How Can I Help My Child Struggling with Word Problems?

Follow these tips from a math instructor to help your child struggling with word problems in his math homework.

Word problems are an interesting mathematical concept because they are more abstract in nature than most topics. Many students struggle with the process of “translating English into math”, or, said differently, taking a statement written in words and converting it into a mathematical expression.

Children become good problem-solvers when they are asked to solve a broad range of problems, and it is often best to start with easy questions and let the level of difficulty increase as the child becomes more comfortable. There are also a number of things to keep in mind that may make word problems much easier to grasp, such as identifying “key words” that will tip off the student as to what the approach should be. For example, whenever a student sees the word “of” in a word problem, this always means multiplication needs to be utilized.

Another great strategy is to use drawings of whatever the question is asking. A visual representation often makes it easier to see what information is given, what is missing, and what the process for solving should be. Little tricks like this can make word problems much easier to grasp, and not seem as daunting in general.

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