Free printable word problem strategies chart
Grades K–8A routine that works on any word problem: what do we know, what is being asked, what is happening, work it out, does it make sense. Print it for the wall, or step through the worked examples below one stage at a time.
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Work through one step at a time
Pick a problem and reveal the steps one by one. The point is to answer each question yourself before uncovering the next — reading the whole solution at once teaches very little.
The Grade 4 problem is the one worth doing carefully. Fifty-three books into boxes of ten gives five remainder three, and the answer to the question is six. Children who stop at the arithmetic get it wrong having made no arithmetic mistake at all.
The last step is the one everyone skips. Does the answer make sense — is it bigger or smaller than what we started with, is it roughly the size we expected? That single question catches more errors than checking the calculation again.
Grade 2Maya had 24 stickers. She gave 9 of them to her brother. How many stickers does she have left?
- What do we know?Maya started with 24 stickers. She gave 9 away.
- What is being asked?How many she has left — so the answer will be a number of stickers.
- What is happening?Some of them went away, so the amount goes down. That is subtraction.
- Work it out24 − 9 = 15
- Does it make sense?She started with 24 and gave some away, so the answer should be smaller than 24. It is. Maya has 15 stickers left.
Grade 3There are 6 rows of chairs in the hall. Each row has 8 chairs. How many chairs are there altogether?
- What do we know?There are 6 rows, and every row has the same number: 8 chairs.
- What is being asked?The total number of chairs in the hall.
- What is happening?Equal groups being put together. Six groups of eight, so multiplication — even though the word altogether often means add.
- Work it out6 × 8 = 48
- Does it make sense?Six rows of roughly ten would be about 60, so 48 is in the right area. There are 48 chairs.
Grade 4A library has 53 books to pack. Each box holds 10 books. How many boxes are needed?
- What do we know?There are 53 books, and one box holds 10.
- What is being asked?How many boxes are needed — not how many are full.
- What is happening?A total is being split into equal groups, so division.
- Work it out53 ÷ 10 = 5 remainder 3
- Does it make sense?Five boxes hold only 50, and 3 books would be left over with nowhere to go. So 6 boxes are needed. This is the step people skip: the answer is 6, not 5 remainder 3.
Grade 5A pack of 12 pens costs $9. Sam buys 3 packs and pays with a $30 note. How much change does he get?
- What do we know?One pack costs $9. Sam buys 3 packs. He pays with $30. The 12 pens per pack is not needed.
- What is being asked?The change — so we need the cost first, then the change. Two steps.
- What is happening?Three packs at the same price is multiplication. Then change from $30 is subtraction.
- Work it out3 × $9 = $27, then $30 − $27 = $3
- Does it make sense?$27 is close to $30, so the change should be small. $3 fits. Sam gets $3 change.
One step at a time. Try to answer each question yourself before revealing the next.
How to use this word problems chart at home
Read the problem aloud twice before touching a pencil. The first read is for the story, the second is for the numbers. Most word-problem errors are reading errors, and children who start calculating during the first read have not finished finding out what is going on.
Ask them to retell it without numbers. Someone had some sweets and gave a few away. Once a child can do that, the operation is usually obvious to them. If they cannot, the problem is comprehension rather than math, and more arithmetic practice will not help.
Insist on the last step. Does that answer make sense? It takes five seconds and it is the difference between a child who catches their own mistakes and one who needs everything marked.
The routine matters more than the arithmetic
Once a child can add, subtract, multiply and divide, word problems are not really a math topic any more. They are a reading and decision topic with some arithmetic at the end.
That is why the same five steps work at every level. A Grade 2 problem about stickers and a Grade 8 problem about percentages need identical treatment: find out what you know, find out what is wanted, work out what is happening, calculate, check.
It also means practice should be varied rather than repetitive. Twenty subtraction problems in a row teach a child to subtract without reading, which is precisely the habit that fails when the next page mixes the operations up.
Remainders and the question actually asked
Division problems in real contexts almost never end at the arithmetic. Fifty-three books in boxes of ten gives five remainder three, and what happens to those three books depends entirely on the question.
How many boxes are needed? Six, because the leftovers need a box. How many boxes are full? Five. How many books are left over? Three. Same division, three different correct answers.
This is worth practicing deliberately, because it is where careful children lose marks. The arithmetic was right; the last sentence of the question was not reread.
Where word problems usually go wrong
Calculating before finishing the reading. Grabbing two numbers and an operation from the first half of the sentence.
Answering the calculation rather than the question. Especially with remainders and with two-step problems where the first answer is not the final one.
Using every number given. Some are deliberately unnecessary, and deciding what to ignore is part of the task.
Skipping the sense check. An answer that is bigger than what you started with after sharing something out is wrong, and noticing that takes a moment.
After the chart goes up
A chart explains the idea but gives a child nothing to do. These do the rest.
- number sense at Mathify Kids — every topic in this area, sorted by grade.
- division with remainders worksheets — printable practice.
- 2 digit addition worksheets — the next step once this is solid.
- multi digit multiplication worksheets — more practice in the same area.
Everything at this level: Kindergarten math · Grade 1 math · Grade 2 math · Grade 3 math · Grade 4 math · Grade 5 math · Grade 6 math · Grade 7 math · Grade 8 math
Charts that pair with this one
Charts that work well printed alongside this one.
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Math Problem Solving chart
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Math Vocabulary chart
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Division chart
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Estimation and Rounding chart
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Questions parents ask
How do you solve a math word problem?
Read it twice, write down what you know, work out exactly what is being asked, decide what is happening to the numbers, do the calculation, then check the answer is sensible. The middle step — what is happening — is the one that decides the operation, and it is the one most often rushed.
Why does my child get the arithmetic right but the answer wrong?
Usually because the question asked something slightly different from what they calculated. Fifty-three books in boxes of ten is five remainder three, but the question asked how many boxes are needed, and the answer is six. Rereading the question after calculating catches almost all of these.
Should my child look for key words?
As a hint, yes. As a rule, no. Total usually means add and difference usually means subtract, but more than can mean either depending on the sentence. Key words help once a child understands what is happening; they are not a substitute for understanding it.
How do you handle a two-step problem?
Work out what you need before you can answer the question, and get that first. To find change from $30 you need the total cost, so the multiplication comes before the subtraction. Writing down the intermediate answer rather than holding it in your head prevents most mistakes.
What if there is extra information in the problem?
Ignore it, and say so out loud. Some problems deliberately include a number you do not need — the pens-per-pack in the Grade 5 example above. Deciding which numbers matter is part of the skill being tested, and children often assume every number must be used.
What grade is this word problems chart for?
Kindergarten through Grade 8. The routine does not change with age; only the arithmetic inside it does. That makes this one of the few charts genuinely worth keeping on the wall for years.
Is this word problems chart free to print?
Yes. Open it full size and print as many copies as you need for home or a classroom, with no account and no watermark. Reselling it or re-hosting the file elsewhere is not allowed — link to this page instead.