A Valentines Bouquet

You’re a florist, and you want to create a special bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s Day. You want to sell the bouquet for around $12.00, with an arrangement of flowers that costs you around $6.00.

Subject: Problem Solving; Mathematics
Topics:
- Decimal operations
- Think Backwards
- Identify the Variables
- Solve a Simpler Problem
Grades: 2 - 8 (depending on problem-solving strategy chosen, see below)
Knowledge and Skills:
- Can choose the correct operations in solving a problem
- Can apply the problem-solving strategy "think backwards"
- Can apply the problem-solving strategy "identify the variables"
- Can explain the reasoning used to solve a problem
- Can evaluate whether an answer to a problem is sensible in the context of the problem
- Can add and subtract decimal numbers
- Can multiply and divide decimal numbers
- Can solve simple one-variable algebraic equations (optional)

Download Activity: A Valentines Bouquet (PDF)

Problem Solving Movie:

Flowers by the MillionsFlowers by the Millions

You buy a dozen roses - he buys 3 million! Plus 1,250 sunflowers, 4,000 irises, and 5,000 calla lilies. In fact, he buys more than 100 million flowers a year. Introduce your students to someone who works with really big numbers.
Running time 5:05 minutes.

Watch the Movie