CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4

MathGrades K–12Standards for Mathematical Practice

The Standard

Model with mathematics.

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students turn a real situation into a diagram, table, graph, equation, or formula. They choose useful information, make reasonable assumptions, solve, and explain the result in context. They adjust the model if the answer does not make sense.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students identify useful quantities and represent their relationships with a diagram, table, graph, equation, or formula. They explain what the result means, check whether it is reasonable, and revise the model when needed.
Common Misconceptions: Students may use every number given, even when some details do not matter. They may treat assumptions as facts or report a number without units, context, or a reasonableness check.
How to Assess It: Ask: “Plan seating for our class using tables that hold four students. Show a model, state one assumption, and explain whether your plan works.”

Lesson moves

Give groups counters, cups, and a sharing problem, then have them build, record, and explain a model that fits the situation.
Ask students to write when rounding up or down makes sense while planning buses, pizzas, or containers for a group.
Create card sets with situations, diagrams, tables, graphs, and equations, then have teams race to build matching model sets.
Use a grocery ad and a fixed budget to plan a class snack, including quantities, costs, assumptions, and leftover money.

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