Two stories, same numbers:
Story A: 9 swallows sat on the wire and 4 flew away.
Story B: Niamh has 9 stickers. Cian has 4. How many more has Niamh?
Hands up: same kind of story, or two different kinds?
Three stories. Each one already has jumps drawn on a number line.
Take-away means some leave or are used up.
Difference means we compare two amounts: how many more, or how far apart.
Look at where the jumps start and where they land. For each story, decide: did some leave, or are we comparing two amounts?
Same numbers can tell two different stories, and both write with −.
Today we explore stories on the number line. For each story, first say: did some leave (take-away), or are we comparing (difference)? Then show the jumps on the number line.
We will try:
Look at the board: 9 swallows sat on the wire and 4 flew away.
The matching sentence looks like this: 9 − 4 = 5.
In your maths copy, write that full sentence with − and =.
Today we work through these story sentences together:
For each one, say take-away or difference first, then show the jumps and check.
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