The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to the structure of the MLR4 Information Gap routine (also Info Gap routine). This routine facilitates meaningful interactions by positioning some students as holders of information that is needed by other students.

Tell students that first a demonstration will be conducted with the whole class, in which the class plays the role of the person holding the problem card. Explain to students that it is the job of the person holding the problem card (in this case, the whole class) to think about what information they need to answer the question.

For each question that is asked, students are expected to explain what they will do with the information, by responding to the question, “Why do you need to know _____ [that piece of information]?” If the person holding the problem card asks for information that is not on the data card (including the answer!), then the person holding the data card must respond with, “I don’t have that information.” In explaining their answers, students need to be precise in their word choice and use of language (MP6).

Once the students have enough information to solve the problem, they solve the problem independently.

The Info Gap routine requires students to make sense of problems by determining what information is necessary and asking for the information they need to solve them. This may take several rounds of discussion if their first requests do not yield the information they need (MP1).

• Invite 1 or 2 students to share how they solved the problem.
• “Which questions helped you find out how many chairs were in the room?” (How many chairs were in the corner? How many chairs were in each row? How many rows were there?)
• If there were any questions that the data card cannot answer, discuss them here.

This "Info Gap" activity gives students an opportunity to determine and request information needed to solve a two-step problem that involves multiplication.

The Info Gap structure requires students to make sense of problems by determining what information is necessary, and then to ask for the information they need to solve them. This may take several rounds of discussion if their first requests do not yield the information they need (MP1). It also allows them to refine the language they use and ask increasingly more precise questions until they get the information they need (MP6).

Here is an image of the cards for reference:

• “What kinds of questions were the most useful to ask?”
• Select 1 or 2 students to share different strategies used to solve one of the problems. Try to feature a student-drawn tape diagram.
• Consider asking:
  • “Did anyone solve the problem in a different way?”
  • “Did anyone use a tape diagram?”
  • “How did you know if your answer made sense?”
  • “How could we represent the second problem with an equation, using a letter for the unknown quantity?” ( )