Exemplars
Ollie Owls’ Food Court
Ollie the Owl is opening a new food court in his local mall that will entice his
fellow owl buddies. He is planning on having seven restaurants in his food
court, and already has seven restaurant owners ready to move in. The
problem is, Ollie now has to decide how much rent to charge each of the
restaurant owners for the space they have in his court. McMole’s owner said
he used to pay $1,100.00 a month for a similarly sized space in a mall close by,
so Ollie agreed to that price. If Ollie charges each of the other restaurant
owners a rent in proportion to McMole’s, how much should each restaurant
owner pay each month for rent?
Write a letter to Ollie telling him how much he should charge each restaurant
owner and how you made your determinations.
Exemplars
TM
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800-450-4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court
- Page 1-
Exemplars
Grade Level 3–5
Ollie Owls’ Food Court
Ollie the Owl is opening a new food court in his local mall that will entice his fellow owl
buddies. He is planning on having seven restaurants in his food court, and already has seven
restaurant owners ready to move in. The problem is, Ollie now has to decide how much rent to
charge each of the restaurant owners for the space they have in his court. McMole’s owner said
he used to pay $1,100.00 a month for a similarly sized space in a mall close by, so Ollie agreed to
that price. If Ollie charges each of the other restaurant owners a rent in proportion to McMole’s,
how much should each restaurant owner pay each month for rent?
Write a letter to Ollie telling him how much he should charge each restaurant owner and how
you made your determinations.
Context
In science class, students had been dissecting owl pellets that contained the animal skeletons
mentioned above. Before doing this task, students did Quilting Quandary, a 6–8 task. I wanted
to see how students would apply the skills learned in reviewing that task to this new task.
What This Task Accomplishes
This task allows students to develop their spatial sense and reasoning. It allows them to practice
interpreting a remainder, see the relationship between measurement and geometry, and
understand how the concept of congruent shapes can be applied.
Time Required for Task
45– 60 minutes
Interdisciplinary Links
As mentioned, this task was done when students were dissecting owl pellets in science class.
The task helped to reinforce the diet of owls. The task could be adapted to fit other content area
units as well.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 2–
Exemplars
Teaching Tips
Most students will begin by noticing that Shrew Burger should be charged the same rent as
McMole’s since the shapes are congruent and are merely a reflection of each other. The students
then begin dividing McMole’s into 3 equal parts, and soon see how those parts can be used to
determine the value of the other shapes (see possible solutions). When dividing McMole’s rent,
students realize the need to use approximate answers. Some students organized their work by
color–coding, while others used diagrams with arrows. A few students measured McMole’s to
determine the area, and then divided to get the cost–per–square centimeter, and applied that
knowledge in determining the other values.
For students who would find this task to be too much of a challenge, I created a simpler version
that eliminates the need to round, and the number of shapes that need to be found:
Ollie the Owl is opening a new food court in his local mall that will entice his fellow owl buddies.
He is planning on having five restaurants in his food court, and already has five restaurant owners
ready to move in. The problem is Ollie now has to decide how much rent to charge each of the
restaurant owners for the space they have in his court. McMole’s owner said he used to pay
$1,200.00 a month for a similarly sized space in a mall close by, so Ollie agreed to that price. If
Ollie charges each of the other restaurant owners a rent in proportion to McMole’s, how much
should each restaurant owner pay each month for rent?
Suggested Materials
Crayons, square centimeter grids on transparencies that students can lay over the diagram, rulers,
calculators, and scissors.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 3–
Exemplars
Possible Solutions
Shrew Burgers: $1,100.00
Dear Mouse Delights and Creeping Vole’s Deli: 1100÷3 = $366.60 or $367.00
Townshend Eatery and Bendire Shrew’s Italian Cuisine: $367.00 x 2 = $734.00
House of Mouse: $367.00 x 10 = $3,670.00
Benchmark Descriptors
Novice
The novice will not have an approach that will work for the problem and finds solutions
that are not close to the actual proportional rent. The novice will use little or no math
language to communicate the solution, and the solution will lack reasoning.
Apprentice
The apprentice will find an approach, but that approach will not lead to an accurate
solution. The apprentice will have a workable strategy for finding some, but not all, of the
rents. The apprentice will use some basic math language to communicate and may label
the diagram presented in the task.
Practitioner
The practitioner will find an approach that will lead to finding the correct amounts of rent
that should be charged in proportion to McMole’s. The practitioner will use accurate and
appropriate math language to communicate the solution, and will use correct mathematical
reasoning.
Expert
The expert will find an approach that will lead to finding the correct amounts of rent that
should be charged in proportion to McMole’s. The expert will use precise math language
such as appropriately using terms like area, congruent and proportion. The expert will
create an additional mathematical representation in which to display data. The expert will
explain her/his correct reasoning, and will make mathematically relevant observations
about the solution.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 4–
Exemplars
Author
Carol McNair teaches grade 6 at the Camel’s Hump Middle School in Richmond, Vermont. She
has worked as the mathematics assessment consultant for the Vermont Department of
Education’s Portfolio assessment program, and acts as a consultant to school districts and to
publishing companies. She is also the editor of Math Exemplars.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 5–
Exemplars
Novice
It is
unclear how the
student arrived
at these prices.
It is unclear
what the student is
doing here.
The student attempts
to go beyond the
requirements of the task but
uses incorrect information.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 6–
Exemplars
Novice (cont.)
This comment is not correct,
showing a lack of reasoning.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
This amount does not have a
mathematical basis.
– Page 7–
The student
neglects to add the two
extra triangles and
multiplies by eight
instead of ten.
Exemplars
Apprentice
Much of this student’s
solution is correct.
All work is
documented.
The student explains his/her
approach and some reasoning.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 8–
Exemplars
Practitioner
The student rounds the House of
Mouse to the nearest $10, which is
inconsistent with the other rounding
s/he did, but is not considered to be
incorrect.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
The student clearly explains
his/her approach and reasoning.
– Page 9–
Exemplars
Practitioner (cont.)
The student accurately
labels the diagram.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 10–
Exemplars
Practitioner (cont.)
The student
summarizes his/her
results.
The student uses
appropriate symbolic
notation.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 11–
Exemplars
Expert
The student accurately labels
the diagram and shows supporting
computation.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 12–
Exemplars
Expert (cont.)
Approach and
reasoning are
explained.
Precise math
language is used to
communicate.
Results are
summarized.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 13–
Exemplars
Expert (cont.)
The student
uses variables and
other sophisticated
notation.
All work
is shown.
Exemplars
271 Poker Hill Rd., Underhill, VT 05489
Phone 800–450–4050
Ollie Owl’s Food Court (cont.)
– Page 14–