Contextualization

Addition and subtraction are basic mathematical operations learned in the early years of school life. Understanding these concepts and being able to apply them appropriately is essential for students' academic and daily development. Although simple, these basic operations form the basis for understanding more advanced and complex mathematical concepts.

In addition, we learn about the elements known as addends and the sum. Suppose we have the operation 3 + 2 = 5. In this equation, 3 and 2 are the addends that when added together result in 5, which is the sum. Similarly, in subtraction, we learn about the minuend, subtrahend, and the remainder. In the operation 5 - 2 = 3, for example, 5 is the minuend, 2 is the subtrahend, and 3 is the result or the remainder of the subtraction.

Introduction

The ability to perform addition and subtraction calculations is constantly used in our daily activities, such as shopping, budgeting, calculating distances and time, among others. However, we often do not realize the extent and depth of the application of these operations in more complex areas such as engineering, exact sciences, economics, programming, among others.

Therefore, it is crucial that the basis for understanding these operations be solid and clear. Our activity suggestion seeks to reinvigorate the way mathematics is taught and learned, by adopting a playful and practical approach that facilitates the understanding of concepts and stimulates teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving in diverse situations.

We recommend the following resources for research and further study on the topic:

• Book "Elementary School Mathematics: Volume 1" by Gelson Iezzi. This book addresses the basic concepts of mathematics in a didactic and engaging way.
• Khan Academy website. The platform has several educational videos and interactive practices on addition and subtraction (www.khanacademy.org).
• YouTube channel "Matemática Rio com Prof. Rafael Procopio", which has a series of videos on addition and subtraction for Elementary School.

Practical Activity

Activity Title: "The Candy Store of Operations"

Project Objective:

This project seeks to facilitate the understanding and practice of the concepts of addition and subtraction through a playful, practical, and engaging activity. The objective is that at the end of the project, students will be able to apply the operations of addition and subtraction efficiently, understanding the components of these operations, and also developing socio-emotional skills such as time management, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and creative thinking.

Detailed Project Description:

Students will simulate the management of a candy store. This includes creating an inventory, calculating the cost of products, managing sales, and accounting for profits and losses. In practice, the activity will teach students to apply addition and subtraction concepts, as well as develop basic economics, teamwork, and time management skills.

Each group will be responsible for its own store, will have an initial fictitious inventory with a predetermined number of each type of candy, and a starting capital. The groups will have to manage inventory replenishment, calculate costs, revenues, and profits.

Materials Required:

• Paper and pen for recording.
• Accounting material (can be a notebook or loose sheets).
• Inventory making material (shoe boxes or small containers).
• Fictional candies (can be made of colored paper).

Step by Step to Carry out the Activity:

1. Divide students into groups of 3 to 5 members.
2. Define the quantity of fictitious candies and the initial capital of each group.
3. Students will create their store, giving it a name and creating its visual identity.
4. The groups must prepare the initial inventory and record it in the accounting material.
5. Over several weeks (we recommend at least four weeks), students should make fictitious sales to other groups, calculate the cost of inventory replenishment, calculate the profit or loss, and record all transactions.
6. Students should experiment with different prices for products in order to maximize profit.
7. At the end of the activity, each group must prepare a report detailing all the calculations, strategies used, difficulties encountered, solutions, and learnings.

Project Deliverables:

1. Store Inventory: Students will create and manage a fictitious candy inventory for the store. This is an excellent addition and subtraction exercise because they will need to add and subtract inventory items as they sell and buy new products.

2. Sales and Profit Report: Students will keep a sales record, calculate the profit or loss, and record all transactions. This is another practical exercise where they can put their addition and subtraction skills into practice.

3. Final Report: Students must prepare a final report, in the format of introduction, development, conclusions, and bibliography. In this report, they will contextualize the theme, explain the theory behind the central themes of the project, explain the activity in detail, indicate the methodology used, present and discuss the results obtained. The conclusion of the report should summarize its main points, explain the learnings obtained, and the conclusions drawn about the project. The bibliography should indicate the sources used, such as books, websites, videos, etc.