Teaching Notes

Thinking and Language

Five Problems to Solve

CRITICAL THINKING STRATEGIES
Identifying Problems and Solutions As you discuss approaches to solving each problem as a
class, offer students these ideas:
Problem 1 Suggest that students draw a diagram or have three students enact the problem in
order to solve it.
Problem 2 Suggest that students draw a diagram in order to solve this problem.
Problem 3 Suggest that students attack the problem by considering a variety of starting points
for their lines.
Problem 4 Suggest that students think creatively about everything that can be done with each

item.
Problem 5 Suggest that students work backwards: they can imagine that the problem has
been solved and think about how the situation could have been brought about.

Writing Activity Write your own problem that requires a creative or challenging solution.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION STRATEGIES

English-Language Learners Ensure that students understand the following vocabulary used in
the problems:

tumor an abnormal growth of tissue

intense in an extreme degree

Copyright Holt McDougal. All rights reserved.

Chapter 8

41

Transparencies

Copyright Holt McDougal. All rights reserved.

room with a candle, a box of matches, and

some thumbtacks. Your task is to use these
objects to attach the candle to the wall.
How do you do it?

or copy it exactly onto a sheet of

paper. Then connect all four dots with
two straight lines without lifting your
pencil from the paper.

Problem 3 Trace this dot formation

Problem 5 Imagine that you are in a room in which

two strings are hanging from the ceiling. Your task
is to tie the two strings together, but they are so far
apart that you cannot reach both of them at the same
time. The only other object in the room is a pair of
safety scissors. How can you tie the strings together?

Problem 2 Imagine that you are a

doctor. One of your patients has a
brain tumor that must be destroyed
if the patient is to survive. Certain
rays will destroy the tumor if they
are intense enough. To reach the
tumor, however, the rays need to pass
through the healthy tissue that surrounds it, and at the intensity needed
to destroy the tumor, the rays will also
destroy the healthy tissue. How can
you use the rays to destroy the tumor
without damaging the healthy tissue?

Problem 4 Imagine that you are in a

want to get ready for a party together.

The party is across the street from
Naomis home, so they meet there an
hour before the party. When they are
ready to leave for the party, though, it
is raining heavily. None of them wants
to get wet, of course, but the girls
have only one umbrella, and it is big
enough to protect only two people
from the rain. How can all three of the
girls get to the party without getting
drenched?

Problem 1 Naomi, Marquita, and Kim

Thinking and Language

Diagram

Five Problems to Solve