When we need to solve a difficult problem it can be helpful to draw pictures to model the action.

Here is an example.              

Problem:                                                                           

Ronald received 11 spaceship stickers and 5 clown stickers in his goodie bag. How many stickers does he have in all?

Solution:

• Draw 11 small squares representing spaceships.
• Draw 5 circles representing the clown stickers.
• Count the number of spaceship and clown stickers.
• Write the number sentence that illustrates the problem.

Click on the clown to see a PowerPoint demonstration.

Click the numbers for practice.

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