What strategies did you use?

 When we solve word problems we need to determine if we are adding to, taking apart, or comparing.  There are words problems that want us to add to or to put together.  Then there are word problems that want us to take apart or to take from.  Other word problems just want us to compare.

 Let’s explore add to…  Ask your self, what is the word problem asking me?  Think about what is joining the group.  Five frogs were sitting on the lily pads. Two more frogs hopped onto the lily pad. How many frogs are on the lily pad?

 Let’s explore put together…  What information has been given to you?  Are you missing any information? Think about the parts of the problem. Put the parts together to get a total.  Janet has two bananas, three red apples, and four plums. How many pieces of fruit does Janet have?  When you put together, what operation do you use?

 Let’s explore to take from and take apart  When something is taken from something, you are taking a part away from a total.  When something is separated from a whole, the whole is being taken apart.  Determine if you have a total group of objects or a whole object.  PART + PART= WHOLE  PART + PART = TOTAL

 David prepared five sandwiches for lunch. He ate three before lunch. How many sandwiches does he have for lunch?  David started with five sandwiches. This was his total. He ate three, therefore he has taken from the total five.  5-3=?

 Five apples are in the bowl. Three of the apples are red and the rest are green. How many of the apples are green?.  If you notice in this problem nothing is taken away. We are separating the red and green apples.  Write a number sentence to represent this problem.

 Let’s explore comparing…  To compare in math is to find out how are the objects different. So let’s find out, what is the difference?  How many more?  How many fewer?  Someone has ___ more.  Someone has ___ fewer.  ** the blank represents a number**

 Jason has 25 video games. Tomas has 30 video games. How many more video games does Tomas have than Jason?  Jason has 25 video games. Tomas has 35 video games. How many fewer video games does Jason have than Tomas?  In both problems the number of video games are being compared. We have to determine who has more and who has fewer.

 There are many ways to compare in word problems.  Sandra has 12 more dolls than Rachel. Rachel has 23 dolls. How many dolls does Sandra have?  Rachel has 12 fewer dolls than Sandra. Rachel has 23 dolls. How many dolls Sandra have?  What do you notice about this problem?  Remember to look at your given information.

 1.Camron has 46 red balloons and 54 blue balloons. Which color does Camron have more balloons? How many more? How many balloons does have altogether?  What should you do first to solve this problem?  Do you need to add to, put together, take from, take apart, or compare?  You will solve word problems on the next few slides. Happy solving!

 Marcus has $23 in his savings account. He deposited $10 he received for his birthday. How much money does Marcus have in his savings account  What is the situation? Do we have to add to or take from?  Explain.

 Darren has 12 pencils. How many pencils can he put in his red pencil case and in his blue pencil case?  What is the situation? Do you add to, take from, or take apart?  What did you notice about this problem?

 Some students were on the bus going on a filed trip. 12 more students entered the bus. Now there are 56 students on the bus. How many students were on the bus before?  What is the situation?

 There are 60 students in second grade at George Hall. 14 students are in Ms. Norwood’s class, 14 students are in Ms. Nonnemacher’s class, and 15 students are in Mrs. Bates’ class. How many are in Mrs. Harris’ class?  What is the situation?

 Mr. Smith has 23 more coins in his collection than Mr. Phillips. Mr. Phillips has 12 more coins than Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson has 56 coins in his collection. How many coins does Mr. Smith has in his collection?  How many coins do Mr. Johnsons and Mr. Phillips have together?  What is the situation?

What do you know about problem solving? What is your strategy? Do you know the situation?