Hmmmm-- I think that reducing any of this to an algorithmic kind of place to start with may be a disservice to a child with sound number sense.

In that sense, I think that Nyaanyaa's point is a good one-- understanding that those things are completely equivalent (and I wouldn't assume that a teacher HAS done that with the class) means that it may fit more neatly into his own framework of "what does this sentence translate into in symbolic, mathematical terms?"

In other words, don't go with the flow when that flow fights against the way that your child actually understands concepts. Work WITH it, and then figure out how to get to the place that the teacher is wanting to see. smile

~Mom to math major and tutor extraordinaire, who LOVES word problems and applications problems of all kinds.


Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.