Tackling word problems in your math classes

 How to help your students master word problems


Children hate word problems. In the current methods of teaching mathematics, there are very few pointers to approach a word problem.There is no specific method to solve the different types of the statement sums or word problems. If the child understands how to read the problem and understand what operation he or she needs to do, then the learning is perfect. To get to that situation, the teacher needs to grasp all the methods to solve the different types of questions and make the student aware of these methods.


In general, most schools do not emphasize this part in class. They don't teach the students how to break down the question into parts so that the students could understand what they are expected to do.


Reading and Comprehension


English reading skills are one of the most important facets of this exercise. If the child knows vocabulary and meanings , we can be confident that he or she can read the question fully and try to decipher the meaning. So the parent needs to build their kids' reading skills. It helps if either of the parents has a reading habit. Please exhort the parents of this fact at every PTM.



Types of word problems


There are various types of word problems. Broadly they can be divided in to


  1. Single step  word problems


Single step word problems are where the data is given and there is just one operation to do. If you identify the correct operation, then you get the correct solution.


  1. Multi-step  word problems


Multi step word problems are usually where two or more operations would be expected of the student. The data from the first operation usually feeds the second operation. 



Both of these can be further divided as

  1. Add to

  2. Take from

  3. Part, whole

  4. Compare


In each of these categories ,there are three different ways to form a question


  1. Result unknown

  2. Start unknown

  3. Change unknown


An Add to question with Result unknown will be like this:

  1. There were 4 birds in a tree. 2 more flew in. Now how many birds are there?

  2. If there were 7 cycles , then how many wheels are there altogether?


A take from question with the start unknown could be:

  1. There were some ducks in the pond. 5 flew away. Now there are 2 left. How many were there before they flew away?

  2. Suman had some money in her account at  the bank. She spent 5300 RS in shopping. Now she has 1200 RS left. How much did she have before shopping?



So the teacher can use these methods to make the children look for the type of question. As the children practice more and more, they identify the question types easily.


What is the student expected to do


Another important point is the skill to identify the type of operation. To facilitate this, the teacher can do some specific strategies . Though the students may not adapt to this method, in time, they lose the fear of tackling such problems.


  1. In every class, based on the current concept, formulate a word problem connecting with the child's day to day activities.

  2. When teachers do this regularly, the children develop a mindset for a word problem automatically.

  3. For younger children, math riddles work beautifully.

  4. Choose problems which ask them to identify the type of operation like multiply or divide.

  5. The children will usually be daunted by a challenging question. Making a game out of the word problem will effectively take the fear out of facing such questions. 



Breaking it down


For each word problem, the thought process should involve these steps:


  1. Read the question

  2. The plan to solve

  1. What do I know

  2. What do I need to know

  3. How to solve

      3) Solve the question

  1. How can I show my thinking

  2. Is there another way to solve

      4)  Checking the answer

  1. How can I check if my answer is correct?

  2. Does the answer make sense


The teacher should be aware of the child's reading l

and comprehension level before proceeding to help the child. She can assist in reading or she can assist in the understanding based on it. Most children lose focus as soon as they see that the question is very long. The teacher has to be patient and break down the question into parts. 


How to make it easy


Another common method to solve word problems is the bar model method. In this method, the teacher asks the children to draw a rectangle and depict the given values in the figure. Based on the question, the figure will vary. 



No matter which method the student uses, comprehension of the question depends on their English vocabulary and the amount of practice they have done in class. For a given problem, the first step is always reading the question twice. After that part is done, now revisit the question to underline the numbers given. Then circle the keywords to identify the operation. By this time , the child would have understood the question and what he needs to do. He or she can proceed to find the answer helped with cues from the teacher. Once the student finds the answer, he or she needs to verify the answer. The teacher can cue various strategies.


Relating with real life


One of the strategies the teacher can use is to relate the problem to a real life situation that the student usually goes through. Ask them if such a problem arises, how will they solve or how their mom or Dad would solve. Ask them to write steps neatly and arrange the lines. Find the solution showing the steps and write the answer in a complete sentence with units of the value. Prove that their answer is correct by verifying.The teacher needs to make sure her student applies these strategies in all exams. 




Justify your  answer in Math



  1. Label your work to make it clear.

  2.  Show all of your work This will be your evidence  Models and Equations

  3. All steps taken to solve the problem

  4. Explain how you got your answer in writing

                 First I. . . then. . .then l... Finally.

      5) Explain why you chose an operation.

            that is ,  Why subtracted/added/multiplied/divided 

      6)  Explain how you know your answer is correct

     I   know my answer is correct because.

      7) My model shows my answer is correct because

      8) Show that your answer is correct with multiple representations.

Use more than one model to show your answer is correct.

.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some facts about square numbers and their roots.

Image
Squares and roots  When a number or integer (not a fraction) is multiplied by itself, the resultant is called a 'Square Number' . For example, 3 multiplied by 3 is equal to 3-squared or 3 x 3 = 3 2 . Some interesting facts  This particular collection of numbers are called square numbers (or squared numbers) for the simple reason that they form the area of a square. As squares have equal sides, finding the area is simple – just “square” (multiply by itself) one of its sides! As we know that all the perfect square number ends with  1,4,9,6,5,0. So, a number having 2,3,7 or 8 at unit's place is never a perfect square. 1. The square numbers end in 0, 1, 4, 5, 6 or 9 only. 2. If a number ends with 1 or 9, its square ends with 1. 3. If a number ends with 2 or 8, its square ends with 4. 4. If a number ends with 3 or 7, its square ends with 9. 5. If a number ends with 4 or 6, its square ends with 6. 6. If a number ends with 5 or 0, its square also ends with 5 or 0, re...
Read more

Multiplication in a breeze

Image
It is a difficult task to introduce multiplication to younger kids. Over the years I have found that some methods work better than others.  Let us go back to the hundred chart once again. If you remember the hundred chart, we can use it to skip count early multiplication tables. So in this  way, we can do skip count by 2, 5 and 10 first. If the child catches the pattern, you can go upto 20 on skip by 2.  After that make him or her understand that through finger counting. For example, 2 x 1 = 2, Use the pinky finger to say 2, then ring finger to say 4 etc. Writing in a book.  Then comes writing it in a book. Each time let the child count forward skipping by 2 and write that down in a book.  5 tables  Now you know the pattern. Count again in fingers through 5, 10, 15 etc. You can show  how to write through 5 counting numbers, you can fill some numbers and make the student fill the rest. There are so many innovative ways to think. 10 tables Sa...
Read more

Some fun games for your math class

It is always fun to start a game in class, especially your offline class. The prospect of game energizes the whole class and you will get added benefit of every kid involved no matter what their age.  Here are some games to try.  Interesting fun fact with number 4. A nice game to play with your students of grade 2 and above.  Ask them to write the biggest number name they know.  For example  One hundred ninety nine. Count how many letters it has. The above number has 20. Ask them to write the number name of 20 and count the letters in it   Twenty. It has six letters. Now six has three letters. Three has five letters. Five has four letters.  Four has four letters. Game ends.  Let us try another number name . Thirty nine.   Count how many letters.  Ten letters. Ten has three letters. Three has five letters. Five has four letters.  Four has four letters.  Game over.  So as you can see, no matter how big the number n...
Read more