Talking Turkey

Now that things have settled down after the storm, I have introduced the first "real" problem to students in both grades 5 and 6. The problem is as follows:


Sam loves to help around the kitchen. With Thanksgiving approaching, there is plenty to do! Sam offers to help determine how big a turkey the family should buy for the dinner.

He finds some “rules of thumb” for buying turkeys. The suggested weight range is from:
• one kilogram to one and one-half kilograms per adult,
• three-quarters of a kilogram per child,
if the family wants leftovers

OR
• three-quarters of a kilogram to one kilogram per adult,
• one half of a kilogram per child
if the family does not want leftovers.

The people who made the rules of thumb do not know Sam’s family.
• The two teenagers in Sam’s family eat more than most of the adults
• Uncle Roy eats more than anybody else.
• Sam’s sister Judy does not really like turkey, so she will fill up on dinner rolls and just eat a little to be polite.
• It is hard to predict what the three young children (Uncle Roy’s kids) will eat—it depends on their mood.
• Sam loves turkey, but he guesses that the standard amount per child will be about right.
• Sam also knows that Uncle Roy will not take leftovers with him
after dinner.
• Sam’s family likes leftovers, but not too many.

How big a turkey should Sam recommend to feed the ten people (Sam,
Mom, Dad, two teenage siblings, Judy, Uncle Roy, and Uncle Roy’s three
kids) who will be eating Thanksgiving dinner? Explain your reasoning

To ensure all my students in both grades would have success with this, I manipulated the problem by making the numbers easier to think about and work with (depending on the ability level of the groups) and reduced the number of people in the family and changed some of the conditions. Here is an example of the question modified to meet the needs of one of my groups in Grade 5:

Sam loves to help around the kitchen. With Thanksgiving approaching, there is plenty to do! Sam offers to help determine how big a turkey the family should buy for the dinner.

He finds some “rules of thumb” for buying turkeys. The suggested weight range is from:

• 1 kilogram to 1 ½ kilograms per adult,
• ½ of a kilogram per child,


• The two teenagers in Sam’s family, including Sam eat more than most of the adults
• Uncle Roy eats more than anybody else.
• Sam’s younger sister Judy does not really like turkey, so she will fill up on dinner rolls and just eat a little to be polite.
• Sam’s family likes leftovers, but not too many.

How big a turkey should Sam recommend to feed the six people (Sam,
Mom, Dad, one teenage sibling, Uncle Roy, 1 child sibling) who will be eating Thanksgiving dinner? Explain your reasoning

Here, I have modified the problem without losing the integrity of the process in solving the problem.

I have grouped my classes by ability and then let them go. I introduced the problem and made sure they knew what I expected (answers with pictures, numbers and words)and set them on their way! Throughout the class, I went around listening in on their conversations. What I heard was nothing but rich mathematical discourse. These students, even those that proclaimed they hated math began to come alive and was engaged in the activity!!