Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and
parents.
- How can I best contact you if I have a question?
- What is UPS Check?
- What do I do if my child forgets to bring home their book ?
- What are the division steps?
How can I best contact you if I have a question?
Of course you can call the school, but E-mailing me is the
fastest way to get my attention. Please E-mail me with any
questions you may have throughout the year. pmartin@fisdk12.net
What is UPS Check?
Contrary to what some of my students think, this is not just
another way a teacher tortures her students! I serve on our
district's Math Vertical Alignment Team, which is a team of math
teachers, grades K - 12, who meet several times throughout the
year. We decided that our district needed one problem solving
model that all of our students could use, without having to
memorize a new one each year!
UPS check
U = Understand It - What are you asked to find? Restate the
question in your own words.
P = Plan It - Pull out key information in the problem and include
the labels, along with the numbers needed. Draw a picture or
model, make a chart, guess and check, work backwards, etc.
if you can. Decide on an operation.
S = Solve It - Write an equation if the problem calls for one.
Make sure you label your numbers! Include a solution sentence.
Check It - Is your answer reasonable? Did you answer THE
question? Does the label in your answer match what you were
asked to find? Circle the label in your question and in your
solution statement. If you subtracted, add to check; if you
divided, multiply to check.
Problem Solving Rubric
U Restate the question - 15 points
P Pull out information needed with labels - 20 pts.
Choose a strategy - 15 pts.
S Write an equation with labels - 20 pts.
Write a solution sentence - 15 pts.
CHECK Check your math and circle the labels - 15 pts.
What do I do if my child forgets to bring home their book ?
The public library has copies of all of the school district's
textbooks. Of course these books cannot be checked out, but your
child could use allowance money to make copies of the needed
pages.
What are the division steps?
Division steps: Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother
Dad says divide: If students are dividing 7 by 2, I ask them to
think of the division as multiplication, as it is much easier.
What can you multiply by 2 to get as close as you can to 7,
without going over? OR if they want to think of it as division,
how many times will 2 go into 7 (how many groups of 2 will there
be in 7)?
Mom says multiply: 2 x 3 = 6, so 3 is as close as you can get. 3
goes on top where the answer or quotient goes,
Sister says subtract: 7 - 6 = 1
Brother says bring down or bring up: There's nothing else to
bring down, so you bring the 1 up as your remainder.
The answer would be 3 r1.