Word Problems-Now What?

The first step in TEACHING your kiddos word problems is making sure you are familiar with the different types so you can help your students understand them.  Here's a quick review of the types.

Add To-have an action that adds something (ex. friends at a table and more join)

Take From-have an action where something is taken away (ex. birds in a tree and some fly away)

Put Together/Take Apart-Add or take away parts from a whole (ex.boys and girls in a class)

Compare-Compares the difference between 2 given sets (chocolate chip vs. peanut butter)

Now, how to teach these to your students.  Pick a type and start familiarizing them with the language of the problem type. Yes, I said use the names of the problem types with them. Now I know this can be scary at first when the kiddos look at you like you've grown 3 heads (especially in kindergarten) but don't give up!  Over time, they will become familiar with the vocabulary of the different types and the problem type is what actually helps them to understand the words in the problems.

Before jumping into word problems, I always make sure I've already been working on the concepts of adding, subtracting, part-part-whole and comparing (more about that later). Also, I make sure we've used a part-part-whole model with bars with basic computation since it's my personal model of choice for working with word problems. You can use number bonds and other models, but I choose to stick with the bar model for my students because it works with all the primary problem types and can be used for upper grades problems too-so to me it's the universal model for word problems.

Here's how I teach each problem type.

1) Teach the concept behind the problem type (K/1/2).

2) Practice the problem type with numberless word problems using labels and a model (1/2 grade)

3) Practice the problem type with the unknown in each position (as stated by your standards).

Let me explain...

Teach the Concept

In other words, they have to understand what happens to numbers when you add or take things away. This is where the manipulatives come out.  I read aloud several word problems and have the kiddos really act them out using cubes, counters, etc.  In 2nd grade this helps my students make the connection between the concrete and the representational form. I did this same thing in 1st but spent more time on the concrete before moving to the representational (on paper) form.  

It might look like this for an add to problem.  I read aloud, "There were 7 cubes on the desk.  The teacher walks by and puts 3 more cubes on the desk.  How many cubes are on the desk now?"  As I read the problem aloud, the kids count out the cubes and act out the problem.  I usually show them the problem on the board and they practice listening to me read it, then they practice trying to read it themselves. As a class we discuss the important information in the word problems and practice marking it to show what is important.

Practice with Numberless Problems

If you've never used numberless word problems then I cannot begin to explain to you how powerful they are when teaching the problem types.  This is my "go to" strategy for those kiddos who struggle with word problems.  A numberless problem is just what it sounds like, you take a word problem and leave out the numbers.  I show the word problems on the projector screen then just delete the numbers. On some problems you'll need to adjust the wording a little bit so that it makes sense but oh my goodness, this forces the kiddos to make sense of  THE WORDS!  

Here's an example for a take from problem.  I read aloud, "There were some oranges on the kitchen counter. Mom came by and threw some of the oranges in the trash. How many oranges are left?" I have the children practice drawing a bar model and putting the labels in the correct place with NO NUMBERS.

Once they get good at no numbers, then we are ready to add in the numbers for the next step.

Practice Finding the Unknown

According to the state standards, in 2nd grade we teach the unknown in ALL positions for each type. This differs depending on your grade level so dig deep in your standards to know what is appropriate for your grade level.  Here's the breakdown based on the state standards for my area.

Kindergarten-Add To/Take From result unknown, Put Together/Take Apart total unknown and 2 addends unknown

1st Grade-Add To/Take From change unknown, Put Together/Take Apart addend unknown, Compare difference unknown

2nd Grade-Add To/Take From start unknown, Compare bigger unknown, compare smaller unknown

Here are some examples of what the final product might look like for each problem type.

So there you go!  This is how I teach the word problem types in my classroom and it works for me and my kiddos.