Ways to Solve a Problem

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Consider the following questions when solving word problems:

• What do you want to find?
  • The total number of friends
• What information do you know from reading the problem?
  • There are 27 pieces of candy.
  • Each person has 9 pieces.
• What could you do?
  • You could draw a picture, use a diagram, write a number sentence, use base ten blocks, or counters.
• What math operation did you use?
  • You could have used multiplication, addition, subtraction, or division!
• What is the answer?
  • There were 3 people total.
• How do you know your answer makes sense?
  • Is your answer reasonable?
  • Did you check your work to be sure you were correct?

Wait! What do you mean I could use any math operation to solve the problem?

Division 27 ÷ 9 = 3 Well, that will definitely work! If you divide 27 into 9 equal groups, you will get 3.

Multiplication This would look like a missing factor problem: ____ x 9 = 27. Refer to the table below:

Addition Count by 9s or use repeated addition until you reach 27: 9 + 9 + 9 = 27

Subtraction 27 - 9 = 18 - 9 = 9 - 9 = 0. Subtract 9 from 27 until you get to zero. That took 3 9s.

There are many strategies you can use to solve a problem. Try different ways, but be sure to use the strategy that works best for YOU.

• number line
• array
• equal groups
• algorithm
• table
• tally marks