Action Card 2
Combine your pennies with your partner's pennies. Pair them all up! Can you write an equal addends model for your combined sum?
Team Model: __ + __ = Total
Action Card 3
Double your number of pennies! Is your new sum ALWAYS an even number? Prove it to your partner with two equal rows!
Any number doubled is ALWAYS even!
Action Card 4
If you have an odd number of pennies, take away the 1 leftover penny! What is your new even number? Write the model.
Odd - 1 = Even Number
24 Coin Tokens for Physical Pairing
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
1¢
Penny Pairs Rally • Printable Game Cards Deck Page 2 of 2
Penny Pairs Rally • Teacher Guide Guide Page 1 of 2
Teacher Scripts, Key Mathematical Misconceptions, and Scoring Key
Instructional Support
Testing for Equal Teams:
"When we say an even number can be split into equal addends, what does each addend represent?"
Target Answer: Each addend is the number of pennies in one of the two equal rows!
Explaining the Odd Remainder:
"If an odd number has 1 penny left over without a partner, why can't we write it as two equal whole addends?"
Target Answer: Because one row would have 1 more than the other (e.g. 5 and 6), which are NOT equal!
| Misconception | What the Student Does | Teacher Intervention |
|---|---|---|
| Unequal Addends for Even | Writes 10 + 2 = 12 instead of 6 + 6 = 12. | Remind students the prompt says "equal addends". Point to the two equal physical rows of pennies. |
| Only Looking at First Digit | Thinks 14 is odd because 1 is odd. | Pair all 14 pennies! Show that the ones place (4) decides whether the whole group pairs evenly. |
| Thinking Zero is Odd | Believes 0 or 20 ending in 0 has no partner. | Demonstrate that 20 splits cleanly into 10 + 10 with 0 remainder. Zero leftovers means even! |
All Cards & Finale
Card A (6 Pennies) EVEN • 0 left
Model: 3 + 3 = 6
Card B (7 Pennies) ODD • 1 leftover
Model: 3 + 3 + 1 = 7
Card C (10 Pennies) EVEN • 0 left
Model: 5 + 5 = 10
Card D (11 Pennies) ODD • 1 leftover
Model: 5 + 5 + 1 = 11
Card E (12 Pennies) EVEN • 0 left
Model: 6 + 6 = 12
Card F (14 Pennies) EVEN • 0 left
Model: 7 + 7 = 14
Card G (16 Pennies) EVEN • 0 left
Model: 8 + 8 = 16
Card H (20 Pennies) EVEN • 0 left
Model: 10 + 10 = 20
Rally Champion Challenge Solution: Maya's 18 pennies divide into 2 rows of 9 pennies each with 0 left over.
9 + 9 = 18
Support: Have students place pennies directly on a 2-column ten-frame to physically see pairs align.
Extension: Challenge students to test sums above 20 (e.g. 24, 30) using tens and ones parity patterns.
Penny Pairs Rally • Teacher Guide Guide Page 2 of 2
