Problem solving skills The three little pigs Ken

Problem solving skills -The three little pigs. Ken Stimpson Community School Maths department

Do Now The three little pigs went shopping. The first little pig spent £ 23 on a bundle of straw and a stack of 
wood. The second little pig spent £ 35 on a stack of wood and a pile of 
bricks. The third little pig spent £ 42 on a bundle of straw and a pile of 
bricks. How much did each item cost (assuming the bundles, stacks 
and piles were the same size for each little pig)? Can you represent this using bar modelling? 1

Problem solving skills The technique is more simple than you think 1. DO NOT FREAK OUT 2. Deal with each sentence one at a time. Draw a bar to represent what each sentence actually means. eg The first little pig spent £ 23 on a bundle of straw and a stack of 
wood. Straw 3. Then do this for the other 2 sentences. Wood £ 23 • The second little pig spent £ 35 on a stack of wood and a pile of 
bricks. £ 35 Wood Brick • The third little pig spent £ 42 on a bundle of straw and a pile of 
bricks. Brick Straw £ 42 4. Now compare these bars. You can see that if added together you will have 2 of each Straw Wood Brick 5. 2 (straw + wood + brick) = 100 6. straw + wood + brick = £ 50 Brick Straw = £ 100

The three little pigs Wood = £ 50 Straw Brick How does this help solve the problem? 1. I know: Straw Therefore 2. 3. Wood Straw Brick = £ 23 Wood Brick = £ 50 – 23 = £ 27 Therefore Wood = £ 35 - £ 27 = £ 8 = £ 23 - £ 8 = £ 15 Is there more than one way to solve this? Yes, it is! Can you find it? 2