Addition and Subtraction Story Problems

RUCCSC RUCCSC is a smart plan for solving story problems because it forces you to slow down and focus! Read EVERY WORD of the problem CAREFULLY! You need to comprehend what is happening in the story so you can determine how to solve the problem. Picture the story in your mind. Which mathematical operation should you use? How many steps are there? Underline the question you are trying to solve! Circle the important information! Cross out the distracting or useless information that is included in the problem to trick you. Solve the problem using the strategy that works best for you (or the strategy the problem requires you to use). Check your work! Make sure your answer seems reasonable and that you didn’t forget a step.

Key Words Look for hinting words in the problem that help you determine which operation to use… Addition: more, increase, greater, add, total, altogether, in all, sum. Subtraction: left over, decrease, less, how many more, difference, left, remaining. Can you think of any others?

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Lauren sold 142 boxes of Girl Scout cookies on Saturday. She sold 287 boxes on Sunday. How many boxes of Girl Scout cookies did Lauren sell on both days? Solve it! What strategy did you use? Challenge: Use the “quick draw” strategy to show how to represent this problem using place value blocks.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Macy likes to collect Pokemon cards. She has 124 cards in her collector’s box. How many more cards until Macy has 200 Pokemon cards in her box? Solve it! What strategy did you use? Challenge: Use the “quick draw” strategy to show how to represent this problem using place value blocks.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Laney knitted 45 scarves during Winter Break. She gave 13 to her cousins. She gave her neighbors 9 more scarves than she gave her cousins. How many scarves does Laney have left? Solve it! What strategy did you use? Challenge: Use the “quick draw” strategy to show how to represent this problem using place value blocks.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Daniel helped his mom serve 485 ice cream sundaes at the concession stand during his brother’s basketball game. If 107 of the sundaes were served with a cherry on top, then how many sundaes did they serve with no cherry on top? Solve it! What strategy did you use? Challenge: Use the “quick draw” strategy to show how to represent this problem using place value blocks.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Charlotte traveled 690 miles from her house to visit Disneyland. She stopped at a hotel that was 313 miles from Disneyland. She had driven 5 hours and needed to rest. How far did Charlotte travel from her house before stopping at the hotel? Solve it! Beware of the distractor! Challenge: Use a strip diagram to show one way to represent this problem.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Kevin wants to buy a new Xbox game that costs $50. He also wants to buy a new Tim Duncan jersey for $95. Kevin has already saved $120. How much more does he need to save to buy the game and the jersey? Solve it! Challenge: Show more than one way to represent this problem.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Mario has 400 Skittles. He gave Mr. Schwab some Skittles, and now Mario has 138 skittles left. How many Skittles did Mario give away? Solve it! Challenge: Show more than one way to represent this problem.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Joshua downloaded 17 songs on his iPod. His sister downloaded 7 songs fewer than him. His brother downloaded 13 songs more than his sister. How many songs did Joshua’s sister download? Solve it! Watch out for the distractor! Challenge: Show more than one way to represent this problem.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Bertha is 96 years old. Her friend Ruth is 88 years old. How many years younger is Ruth than Bertha? Solve it! Challenge: Show how to represent this problem on a number line.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Casey’s basketball team scored a total of 65 points in their first game. 13 of those points were scored in the first quarter. Another 16 points came in the second quarter. The team scored 21 more points in the third quarter. How many points did Casey’s team score in the fourth quarter? Solve it! Challenge: Show how to represent this problem on a number line.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Kelly solved the problem 327 – 266. Her answer was 141. Is her answer reasonable? Explain! Solve it! Challenge: Justify your thinking by using words.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Blaine was getting ready for school. It took Blaine 25 minutes to eat breakfast, 10 minutes to make his lunch, and 7 minutes to brush his teeth. How long does Blaine need to get ready for school? Solve it! Challenge: Represent this problem in a variety of ways.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Raymond collected 284 seashells, but he lost 26 of them. He is wondering how many seashells he has left. Raymond thinks he needs to regroup when he solves 284 – 26 = ______ Is he correct? Solve it! Challenge: Represent this problem in a variety of ways.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Claire wants to estimate the cost of a trip to the movie theater. She thinks the cost of the ticket will be about $8 and the cost of the snacks will be about $16. What is the sum of her movie expenses? Solve it! Challenge: Justify your answer.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Tucker has 378 tickets to spend at Main Event. Charlie has 63 fewer tickets than Tucker. Caden has 56 more tickets than Charlie. How many tickets do the boys have altogether? Solve it! Challenge: Show more than one way to solve this problem.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? Sadie bought 64 water balloons for her birthday party. She invited 10 guests. Thirteen water balloons were red, twenty-four water balloons were blue, and the rest were yellow. How many yellow water balloons does Sadie have? Solve it! Challenge: Show more than one way to solve this problem.

Is this addition or subtraction? Is this one-step or two-steps? The Sanders family spends $252 on winter jackets. They spend $149 on summer sandals. What is the difference between the amount they spend on jackets and the amount they spend on sandals? Solve it! Challenge: Show more than one way to solve this problem.