Additional tools and Classroom Ideas

This story can be used as a refresher on operations for students in fourth grade.

To encourage all types of learners, allow the students to use a whiteboard to solve problems and jot down information. When discussing the gold coins, pass out coin manipulatives that the students can use to aide their understanding.

In the faraway lands of southwestern China, there lived a mischievous red panda named Rosko. Rosko has a small body and a big poofy tail. His tail has 2 groups of red rings with three rings in each group. How many rings are on his tail?

Rosko prides himself on being the smallest red panda in all of China, his small size makes it easy to sneak into houses and steal shiny gold coins.

He loves to play with his loot. He stacks it in columns, rearranges it in groups, and he even fills his bathtub with them just to swim around.

One day when relaxing high up in a tree, he heard a loud noise. "What dares to disrupt my solitude?" he asked. Just then, his best friend, and partner in crime, Frankie the spotted forktail flew in and perched on the tree limb. Frankie has 8 black spots on each of his wings, 3 black dots on his belly, and 7 black spots on his tail. How many spots does Frankie have altogether?

"Rosko! We hit the jackpot! You will never believe what I just saw!" Frankie trilled. "I was going through my usual routine, you know bathing in the stream and talking to the ladies, when this magnificent wagon came speeding down the hill! It struck a boulder at the bottom and overturned. Lo and behold, it was the king's royal wagon and had all of his gold inside! We have to go before it gets all cleaned up!"

"No way! We have to get there super quick! I better grab my backpack!" exclaimed Rosko. The pair of thieves ran towards the scene of the accident. Rosko was galloping along the forest floor while Frankie flew through the trees. Slowly, the upset wagon came into view like a desert oasis. When the thieves got there, they had to act quickly. They heard humans in the distance.

Rosko threw his pack off his back and scooped in the gold coins. To keep the gold organized, Rosko put it in groups of 10. Frankie was the lookout. By the time Frankie gave the signal, Rosko estimated that he had 15 groups of coins. They quickly scurried back to Rosko's house. How much gold did Rosko steal?