Objective
By the end of this lesson, the Fourth grade homeschool student will be able to apply arithmetic concepts to solve problems related to dogs.
Materials and Prep
- Paper
- Pencil
Before starting the lesson, make sure the student has a basic understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Activities
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Activity 1: Dog Treats
Ask the student to imagine they have 3 dogs and each dog needs 4 treats. How many treats do they need in total? Have them write an equation and solve it using addition.
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Activity 2: Dog Adoption
Give the student a scenario where there are 10 dogs in a shelter. Each day, 2 dogs get adopted. How many dogs will be left after 5 days? Have them write an equation and solve it using subtraction.
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Activity 3: Dog Breeding
Explain to the student that a dog had 6 puppies. If each puppy needs 2 cups of food per day, how many cups of food will be needed in total for a week? Have them write an equation and solve it using multiplication.
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Activity 4: Dog Training
Tell the student that a dog trainer charges $15 per hour for training. If a training session lasts for 3 hours, how much will it cost in total? Have them write an equation and solve it using multiplication and addition.
Fourth Grade Talking Points
- "Mathematics is all around us, even when it comes to our furry friends, like dogs!"
- "Addition is a way to combine numbers together. For example, if we have 3 dogs and we add 4 more dogs, we will have a total of 7 dogs."
- "Subtraction is a way to find the difference between numbers. If we start with 10 dogs in a shelter and 2 dogs get adopted, we subtract 2 from 10 to find out how many dogs are left."
- "Multiplication is a way to quickly calculate repeated addition. If a dog has 6 puppies and each puppy needs 2 cups of food per day, we can multiply 6 by 2 to find out how many cups of food are needed in total."
- "Division is a way to share or distribute a quantity equally. If a dog trainer charges $15 per hour and a training session lasts for 3 hours, we can divide the total cost by the number of hours to find out how much it will cost per hour."