Students often do not have an interest or willingness to solve math word problems because they find word problems complex and unapproachable. However, these word problems can be very interesting or fearful, depending on how they are presented. If they are written very straightforwardly, just like a general math question, they become very dull and tiring for students, and they lose interest in them.
On the other hand, if they are created after considering the students’ level of understanding, based on their interests, thinking about how they can relate to these problems, by their ability to solve the questions, word problems can turn out to be the most interesting.
Below are given five tips for developing math word problems to enhance middle school students:
5 Tips for Creating Math Word Problems:
1. Word Problems Must Be Relatable To The Students
When creating word problems, making them relatable to students is essential. It is a fact that visuals of imagination are easier to remember than words. This technique develops students’ interest in solving word problems and builds their thinking. Any theme, like a classroom, house, shopping, or anything concerning a student’s daily activities, can be used to create word problems.
Try to keep the numbers in an acceptable range, and the concept should also be known to the children for better relatability. For example, if you want to create a word problem regarding the addition and subtraction of numbers, giving out figures and demanding a solution could be monotonous and unrealistic.
Instead, you should create a hypothetical situation, such as a child in a market, a play area, or any other place, and items like toys, chocolates, or apples can be included to perform addition and subtraction. Since word problems require great reasoning and analysis, students need to be involved in the problem.
The solution for any word problem cannot be found using the hit-and-trial method without understanding and interest. Unless the students can relate to the question, they cannot find its logic, which is the key to cracking any question.
2. The Word Problems Must Be Solvable
The word problems should be tricky but not complicated. Perhaps these problems must be created considering the students’ knowledge of math.
Moreover, these math word problems should include tricks stressing logical and critical thinking to find the quick and most relevant way to tackle a problem. But when these tricks are hard to find due to much complication, it lowers the students’ morale and demotivates them.
The digital co-teacher made with ❤️ by teachers
ByteLearn saves you time and ensures every student gets the support they need
Some creators make the problems without considering the levels of the students eventually, raising the bar of questions by providing lengthy explanations, unusual figures, and non-relatable situations, which lose the children’s interest in them.
Well, this will not work out, in any case, to boost middle school students’ problem-solving ability and critical thinking. On the contrary, complicated word problems might cause unnecessary frustration in students, and they can lose interest in solving math problems.
As teachers, your primary goal is to challenge the students’ critical thinking and interest in word problems and target their essential minds to enhance their analytical skills and problem-solving ability.
It can be attained by understanding their comfort and using simplified language with standard tricks and twists in math word problems.
3. The Word Problems Should Be Open-Ended
The question becomes more exploratory when it is open-ended, and a teacher can judge it by comparing any two sentences. For instance, consider a very usual and straightforward question like “he had two apples, and he got twelve more. What is the final number of apples with him?” In contrast, consider a phrase like, “he had two apples in his basket, and his brother shared some more apples with him, which finally raised the number of apples in the basket to 14. What can be the number his brother gave him?”
Indeed, the latter is more elaborate and will broaden the vicinity of thinking, unlike the first one, which is relatively uninteresting. However, the questions with straightforward and precise meanings will limit the review of the students, restricting the emergence of new ideas and tricks.
While the rephrased and elaborated questions enable students to strategize various possibilities by mathematical reasoning and create an abstract view, word problems should be open-ended to give the students an idea about the background, along with the numeral figures and algebraic expressions.
4. Using Pictures In Word Problems
There is a possibility that written language can be complex for students to interpret or it is not understandable either due to high vocabulary or lack of words.
For these situations, pictures are a good alternative or support. If the question is not readable, pictures can serve the purpose as an alternative. Also, if the mathematical word problem fails to explain the concept clearly, pictures can be a great support. It also saves the time of reading a question if it has some pictures describing the problem statements.
It will not only save their time but also attract them and motivate them by increasing their problem-solving speed.
These pictures can depict the scenario along with numerical figures. If one picture is insufficient, a couple or more can be used. For instance, a hypothetical conversation scenario can be the most versatile.
Besides, if the pictures are unreliable, flow charts and equations can be used without hard and fast rules. The only meaning is to shorten the span of students’ time and attract them more.
5. Remove the Question Part
Eliminating the question while creating math word problems can also help boost students’ critical thinking. Allow students to ponder over hypothetical situations rather than finding the solution.
The significant advantage of this trick is that it will allow students to ask questions based on their perspective of the situation.
Besides, teachers can provide the question part of the word problems when their students correctly interpret the problem scenario.
For example, if you give students a word problem based on calculating the discount percentage on some items, break this problem into two parts. Initially, give students only scenarios about purchasing the items and their prices. And when they understand the problem and the given information, you can ask the question.
Through this trick, teachers can let students think over the situation instead of just looking for answers to the word problem. Also, this way, teachers can keep students captivated by math word problems.
Why does math have word Problems?
Word problems aim to develop strong mathematical skills in students and improve logical reasoning, aptitude analysis, and critical thinking. However, this purpose can be served only when the problem is created and implemented correctly by giving abstract content.
For instance, word problems asking to apply arithmetic operations may not develop students’ interest in understanding and solving them. However, suppose the same question is presented in an interactive way to the students so they can interpret and connect with their daily lives. In that case, students will try to understand the problem and find its solution. Thus, the ultimate goal of teachers should be to teach logic rather than question answers.
Also read- 130 Math Word Problems To Challenge Students Grades 1 to 8
Takeaway
To develop students’ interest in the concepts, as a teacher, it is necessary to ask yourself first if it is interesting, relatable, solvable, and appealing for you or not. How would the students do if you cannot connect with the topic? Therefore, always be conscious while creating word problems and make them practical for the students to enhance their knowledge.
Free, standards-aligned math worksheets
Enter your email and we’ll send you samples of our most popular math worksheets.
