MathJewels math guide · Add and subtract whole-number quantities
Planning a Multi-Step Word Problem
Turn a longer situation into a short chain of questions, keep track of what each number means, and check the final result against the story.
The big idea
A multi-step problem is several small questions connected in a useful order. The hardest part is often not the arithmetic. It is deciding what must be known before the final question can be answered. A child can make the problem smaller by naming the next useful quantity, finding it, and then returning to the story.
Before calculating, ask: “What does the final answer describe?” Then ask: “What information is still missing?” That missing quantity becomes the first step.
Worked example
Suppose 4 shelves hold 6 books each, and 5 more books sit on a table. How many books are there altogether?
First find the books on the shelves: 4 × 6 = 24. Then include the table books: 24 + 5 = 29. The answer is 29 books, not merely 24, because the question asks for every book in both locations.
How children may show it
A child may draw groups, write two equations, use a labeled tape diagram, or write one expression such as (4 × 6) + 5. The representation is successful when another reader can tell what each number counts and why the steps are in that order.
Common mix-up
Children sometimes use every number immediately without deciding what it represents. Pause before correcting the operation. Ask the child to point to the quantity being found by the first calculation and to name its unit.
Try it together
Retell the situation without numbers. Identify the final question, circle the information needed for it, and draw an arrow from the quantity that must be found first to the quantity that can be found second. Only then put the numbers back and calculate.