Some problems are hard because the arithmetic is hard. Others only look hard because every fact arrived in one lump.
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Teach students to sort the information before trying to solve the problem. The main habit is simple: what do I know, and what do I need to find?
Classifying means sorting information into useful groups. It belongs in the Explore step of the four-step problem-solving plan: Explore, Plan, Solve, Examine.
Students should understand that not every number or fact in a word problem is necessarily needed. Before choosing an operation, they first need to understand what information they have and what the problem is asking them to find.
🚨 Students often see numbers and immediately start calculating. Have them stop and ask: does this fact help me answer the question? The goal is to understand the problem before choosing an operation.
Before allowing any math, have the student make two lists. The first is What I Know, where they write the facts the problem gives them. The second is What I Need to Find, where they write exactly what the problem is asking them to figure out.
Once those two lists are clear, move to Plan and decide what to do with the information.
Proverbs 18:13 warns about answering a matter before hearing it. The same principle applies here: understand before you answer.
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Before You Start
The words this lesson uses. Tap a card to see what it means, then come back to them whenever a question uses one.
Part One
Questions about the story you just read. Pick your answer straight off, or press Find it in the story if you would rather hunt for the sentence first.
Part Two
The word cards are at the top of this page. Look back at them as often as you need, then answer.