Teaching word problems is often the most challenging part of the curriculum for a math teacher. The Math Word problems are hard, two-step word problems are even harder, and teaching how to solve them might be the most challenging skill. The worst part about it is there is nothing you can do about it. Word problems are in every math program, in every grade, and they are an essential skill that students must master to survive in our world.
Here are few tips and tricks for teaching math word problems!
Step by step approach on how teach word problem to the students at Aristo Kids :
- Ask to read the word problem and tell the students to focus on what is happening in the word problem.
- Ask to reread the word problem and this time as to focus on what the word problem is asking us.
- Ask student to retell the math word problem in their own words.
- As student to restate the question into a sentence with a blank for the answer (this really ensures we know what the question is asking us).
- Give the student 1-2 minutes of private think time to think about how they will solve the problem.
- Then give the student another 3-5 minutes of independent time to solve the problem. While student is solving the problem, monitor his/her understanding, ask guiding questions, and look for examples to share.
- Ask student to share what he/she thinks the answer is, how to get the answer, how to know it is correct, and then plug it into his/her sentence (from step 4) and see if it makes sense.
