Word problems can be tough! All of us have had problems with them at some point in our lives. However, there are so many new strategies and helpful hints that students can use to help them figure it out! When you are reviewing word problems with your child, it is important to encourage them to use the following strategies if they are having trouble. Or, they could be encouraged to create their own strategy. There is no one right way to do a word problem! They can explore different strategies and find the one that works best for them!
Source: University of Pennsylvania
- Guess and Check: Students make a reasonable estimate of the answer, check to see if it satisfies the problem, and continuously adjust their answer until it is correct.
- Find A Pattern: Students look for a pattern within a group of numbers, shapes or other objects. Then they apply the pattern to a new situation.
- Draw A Picture: Students create a picture that illustrates the problem that they are working with. This picture, in turn, allows the student to solve the problem.
- Highlight the Clue Words: As students are working through a word problem, they can highlight any clue word that they see that may help them solve the problem. You can find a helpful chart of them below.
These are just some of the many strategies that students can use to solve word problems. Because we have been working with word problems a lot in class, I believe it is important for the students to work on them at home as well.
The list above are also some helpful CLUE WORDS that students can use to try to figure out how they can solve the word problems. This is one of our classroom bulletin boards. Students can also find this in their math journal.
Another great article that gives some different kinds of strategies is this one from:
Source: A.James Clark School of Engineering
Six rules that are important in the solution of word
problems are as follows:
Rule # 1: Look at the numbers, but concentrate on the
words
Rule # 2: Look for clue
words that identify mathematical operations
Rule # 3: Look at the units of the variables and
quantities identified in the statement
Rule # 4: Look at
descriptive words that might suggest a relationship
Rule # 5: Look for indicators of variables and when they
are evident, assign a name and a notation to them
Rule # 6: Know where you want to end up
As you can see from both of these articles, the strategies are similar and can cross multiple types of word problems. Ultimately, your child needs to figure out what strategy works best for them. These articles are just some of the strategies that you can suggest for your child if they seem like they are having trouble. Each of these articles gives key strategies, examples, and ideas for solving word problems in different ways.
Below are some word problems that students can use to practice for each
of the different mathematical concepts that we introduce in class.
1. You and two friends are ready to share your birthday cake. Just before you cut the cake, a 4th friend comes to join you. Show and explain what you will do.
2. Your Uncle gave you a gift certificate for $50.00. You are going to try to spend every penny! Your
choices are: Movie Passes: $12.00, Arcade Passes $14.00, Recreation Passes: $22.00. What will you
buy to come as close as possible to spending all of your $50.00?
3. J had a specific number of pumpkins. His friend Bob came and game him 4 more. All together, J had 10 pumpkins. How many pumpkins did J start with? Hint: Try plugging in some of the numbers into the equation below.
African Safari Word Story: This printable is a worksheet complete with an answer key that incorporates Algebraic Thinking and Data Analysis into one project.
3rd Grade Word Problems: Check out this site for a quick mini quiz to test your skills!
Math Mystery Maven's : Students are given word problem mysteries that they can solve. It's a fun way to work with word problems!
Math Mystery Maven's : Students are given word problem mysteries that they can solve. It's a fun way to work with word problems!
