SOLVING WORD PROBLEMS USING READING STRATEGIES

Let’s Review Before going to the next slide, have the students turn and talk about the 4 Problem Solving Steps we have talked about in class. Elicit responses from students.

Problem Solving Steps 1) READ and UNDERSTAND the problem. 2) PLAN a solution. 3) SOLVE the problem. 4) CHECK for reasonableness Briefly review these 4 Steps from the previous lesson.

The seventh grade teachers at Rick Grimes Middle School want to buy the principal a giant stuffed tiger for her office costing $50.00. However, the store is having a 10% off sale. Tax is 6%. What is the total cost of the tiger? If the teachers pay with three twenty-dollar bills, how much change should they receive? Have the students read the problem on their sheet as you read it aloud.

Step 1: READ and UNDERSTAND the Problem Step 1: What is the problem asking us to find? The seventh grade teachers at Rick Grimes Middle School want to buy the principal a giant stuffed tiger for her office costing $50.00. However, the store is having a 10% off sale. Tax is 6%. What is the total cost of the tiger? If the teachers pay with three twenty-dollar bills, how much change should they receive? In this problem, what are you trying to figure out? Have students turn and talk to discuss what they need to figure out.

If you said: 1. How much did the teachers spend on a stuffed tiger? The problem is asking us to figure out: 1. How much did the teachers spend on a stuffed tiger? 2. How much change will the teachers receive?

Let’s turn these questions into a statement. How much money did the teachers spend on the stuffed tiger? The teachers spent $_____ on the stuffed tiger. 2. How much money will the teachers get back? The teachers will get $_____ back. Have students briefly turn and talk after each question. Elicit from a student what they think the statement will be. Take note of the $ (dollar sign). Explain to the students the $ represents the unit they are solving for. This is similar to having a purpose for reading. They are “reading to find . . . .”

Step 2 Plan a Solution DECIDE what mathematical operation(s) need to be used…………… Should you add, subtract, multiply, divide?

Look for clues. Find CLUE WORDS that will help you decide the mathematical operation(s) to use. Now we closely read the problem with a pencil. Teacher can utilize the SMART Board for this purpose and annotate the word problem

The seventh grade teachers at Rick Grimes Middle School want to buy the principal a giant stuffed tiger for her office costing $50.00. However, the store is having a 10% off sale. Tax is 6%. What is the total cost of the tiger? If the teachers pay with three twenty-dollar bills, how much change should they receive?

Step 3 Solve the Problem ESTIMATE your answer. Establish “reasonableness”

Approximately how much will the teachers spend? $50.00 – 10% is approximately $50.00 – $5= $45.00 Are we done? Don’t forget the tax! 45.00 x 0.06 Will your answer to “how much did the teachers spend ” be greater than/less than $50? Will it be greater/less than $40? Discuss with a partner: So is $45 a reasonable answer? Why or why not? What is a reasonable estimate for 10% of $50

The teachers spent $42.30 on the stuffed tiger. Are we done yet? Don’t forget the tax! $45.00 x 0.06 (Think what is 45 x 5) Will your answer to “how much did the teachers spend ” be greater than/less than $50? Will it be greater/less than $40? $45.00 x 0.06 = $2.70 (tax) Do we add or subtract here? SUBTRACT $45.00 - $2.70= $42.30 We found the answer to our first question: The teachers spent $42.30 on the stuffed tiger. Are we done yet? Allow students time to ATTEMPT to complete the calculations for each part of the problem before you display the answer. You can ask students for their individual answers and pose this question to the class, “Is _______ answer reasonable? Why or Why not?”

NOPE! How much change will the teachers get back? Although we found the answer to our first question, we still need to respond to our second question: How much change will the teachers get back? Point out to the students that many times a common error that math teachers notice is that many students do not complete all parts of problem.

We know that 3 x 2 = 6, so 3 x $20 must equal $60. So what do we know so far? We know that the teachers spent $42.30. From rereading the problem we know that ….. the teachers pay with three twenty-dollar bills We know that 3 x 2 = 6, so 3 x $20 must equal $60.

So, what do we know? We know that the teachers have $60 and they spent $42.30. What mathematical operation do we need to use to solve our second question? SUBTRACTION $60.00 – $42.30 = $17.30

Check youRESTATE the question Check youRESTATE the question. Step 4 Check for Reasonableness ADD necessary units or labels. r Solution

Let’s turn these questions into a statement. How much money did the teachers spend on the stuffed tiger? The teachers spent $42.30 on the stuffed tiger. Is this answer REASONABLE? 2. How much money will the teachers get back? The teachers will get $17.30 back. Is this answer reasonable?

Captain America Try this one on your own: Mrs. Coulombe loves to read books. She had 469 books before she went to the book fair. While at the book fair she purchased 103 additional books. After bringing the books to her classroom she realized she did not have any more space and needs to give ¼ of her book collection away. How many books did Mrs. Coulombe give away? How many books did she have left?