How can I use math strategies to solve word

problems?

Miss HartgroveHanes Middle School

Lesson Outline

Today we are going to:• Review the math clue words• Identify math strategies that we

can use to solve problems• Use what we have learned so far

to solve some math problems.

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ReviewBefore we begin our lesson for

today, we are going to review the clue words that tell us which math operation to perform.

BONUS: What are the four math operations?

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Review, continued

Clue Word Review Activity:• You are going to work in your

small groups to match the math clue word with the clue word that it matches.

• Look at your work system and get out your blue folder.

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Our Goal Today is to Identify Ways or

Strategies to solve Math Problems!

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Discussion

What are some ways we can solve math problems?

I will give you one to get you started:

Pencil and Paper

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Strategies to Solve Problems

• Paper and Pencil• Calculators• Mental Math• Draw a picture• Estimation

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Paper and Pencil

Paper and Pencil is the oldest and easiest way to solve math problems.

Example:5 + 6 = 11

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Practice

Use paper and pencil to solve the following problem:

Sarah bought 2 lollipops for each of her 4 friends. How many

lollipops did Sarah buy?

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Work Space

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Calculators

Using a calculator is the fastest way to solve math problems.

However, you will not always have a calculator so it is important that you use more than one strategy to solve problems.

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Practice

Use your calculator to solve the following word problem:

Jack made 15 cards for the party. Melissa made 10 cards as well. How many cards did they make

in all?

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Work Space

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Mental MathMental Math means solving the

problem in your head.Mental math can be difficult depending

on how big the numbers are and what type of problem you are solving.

Mental math is easiest with small numbers and addition or subtraction.

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Practice

Use mental math to solve the following word problem:

Eric sold 5 CDs on Monday and 5 CDs on Tuesday. How many CDs

did Eric sell?

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Work Space

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Draw a Picture

Drawing a picture is an easy way to solve a math problem or to check your work.

You can use circles, squares, lines, or any other object when you draw pictures to solve problems.

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Practice

Draw a picture to solve the following word problem:

The school had 20 yearbooks. They sold 6. How many

yearbooks are left?

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Work Space

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Estimation

Estimation is used to figure out about how much or how many.

When using estimation, it is important to use paper and pencil or a calculator to get an exact answer.

To estimate an answer, you should round the numbers to an even number.

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For Example:

Using the problem about the school yearbooks:

20 - 5 (I rounded 6 down to 5

because I can skip count by 5s to get an answer)

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Practice

Use estimation to solve the following word problem:

David ate 9 skittles. Beth ate 10 skittles. How many skittles did

they eat in all?

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Work Space

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REMEMBER!

No matter which math strategy you use, you should always check your work!

Everyone makes mistakes (even our calculators)!

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How do I check my work?

We check our math work by doing the opposite operation.

If we added to get the answer, then we subtract to check our work.

If we multiplied to get the answer, then we divide to check our work.

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Word Problem Pull

We are going to practice what we have learned so far with a Word Problem Pull activity. For this activity you will select one person from your group to come up and get an envelope with a word problem.

The envelope also all tells you which math strategy you should use to solve the problem.

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