The class notices trash piling up beside the swings. Which problem-solving step is that?

Why should a class gather information before it lists choices?

Guessing is a good way to gather information about a problem.

Room 4 has listed three ways to keep the hallway quiet. What should the group do next?

Plan A needs 10 helpers. Plan B needs 2 helpers. The class has only 3 helpers. Which plan should the class pick?

Students want facts about how much water the school garden needs. What is the best way to find out?

In problem solving, what are options?

In a chart of choices, what does an advantage tell you?

New trash bins would cost a lot of money. In a chart of choices, that cost is what?

A group should list more than one possible solution before it decides.

Two students want different games at recess. What is a fair way for the class to decide?

The class decided on a plan. What should students who wanted a different plan do?

Students wrote down how many bottles were recycled each day for a week. Which step is that?

A group made a chart of the good parts and bad parts of three plans. Which step is that?

A compromise means each side gives up a little so the group can agree.

One month later, the hallway is still noisy. What should the class do?

Students counted how many classmates bring lunch from home. Those counts give the class ___.

Room 2 just named a problem with the lost-and-found pile. A student says to pick a plan now. What should the group do first?

Half the class wants a morning cleanup and half wants an afternoon cleanup. What is a fair next step?

Students have finished collecting facts about the crowded coat hooks. What comes next?

Two weeks after the new coat hook plan started, students count the coats left on the floor. Which step is that?

Asking only one student is enough to learn what the whole class thinks.

The class wants to know what most third graders want for field day. What is the best way to find out?

Students will ask the principal for a new bike rack. What should they bring to the meeting?

One student's idea got the fewest hands, but she still wants it tried. What should the class do?

Students are still arguing about which lunchroom problem to work on. Which step must they finish first?

A problem is something a group wants to change or fix.

Room 5 keeps a record of hallway noise before and after its plan. Why does the class do this?

Students wrote six ideas on the board without judging any of them yet. Which step is that?

What makes a solution a good choice for a class?

Everyone in a group should get a chance to share an idea before the group decides.

Two groups disagree about where to put the class garden. What should they do first?

Students compare two plans for the class garden. Which question are they asking?

A group filled in a chart of good parts and bad parts for each plan. What should the group do next?

When a group first lists options, it should stop and argue about each idea.

Students want less mud by the door, so they count muddy footprints for three days. What did counting give them?

Why is it helpful to think of more than one solution?

A student says one plan would be unfair to younger children. When should the class talk about that?

The class wants facts about how the lunchroom is cleaned. Who is the best person to ask?

After a month, the class finds the new bins cut hallway trash in half. What does that show?