - Slide 1)

"Good morning, mathematicians! Let's get our brains warmed up today with a quick spiral review. Remember how we learned to add three numbers using our manipulatives? Today, we're going to do just that!"

"Look at the board. Our problem is 2 + 3 + 4 = ? I want you to use your manipulatives – your cubes, your counters, whatever you have – to model this problem and find the answer. Work quietly for a moment, and when you think you have it, give me a thumbs up."

(Pause for students to work, circulate and observe.)

"Alright, who would like to share their strategy and their answer? Maria, how did you solve it? (Listen to Maria). That's a great way to think about it! Did anyone else solve it a different way? Tom? (Listen to Tom). Fantastic! So, what is 2 + 3 + 4? (Wait for chorus) That's right, 9! Excellent job reviewing three-number addition!"

I Do: Introducing 'How Many More/Less' (5 minutes)

(Display More or Less Fun! Slide Deck - Slide 2)

"Today, we're going to learn about something a little new, but it builds right on our counting skills. We're going to learn how to figure out 'how many more' or 'how many less' one group has compared to another."

"Take a look at the board. I have 5 red cubes. Can you all count them with me? One, two, three, four, five. Great! Now, let's say you have 3 blue cubes. Count those with me. One, two, three. Perfect."

"Now, my question is: How many more red cubes do I have than blue cubes? I want to compare my red cubes to your blue cubes."

"Watch me. I can line them up like this (demonstrate lining up 5 red and 3 blue, one-to-one correspondence). Look! These 3 red cubes match up with your 3 blue cubes. But I have some red cubes left over! One, two. I have 2 more red cubes than blue cubes!"

(Display More or Less Fun! Slide Deck - Slide 3)

"Now, what if I asked: How many less blue cubes do you have than red cubes? It's almost the same question, just asked a different way! You still have 3 blue cubes, and I still have 5 red cubes. We already figured out the difference was 2, so you have 2 less blue cubes than I have red cubes! See how 'how many more' and 'how many less' are related? They tell us the difference between two numbers."

(Display More or Less Fun! Slide Deck - Slide 4)

"Let's do another one together, and I'll show you exactly how I think about it. Imagine there are 7 apples and 4 bananas. We want to find out: How many more apples are there than bananas?"

"First, I'll take out 7 manipulatives for the apples. (Count out 7). Then, I'll take out 4 manipulatives for the bananas. (Count out 4)."

"Now, I'll line them up to compare. I match one apple to one banana. (Demonstrate). After matching them up, I see that 4 apples found a banana friend. But how many apples are left over? Let's count them: One, two, three. So, there are 3 more apples than bananas. Another way to think about it is 7 minus 4 equals 3!"

We Do: Guided Practice (10 minutes)

(Display More or Less Fun! Slide Deck - Slide 5)

"Now it's our turn to work together! Look at the problem on the board: Maria has 6 toy cars. Tom has 2 toy cars. How many more toy cars does Maria have than Tom?"

"Grab your manipulatives. Work with the person next to you. One of you can be Maria with 6 manipulatives, and the other can be Tom with 2. Talk to each other: How can you use your manipulatives to find out how many more cars Maria has?"

(Circulate, listen to discussions, provide prompts like: "How are you comparing them? What do the leftover manipulatives tell us?")

"Alright, what did you and your partner come up with? Sarah, what did your group find? (Listen to Sarah). Yes! Maria has 4 more toy cars than Tom. How did you know? (Encourage explanation of comparison/subtraction)."

(Display More or Less Fun! Slide Deck - Slide 6)

"Let's try another one, but this time we'll think about 'less.' The problem is: There are 8 pencils and 5 erasers. How many less erasers are there than pencils?"

"Again, use your manipulatives with your partner. Think about the word 'less.' How does that change our thinking? How can we compare the pencils and erasers to find the difference?"

(Circulate, providing support and asking guiding questions.)

"Okay, class, what's our answer? How many less erasers are there than pencils? David? (Listen to David). That's right, 3 less erasers! Fantastic work comparing and finding the difference!"

You Do: Independent & Small Group Practice (30 minutes)

(Display More or Less Fun! Slide Deck - Slide 7)

"You've done an amazing job today. Now it's your turn to show what you know independently. I'm handing out the More or Less Challenge Worksheet. You will complete this worksheet on your own."

"Remember, you can still use your manipulatives to help you solve these problems. Take your time, read each problem carefully, and show your work. I'll be walking around, so if you have a question or need a little extra help, please raise your hand quietly. If you finish early, you can double-check your answers or help a classmate quietly."

(Distribute worksheet. Circulate, provide individual support, pull small groups for intervention as needed, e.g., working with students on one-to-one correspondence or identifying the larger/smaller number.)

More or Less Challenge!

Name: _________________________

Directions: Read each problem carefully. Use your manipulatives to help you solve. Write your answer in the space provided.

1. There are 5 red apples and 3 green apples.
   How many more red apples are there than green apples?

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

2. You have 7 crayons. Your friend has 4 crayons.
   How many less crayons does your friend have than you?

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. There are 6 birds on a branch and 2 birds on the ground.
   How many more birds are on the branch than on the ground?

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

4. A classroom has 9 chairs and 7 tables.
   How many less tables are there than chairs?

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

5. Draw two different groups of objects (e.g., stars and moons) below. Then, write a question about "how many more" or "how many less" using your drawings, and solve it!

   Drawings:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   My Question:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   My Answer: