Guided Multi-Step Problem Solving
With teacher guidance, make sense of multi-step and more complex problems by planning a pathway to the solution, identifying relevant information, and choosing appropriate operations
What a learner can do afterwards
- When given a word problem within 20 or 100, identify the known information and what needs to be found
- Try a strategy (drawing, number line, known fact) and switch approach if the first attempt stalls
- Check the reasonableness of an answer using estimation or a different method
1 · Read
Some problems take more than one step to solve, like tracking stickers you get and give away. First, find out what you already know. Then plan what to do first, and what to do next.
Sam has 8 stickers. He buys 5 more. Then he gives 3 to his friend. How many stickers does Sam have now? First: 8 + 5 = 13. Then: 13 - 3 = 10. Sam has 10 stickers.
If your first idea does not work, try a different one. Draw a picture, use a number line, or think of a fact you already know.
When you get an answer, stop and ask: does this make sense? Check with a rough guess or by solving it a different way.
Big problems get easier with a plan: find what you know, try a step, and check your answer makes sense.
Rewritten readings were written for this dataset.
More to read
Solve two-step word problems by using addition and subtraction
Word problems tell a short story with numbers. First find what you know and what you must find. Underline the numbers and the question.
Then pick a plan. You can draw bars, use cubes or write a number sentence. Do it in steps and check each step.
Properties of addition
Adding has helpful rules. Order does not change the total. So 3 plus 9 is the same as 9 plus 3.
Grouping helps too. You can add 2 plus 3 first, then add 4. The total stays the same however you group.
Intro to place value: FAQ
Place value tells what each digit is worth. In 47, the 4 means 40 and the 7 means 7. Tens are bigger than ones.
Use blocks to see it. Four ten sticks and seven single cubes make 47. Add ten and only the tens digit grows.
Count and compare whole numbers
Counting uses whole numbers: 0, 1, 2 and more. Add one to find the next number.
On a number line, numbers grow as you move right. Of two numbers, the one farther right is bigger.
Explore more
2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
18 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.