NCDPI – AIG Instructional Resource: Background Information

Resource Title: The Curious Cake Baker
Subject Area/Grade Level (s): Math/5 / Time Frame: 1 class period
Common Core Standard Addressed:
Number and Operations - Fractions
Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division.
5.NF.7 Apply and extend previous understandings of division to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.
Mathematical Practices
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
4. Attend to precision.
8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
Additional Standards Addressed: NA
Brief Description of Lesson/Task/Activity: Students will determine ways to ensure correct amounts of various ingredients are added to a recipe given a limited supply of measuring cup sizes.
Type of Differentiation for AIGs (include all that apply): Enrichment Extension x Acceleration
Adaptations for AIGs: x Content Process Product
Explanation of How Resource is Appropriate for AIGs: For learners who catch on quickly to the concept of dividing whole numbers by unit fractions and unit fractions by whole numbers, provide the following context to extend their understanding of division of fractions.
Needed Resources/Materials: NA
Sources (all sources must be cited): NA
TEACHER NOTES: NA

NCDPI AIG Curriculum Resource Outline

STAGE ONE: ENGAGE
Present students with the following problem…
Ryan and his mom were baking a cake which required ½ cup of sugar and 1½ cups milk. The only measuring cup available measured ¼ cup. How many times did Ryan and his mom have to refill the ¼ cup measuring cup in order to use the correct amount of each ingredient? Explain your thinking.
After allowing students time to complete the problem, ask the following questions…
1.  How did you determine the number of ¼ cup scoops needed to measure ½ cup?
2.  How could this help you determine the number of ¼ cup scoops needed to measure 1 ½ cups of milk?
3.  What operation is happening in the problem?
4.  How would the number of scoops needed for each ingredient change if Ryan and his mom only had a one-eighth cup measuring scoop available?
STAGE TWO: ELABORATE
Present students with the task…
The Curious Cake Baker enjoyed making delicious cakes. However she didn’t enjoy cleaning up after baking. One day she received an order for 3 red velvet cakes. Fortunately her large mixer was clean, so she planned to combine the batter for all three cakes in the mixer at once. Unfortunately she had only one measuring cup clean. She was in a hurry to fill the order, so she decided to use the measuring cup she had available in order to measure the ingredients rather than washing the ones she’d previously used.
The recipe for one red velvet cake follows…
2 ½ cups flour
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
The Curious Cake Baker had a ¾ cup measuring cup clean. How many ¾ cup scoops should she use for each ingredient?
Have students read the task carefully. Read the task allowed to students and have them visualize the actions taking place in the problem before beginning to work on their own. Encourage the use of pictures and equations to make sense of the mathematics in the problem.
STAGE THREE: EVALUATE
Allow time for students to complete the task independently or in small groups before asking the following questions...
1.  What strategies were useful in determining the number of ¾ cup scoops needed to measure each ingredient?
2.  What operation could be used to determine the number of ¾ cup scoops needed to measure each ingredient?
3.  How could dividing by a unit fraction (¼) help you divide by a non-unit fraction (¾)?
4.  How many more ¼ cup measuring scoops are needed to measure 2 ½ cups of flour than ¾ cup scoops? Explain the relationship?
5.  What other size measuring cups would have been useful in measuring the ingredients?
Possible Extension…
Have students find a recipe with multiple ingredients, and determine the number of ¾ cup (or any other fractional measuring cup size you choose for students to explore) scoops required to measure each ingredient.
TEACHER NOTES: NA

PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction AIG ~ IRP Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project