Word problems can be hard for kids. First off, they have to be able to read and comprehend the problem, next they have to be able to determine the operation, and then they have to be able to compute correctly. Throw the word MULTISTEP in and it makes things so much harder! Here are 8 Steps to Solve Multistep Word Problems that you can use with your students!
Check Out the Following STEPS for Solving Multistep Word Problems!
Step 1:
Read and reread. Stress, stress, stress the importance of reading the problem all the way through one time, then going back and rereading it one more time BEFORE beginning any problem solving strategies. Make this your mantra and ask students what they will do first (READ and REREAD) every time they begin work on word problems. You can make this a little chant… teacher: what will you do first? students: READ and REREAD!
Step 2:
After students read and reread, they need to determine what the problem is asking. This is a KEY to solving a multistep problem. Students will want to underline, highlight, or box the question. I think it is also valuable to have students go ahead and write their answer statement (or phrase) with the label, drawing a blank for the actual answer.
Step 3:
If students can visualize the problem, this will aid in their comprehension and help them when solving. When working through problems with your kids you can have them close their eyes to visualize while you read the problem aloud.
Step 4:
Students need to identify the information that has been given. They can highlight, underline, circle, or box the information.
Step 5:
Next students will need to determine what information they need to be able to solve the problem. In multistep problems this is where things can start to get TRICKY! If students have gone through all of the steps above… hopefully this step will be easier for them. When students are beginning multistep problem solvers it can be helpful to scaffold support by giving them the number of steps needed to solve. You can have them make boxes in which to solve each step.
For example…
(If you would like this set of FREE Multistep Word Problems, grab them here!)
Step 6:
Students need to show and label all of their work. With multistep problems it is really important for students to label everything, otherwise it can get very confusing as to what all of the numbers mean!
Step 7:
When students have found their final answer, they need to go back to the word problem and reread the question determined in Step 2. Does their answer match what is being asked and does their answer make sense?
Step 8:
Students will write their final answer with the LABEL! (Or fill in the final answer if they already wrote an answer statement- Step 2).
Hopefully these 8 Steps to Solve Multistep Word Problems will help your students become multistep word problem masters!
If you are in need of additional multistep word problem resources for your students you might want to check these out!
(I have a set for each month of the school year… click here to see them all!)
Hope you have a great week!
Kim
