![Headline Story](https://elementarymath.edc.org/wp-content/uploads/Headline-Story-584-300x195.png)
Click to enlarge
Introduction
Share the Headline Story with the class. Pose questions such as, “What is the biggest number Midge could be thinking of?” or “What is the smallest number?”
Headline Story
Midge is thinking of a two-digit number. Its tens digit is larger than its ones digit.
Possible student responses
- We cannot guess the number for sure, but it could be 52, or 63, or 21, or…
- It can’t be 24, or 59, or 45, or …
- The biggest it can be is 98.
- The smallest it can be is 10.
- If the tens digit is 1, the ones digit has to be 0, but if the tens digit is 2, the ones digit can be 0 or 1, and if the tens digit is 9, the ones digit can be anything but 9.