Help Kiddos Become Word Problem Sleuths!
Being a 3rd grade teacher for years, I know firsthand about the battle that students face with solving word problems. For many students, a paragraph of complicated math concepts and verbiage are enough to send them into an anxiety provoked tailspin. No matter how much I encouraged kiddos to take it sentence by sentence or reference our anchor charts for clues, the battle of the word problems continued. Over time, I started to see students become word sleuths-pros at dissecting word problems. For these special cases, I was elated. But it seemed it had more to do with each students’ personal “aha” math journey than it did my approach to teaching word problems.
I know other teachers struggle with this same concept. In fact, a friend of mine asked me specifically to design for her a graphic organizer where students could take apart a word problem line by line and then solve the word problem based on the information pulled out rather than looking at the lengthy paragraph in front of them. Since she had a classroom Hollywood theme, I added this into the product and the kiddos went crazy (not to mention I became much more successful at teaching word problem dissection)!
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The graphic organizer template includes space to collect information such as: number form, key words, pictures, and number sentence equation. The product also includes directions, a blank graphic organizer, and a completed graphic organizer to use as a model. Below is a preview of the entire product.
Your kiddos can become Word Problem Sleuths too; just give it a try! I suggest showing the graphic organizer to students, walking them through each section so they understand the purpose and benefit of using such a tool, and then running through a few word problem examples together using the graphic organizer. It might be helpful to make copies for each student, place them in protective sheets, provide white board markers, and allow students to use and re-use over and over instead of making fresh copies each time.
The good news is that over time, students won’t need the graphic organizer to be successful. The repetitive use will turn to students creating something similar in their notebook or on their paper for each problem they solve and then slowly weaning off from needing to no longer needing to organize information before solving. I’d love to hear how your kiddos loved this math word problem graphic organizer tool (and about their increased success in solving word problems too!).
See What Buyers are Saying:
- On April 3, 2015, Nicole D. said: “Can’t wait to use this with my students.”
- On February 8, 2016, Karen B. said: “Great!”
- On February 15, 2016, Samira P. said: “Love! Thank you! :)”
- On August 20, 2016, Molly S. said: “Perfect for my theme and math work.”
How do you help kids attack math word problems?
About the author, Gretchen
I am a teacher trainer and coach. Working elbow to elbow with teachers and teacher leaders to ensure instructional proficiency and student achievement soar lights me up. We have a real need in our nation for strong educators to remain in the field. My blog, book, podcast, courses and instructional materials are geared towards empowering teachers (and those that lead them) to receive the support needed to grow and thrive today, tomorrow and always.