Math Word Problems
A couple of entries ago, I wrote about the strip diagram and how it has helped my students in math intervention. Just wanted to share some more.
Today, we worked on some problems together. They were multi-step and complex! But the strip diagram was an awesome visual tool for them. It really helped the kids understand the words in the problem and they were able to break down the problem into steps.
Problem 1:
After buying 3 books at $9.50 each, Cindy has $15.60 left. How much money did she have at first?
The kids struggled with the word left. Immediately, they thought they had to subtract. It's important to know that memorizing key words doesn't work in every situation. Kids really have to use their comprehension skills to understand the problem. So, we used the strategy acting it out first. We also visualized the problem by "playing movies" in our heads of what happened. Then, I used the strip diagram as we discussed the problem. The letter B (in the parts) represents the 3 books. I added in the words left and at first to help them make connections. I also numbered the steps to show them that this is a multi-step problem. We had a really good math discussion today! Woohoo!
Here are more problems we solved using the strip diagram.
Problem 2:
George bought 4 of the same games. He paid the cashier $50.00 and received $4.20 change. How much did each game cost?
Problem 3:
Araceli bought a phone and a tablet. The phone costs $199.48. The tablet costs $268.37 more than the phone. How much did the tablet cost?
Today, we worked on some problems together. They were multi-step and complex! But the strip diagram was an awesome visual tool for them. It really helped the kids understand the words in the problem and they were able to break down the problem into steps.
Problem 1:
After buying 3 books at $9.50 each, Cindy has $15.60 left. How much money did she have at first?
The kids struggled with the word left. Immediately, they thought they had to subtract. It's important to know that memorizing key words doesn't work in every situation. Kids really have to use their comprehension skills to understand the problem. So, we used the strategy acting it out first. We also visualized the problem by "playing movies" in our heads of what happened. Then, I used the strip diagram as we discussed the problem. The letter B (in the parts) represents the 3 books. I added in the words left and at first to help them make connections. I also numbered the steps to show them that this is a multi-step problem. We had a really good math discussion today! Woohoo!
Here are more problems we solved using the strip diagram.
Problem 2:
George bought 4 of the same games. He paid the cashier $50.00 and received $4.20 change. How much did each game cost?
Problem 3:
Araceli bought a phone and a tablet. The phone costs $199.48. The tablet costs $268.37 more than the phone. How much did the tablet cost?
Here are some resources available on TpT!
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