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U- stands for Understand. They ask themselves some simple questions...What do I know from the problem? What do I need to know? In the beginning they have to write the answers to these two questions for each word problem.

P- Plan. The have to make a plan to solve the problem. How will you solve the problem? Again, they write it out.

S- solve. Solve the problem and show all of their work.

Check- Prove their answer. They cannot use the same problem they used for the solve. Ex. If it was a subtraction problem they would have to add to prove the answer.

It takes alot of time in the beginning, but once they learn the thinking process for solving word problems it's much quicke...

Try some strategies: Use concrete materials. Also, a good idea is to have the children model the problem with pictures. Give them a strategic plan to work with. Circle the key words. Determine which words in the story problem signal addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.

It's always much easier, it seems, for kids just to pick up a problem like 143 x 5 and do it. However, make sure that they understand what 143 x 5 means....

S = state the problem (identify question)
O = options to use (add, subtr., mult., etc.)
L = links to the past (useful prior knowledge)
V = visual aids (diagram, chart, # sentence, etc.)
E = execute the answer (do the math)
D = do look back (check resonableness of answer)

At first when I introduce the stategy we go over the letters and their meanings. Then I create practice worksheets with an EASY (at first) word problem at the top of each page and SOLVED down the left side, allowing plenty of space between each letter for students to show their mathematical reasoning and work.

Students are required to write something in for every letter of SOLVED. I use a s...

I do this several ways.

You can put the problems on the poster board -- say for fractions. Then give the problems to the students on a sheet of paper to do on a review day or a pre-test day. As you go over the problems, you can have students who get the problems correct write the answer on the board.

Another way is to give groups of students a strip. Let them work on the problems on their strip together using scrap paper. When they think they have their answer write it on the strip -- if they are really difficult, say for an honors class, they will check with the instructor first -- Correct strips are added to the border.

I change the strips with the topic we are covering -- for example, fractions, decimals, long division, multiplication, etc. so the same border does not ...

Do they need background information ? ELL kids, or those with limited experiences may have difficulty at this point.

Second, help them locate key phrases that signal the process; how many are left, how many in all, etc.

Third, as a group, build a chart. 1. What do you already know from the problem? 2. What are you sked to find? 3. What process will give you that information? 4. Does your answer make sense?

When they start to get the idea, have them follow a pattern to write their own problems to "trade and try". For example, everyone writes a "how many are left" type problem. You need to set limits, such as only 2...

As far as the the word problems go, my students really are struggling with word problems. However, I taught the kids to draw pictures for word problems. sometimes I do the reverse of a word problem. I give them a number sentence (say 8x6), give them a whiteboard, and ask them to draw a picture of what 8x6 looks like, and write their own word problem to it. I have made a list of those "key words", and ask them to use the key words in their problem. They really enjoy being the author of a word problem!

I teach one problem solving strategy at a time and everyone needs to use that strategy to solve the problem so they get practice with it. Drawing a picture is one strategy. There are also: looking for a pattern, making an organized list, making a table, choosing an equation, etc. After children learn the different strategies, when they get a word problem they are better equiped to solve it. I try to teach my students the difference between a problem-solving strategy and a computational strategy. I want children to understand that if they are solving 36 + 28, they don't have to draw 36 circles and 28 circles but they could still use the ...

I used to team teach and a good lesson for that coulod be problem solving. Develop 5 problem solving questions that could be solved multiple using multiple methods. Write one of the problems on the board or chart paper for the kids to see. Have one teacher read the question outloud and model her thinking process for how she would solve the problem. Then have the other teacher say, "great idea. I thought about solving it this way." Then have her model another way to solve the problem. DO this for at least 3 problems while the class watches on. Then hand out 2 word problems for students to solve. Have them pair/share with a partner how they solved the probelm. Then bring the whole group together to share problem solving strategies.

I hope this helps!

This works well for me and gets the kids thinking about HOW to problem solve.
A 7th step could be added- check your work.

Hope this helps.