CONNECTOR Read the problem carefully Have everyone read

CONNECTOR Read the problem carefully. Have everyone read the problem again silently. Ask group members: • Do you understand what you have read? • Are there any words that you do not understand? • Does this remind you of any other math problems? • How have you solved similar problems in the past? Make sure everyone participates. IDENTIFIER Make sure your team UNDERSTANDS what the problem is asking. Ask group members to: • Circle or underline key phrases or words • Scratch out information that is not needed to solve the problem • Determine what the solution should look like: • Is there more than one question being asked? • Should the answer include units? If so, what are they? Make sure everyone participates.

PLANNER Work with your team to make a PLAN. There may be more than one way to solve the problem. Ask group members: • What kind of strategies could we use? • What operations will be necessary? Make sure everyone participates. CHECKER Make sure your team has checked their work, using inverse operations. Ask group members: • Do we all have the same answer? (even if we didn’t use the same strategy) • If we have different answers, how can we determine which is correct? • Is our answer reasonable? You will need to work through the problem together until you agree on a solution. Make sure everyone participates.

RECIPROCAL PROBLEM-SOLVING 1 3 2 4 5 EVERYONE SOLVES THE PROBLEM