Multi-Step Problem Solving (age 8+)
Make sense of multi-step problems involving four operations, fractions, and area/volume by identifying sub-steps, choosing a strategy, and monitoring progress
What a learner can do afterwards
- Break a two-step word problem into parts and explain a plan before calculating
- Choose between drawing a diagram or writing equations for a perimeter problem
- Check a fraction-of-quantity answer by estimating: 3/5 of 20 must be more than half of 20
1 · Read
You already know how to break a problem into two steps. Now some problems get trickier: they might mix adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions, and area all in one problem. The plan stays the same. Read the problem, figure out what it is really asking, then decide which step comes first.
Before you touch a calculator, make a quick plan. Decide what you need to find first, and what you will do with that answer next. Saying your plan out loud, like 'first I'll find the area, then I'll work out a fraction of it,' helps you stay on track.
Sam has a rectangular patch 5 metres by 4 metres, and he wants flowers on 3/5 of it. First he finds the area: 5 x 4 = 20 square metres. He estimates before he goes on: 3/5 is more than half, so the answer should beat 10. Then 3/5 of 20 is 12, which does beat 10.
For a perimeter problem you get a choice. You can sketch the shape and label every side, or write an equation that adds the side lengths. Both do the same job, so pick the one that makes the steps easier to see. Then check your answer against your estimate.
Break a problem into steps, plan your order, estimate before you calculate, and check your answer makes sense.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 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.