Teaching how to solve word problems is a huge standard in upper elementary math classes. Students have to be able to read the words and figure out what they need to do in order to solve the problems. Sometimes the word problems are straightforward and other times, students really have to think about the best way to go about solving them. The six steps I’m sharing with you today will help change the way students tackle word problems forever with any math skill they’re dealing with.
6 Steps for Teaching How to Solve Word Problems
Step #1: Read the entire word problem.
When teaching how to solve word problems, students first need to start by reading the word problem entirely before they begin to solve. Reading it fully once will allow them to not immediately start solving the problem and just figure out the context.
You will have to remind students to actually read it and not jump straight into solving several times because this doesn’t come naturally. However, they will eventually get the hang of just reading first.
Step #2: Rewrite the question as a statement.
After reading the word problem entirely, students should think about the question it is asking and rewriting it as a statement. This will help students to be able to practice restating the question to show their final answer when they have finished solving the word problem.
Step #3: Who or what is the problem about?
Sometimes word problems have multiple subjects in them and this can stump students because they aren’t able to decide what numbers go with which subjects. I like to start the year with giving students choices between two of the subjects in the word problem to choose from so they make sure that their label is correct when they write their final answer. When we have gotten more familiar with word problems, students are then writing their own subjects.
Step #4: Draw Your Model
When teaching how to solve word problems, we start by discussing what operation will be used. Then we figure out what type of model will work best for solving. These could be number bonds, arrays, number lines, etc. Students will be able to draw whatever model is necessary and works best for them with solving the word problem.
Step #5: Write Your Equation and Solve
After going through the other steps, we are ready to solve the word problem. Students will determine the equation that fits the model that they drew and the context of the word problem. They will be able to also solve the problem using what they know about the operations and the model that they used.
Step #6: Check Your Work and Write the Final Answer
Students will learn how to check their work by doing the inverse or repeating the problem to ensure they have correctly figured it out. They will then write their final answer by plugging it into the statement that they rewrote the question as in Step #2.
Again, you will want to remind students to do this periodically because they will think that just solving the problem is enough. Remind them that plugging it into the sentence frame they created previously will give context to what they were answering.
Free Posters – 6 Step Framework
If you want to start implementing the 6 Step Framework for teaching how to solve word problems, click here and I’ll send you the posters I hang in my classroom to remind my students of the steps.
Looking for resources to use with your students to solve word problems?
Calculating Volume Word Problems Task Cards
Multiplication Word Problems Printable Maze Activity
