Lesson 1-1

A Plan for Problem Solving

Step 1

• Read the problem carefully.

• Ask yourself questions such as…

“What facts do I know?”

“What do I need to find out?”

Step 2

• See how the facts relate.

• Make a plan for problem solving.

• Estimate your answer.

Step 3

• Use your plan to solve the problem.

• If your plan doesn’t work, make a new one!

Step 4

• Reread the problem.

• Ask yourself…

“Is my answer close to my estimate?

“Does my answer make sense?”

• If it doesn’t, TRY AGAIN!!

Addition Word Problems• Jim went to 23 baseball games this year. He

went to 9 games last year.

• How many baseball games did Jim go to altogether?

• Dylan solved 32 problems during the math contest. Caitlyn solved 18 more problems than Dylan.

• How many math problems did Caitlyn solve?

Subtraction Word Problems• Mr. Gilbert had 43 stickers.

He gave 9 to his friend Tom.

• How many stickers did Mr. Gilbert have left?

• Harley can do 52 sit-ups in one minute. Katie can only do 34 sit-ups in one minute.

• How many fewer sit-ups can Katie do?

Multiplication Word Problems• Howell Middle School South is having a

school play. 3 students from each of the 8 classrooms will be chosen to be in the play.

• How many students will be in the school play altogether?

• Chrissy can solve math problems very quickly. She can solve 18 multiplication problems in one minute.

• How many multiplication problems can Chrissy do in 6 minutes?

Multiplication Word Problems• Ronnie is reading an exciting detective book.

The book has 88 pages. Ronnie reads 11 pages each day.

• How many days will it take Ronnie to finish the book?

• Ms. Tulla is training for a cycling race. She can cycle 14 miles in one hour.

• How many hours will it take Ms. Tulla to finish a race that is 126 miles long?