Muffles Truffles Math...

3 K/M has recently completed "Muffles Truffles". From the publisher, "...the focus of this unit is the development of the open array as a model for multiplication and division. This unit uses a series of investigations based on the context of Muffles' Truffles shop. The questions posed in the first investigation (how many boxes of ten can be made with a given quantity of truffles; how many leftovers will there be from a given quantity and how can they be combined to make assortment boxes; and what is the cost of a given quantity of truffles if they cost $1 each) give students an opportunity to explore place value - the multiplicative structure of our base-ten system and quotative division. In the second and third investigations, students build two-dimensional blueprints of one-layer boxes and use these arrays to explore some of the big ideas in multiplication (the distributive, associative, and commutative properties). In the fourth and final investigation, students work with open arrays in the context of labeling and pricing wrapped boxes of truffles. To figure out the dimensions of the wrapped boxes (or open arrays) and the cost, students need to apply a number of big ideas previously developed in this unit..."

At the conclusion of the unit, student pairs were asked to choose one piece of work that they are most proud of for display.  They then wrote a paragraph together describing their work and the strategies that they employed while working on Truffles.