In preparation for the math benchmark test I'll be giving my students on Thursday, I'm writing a bunch of practice word problems for my class to solve together tomorrow. And let's be honest, the situations are starting to get a little ridiculous.
For example, in one problem Bon Qui Qui* collected 7,346 stamps, which she wants to divide equally among 7 binders.
1. Who collects that many stamps?
2. Who would even care about dividing them equally? If I had that many stamps, I would think "Let's just cram them all in the binders and hope I don't lose too many in the process."
In another problem, Shaniqua* has 532 rocks in her collection, and her sister Natasha* has 214 rocks. They combine their collections together. If they put 9 rocks each into a container, how many containers will they need for all of their rocks?
A. What parent would allow their children to collect over 700 rocks and keep them in their house without going insane?
B. What would the total cost of damages be after all these rocks get vacuumed/run through the washing machine/stepped on, requiring emergency care?
Better stamps and rocks than candy bars, right?
ETA: I just wrote a question that goes like this: Lakisha* had a jump rope that was 17 feet long. In a terrible accident, the jump rope was cut into 4-foot pieces. Draw a picture or diagram that illustrates the situation. . . . (etc.)
Is this just asking for trouble?
*Names have been changed, as I'm using student names in the problems and I don't want to somehow violate any privacy laws.
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