Word problems, worked out

The Story Problem

Every word problem, the same seven steps: read it, say what’s asked, list what you know, pick the operation and say why, draw a bar model, solve it one step at a time, then answer in a sentence with units and check that it makes sense. Make a story, or type or paste your own — the long sums inside link to +, −, × and ÷.

No need to say what kind of story it is — I’ll work that out, show what I understood, and let you fix anything I got wrong.

What the story says
Or I’ll write one: pick a kind of story
Make a problem for me — pick what goes in it
Try

The work

Read The story & the question
Know What we know, with units
+ − × ÷ The operation, and why
Draw The picture & the working
✓ The answer & the check

Say it out loud

    Key words are clues, not rules: “more” can mean subtract and “left” can mean add. Picture what happens in the story, then choose. Long arithmetic inside a step? Work it on +, −, ×, ÷, the Fraction Bar or the Hundred Grid.