Confession Time: when I realized that teaching math meant teaching word problems, I almost cried. Like on the verge of tears when I realized that my students would be looking to me to help them with word problems and looking at me to solve math word problems. Word Problems are a struggle no matter if you teach 3rd graders or 8th grade. Everyone hates application-type problems. But teaching how to solve math word problems doesn’t have to bring up that lump in your throat feeling.
Yes, you really can teach how to solve math word problems without tears!
Math Word Problems How To Solve with Growth Mindset
Teaching kids to solve math word problems requires a lot of patience and practice. Not going to lie, there isn’t a magic wand to wave that makes teaching how to solve word problems easy.
But there are strategies that can totally help you with teaching word problems!
At the beginning of the school year, I like to start off with growth mindset lessons. These lessons and activities serve as a resource and a foundation for us to refer back to as a class all year long. Seriously, if you aren’t starting off the year with a growth mindset, you are missing out.
I teach growth mindset at the beginning of the school year, like probably everybody else. But, I also review growth mindset all year long. Just like with any concept, students need a spiral review to keep up the conversation around a growth mindset.
I love incorporating books into my classroom, no matter what subject I teach. My favorite growth mindset books are linked below.
Bubble Gum Brain: hands down my favorite recommendation. I make a poster about bubble gum brain verse brick brain and keep it up all year. I also have a bubble gum brain wall of fame where students can catch each other having a bubble gum brain. Students will fill in a slip of pink paper and write the name, date, and what the other student said/did that showed a bubble gum brain. My students love catching each other persevering and it serves as a reminder to have that growth mindset.
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes
I also love these growth mindset activities that can be used year-round!
The Most Magnificent Thing Activity Pack: this is a great companion to the book!
Growth Mindset Coloring Banner: A fun and colorful way to decorate your room and remind students to persevere
Morning Meeting Activities: The perseverance pack inside this bundle is a great way to keep up a growth mindset. I use this set when I teach fractions so that students review this skill during one of the most challenging units in math.
Growth Mindset Flipbook and Bulletin Board Set: I use this resource to initially teach growth mindset at the beginning of the year.
I always make sure that we have a growth mindset lesson before we dive into how to solve math word problems. I am also honest with students and preface the lessons with a reminder that word problems may be difficult but that doesn’t mean we can’t do them.
Strategies for word problems
Now that we have created a strong foundation with a growth mindset, let’s move on to strategies for word problems! These strategies for teaching math word problems can work at any upper elementary or middle school grade so no matter if you have a grade change, rest assured that teaching word problems is somewhat universal. The content will change, but strategies for word problems can stay the same! Keep reading on how to teach word problems.
Solve Math Word Problems Regularly
Our brains are a muscle that needs to be worked so don’t just save word problems for 1 lesson in a unit. I try to sprinkle word problems throughout the units as spiral review and regular practice. If you are looking for math station rotation ideas, I have even had a solve math word problems station. I also have a blog post all about other math station rotation ideas so be sure to check that out here!
Acronym Strategies for Word Problems
There are SO MANY acronyms for helping students solve math word problems. CUBES is probably the most popular and one that I have used in every grade I’ve taught. You can also use a simple plan, solve, and check strategy. Sometimes acronyms work for students, but sometimes they don’t. I personally set up tables that look like this:
Having a structure is key to helping students know what they have, what they need, and a way to get there.
Math Word Problem Key Words
This is more of a trick than strategies for word problems but it is a common ‘strategy’ that teachers use. Create a chart or bulletin board with common keywords for different operations. You run into trouble if you only teach keywords because they don’t always work. Especially in the upper grades and anything with fractions, keywords don’t always help identify operations. They can also trick you more than helping you when you get into teaching 2 step word problems.
Share Sovling Strategies
This is one of the most powerful strategies for word problems because it shows students that there are different ways to solve one problem. From drawing pictures to using tables, to guessing and check, and equations, there are so many different ways to solve math word problems. Be sure to spend time sharing strategies so that students can see and know that there is more than 1 way to get an answer.
I usually make this a collaborative lesson and give a group of students a word problem. Each student gets a post-it note to solve. After a set amount of time, students share their strategies with their partners. We talk about the similarities and differences between strategies. Most importantly, there isn’t a right strategy or wrong strategy. There might be more efficient ways to solve a problem, but eventually, they can get to an answer. This is an important skill to teach ahead of state testing so that if students get stuck they can try to solve a word problem in a new way.
I also love to have a math anchor chart with different strategies that students can choose from. If you want more ideas for math posters be sure to check out this post.
Solve Math Word Problems, Then Check
Checking your work is so important but is often a step that is missed. Students finish solving and then circle their answers and move on. Start getting students in the habit of checking their answers and looking to see if it’s reasonable for the word problem. A checklist off to the side of word problem worksheets or an anchor chart with other strategies for word problems can help remind students to check their work.
Math word problems to solve: Numberless Word Problems
This is an easy strategy that students can use anytime, anywhere. Simply take a word problem and then remove the numbers. I usually use symbols or emojis in the number’s place. Then I ask students to solve the problem. Their answers sound something like “add 💚 and ✋ then divide by 😁 and take the reminder 🙊 and round up.” It always cracks me up but they start to get the hang of reading the word problem for what it is: a problem to solve. 😂
Solving Math Word Problems Made Fun
Now that you have some strategies for word problems, you need some math word problems to solve! I like having fun in my math classroom so I love using math learning centers, even in my 6th-grade classroom. Word problems make a great math station rotation idea and it doesn’t have to be complicated to start up!
I created a set of low prep math games that I leave as a station option year-round. Math games that are fun? Of course! This game has students choose a card and solve it. Then they look for their answer on the game board (bonus points, there are 3 levels of differentiation). They put their game piece on the answer and then keep solving. Once all the cards are used, the person farthest on the board wins!
This game has a few of my favorite things!
First, it’s low prep for me. All I have to do is print the game boards. Cut apart 1 page of cards and leave it as a station.
Second, every student is taking time to solve math word problems. They don’t have to wait their turn as their partner is solving.
Third, it’s self-checking! The answer to their word problem card is on the game board. So if students make a mistake, they know and will go back and solve it again.
Fourth, differentiation is easy! All 3 game boards use the same cards but the boards have a different number of answers to choose from. One board only has the answers (no decoys), another board has a few decoy answers, and the last board has over 20 decoy answers.
Click here to learn even more about this word problem game bundle!
Want to know more about how to incorporate math games into your 4th-6th grade classroom? Check out my free 5 part video series walking you through how to start math stations in 5 easy steps!
Looking for other ideas to teach how to solve math word problems?
These blog posts have a ton of different ideas and strategies for math word problems. Don’t let solving math word problems make you cry. You’ve got this! Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next math word problem solver!
- 14 Effective Ways to Help Your Students Conquer Math Word Problems
- 3 Strategies to Conquer Math Word Problems
- Strategies for Solving Word Problems
- 4 Math Word Problem Solving Strategies
- 5 Tips for Teaching Math Word Problems
- How to Teach Word Problems: Strategies for Elementary Teachers
- How to Help Students Who Struggle with Word Problems
I’d love to know from you! How do you solve math word problems? What are your favorite math word problems to solve? Drop a comment and join the conversation!
[…] Explain the difference between area, perimeter, and volume. While area and perimeter are covered in the lower grades, still include both in your volume for 5th grade unit. Talking about word problems and the application of all 3 is important to gain that deeper understanding. If you want to learn more about how to solve math word problems, be sure to check out this blog post. […]