Problem Solving

Grade 1 Mathematics
Problem Solving

 

Developing Problem Solvers

problem_solving_structures.pngProblems can be posed in many different ways. These problem solving situations are illustrated in the images to the right. Students must be able to solve problems of any situation.

Achieve the Core Progressions documents Links to an external site. provide further clarification regarding problem types at different grade levels as follows:

  • Kindergarten should work with the following four problem subtypes: Add To- Result Unknown, Take From- Result Unknown, Put Together/Take Apart- Total Unknown, and Put Together/Take Apart- Both Addends Unknown
  • Grade One should work with all problem subtypes. However, the four most difficult problem subtypes are not expected for mastery until Grade 2.  These subtypes include Add To- Start Unknown, Take From- Start Unknown, Compare- Bigger Unknown, and Compare- Smaller Unknown
  • Grade Two should work with all problem subtypes and mastery is expected with all subtypes at this grade level.

 

Problem Solving everyday
Problem solving is not an isolated activity. It doesn't occur every Friday. Instead problem solving is a skill that favors every mathematics lesson. Problem solving is more than just one-step word problems. Problem solving should feature risk tasks, authentic purposes, and multiple ways to be solved.


Avoiding key words
1. Key words are misleading. Some key words typically mean addition or subtraction. But not always. Consider: There were 4 jackets left on the playground on Monday and 5 jackets left on the playground on Tuesday. How many jackets were left on the playground? "Left" in this problem does not mean subtract.

2. Many problems have no key words. For example, How many legs do 7 elephants have? does not have a key word. However, any 1st grader should be able to solve the problem by thinking and drawing a picture or building a model.

3. It sends a bad message. The most important strategy when solving a problem is to make sense of the problem and to think. Key words encourage students to ignore meaning and look for a formula. Mathematics is about meaning (Van de Walle, 2012).

Solving Problems Relies on Thinking and Making Sense. Context Helps Make Meaning.
Context helps students make meaning to solve problems. The story problem links below can be connected to a variety of children's literature titles to build context. There are examples of each story structure for each context/theme. Story structures adapted from CGI Links to an external site., 1998. Spaces for quantity are left blank intentionally. Please use numbers that are appropriate for your students.

Numberless Word Problems

Download Start  Change  End Organizer

Think About the Problem Organzier Links to an external site.

 

Other exemplary resources for problem solving include ThinkTank by Origo, Read It, Draw It, Solve It and Groundworks.

think_tank.pngreaditdrawitsolveitgrade1.pnggroundworks_geometry.png

 

 

 

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