K-5 friendly lesson
Try one idea, then jump into the activity.These lessons are designed to feel short, friendly, and easy to follow.

Word Problems with Unknown Sums and Differences - up to 10

šŸ† Welcome to the Word Problem Challenge! You have learned all the strategies. Now it's time to use them to solve any kind of story problem that comes your way!

Lesson 5

Concept

You are now ready to solve all kinds of word problems.Let's review the ultimate problem-solving plan. šŸŽÆ ** The 4 - Step Word Problem Plan:** 1. ** Understand the Story:** Read the problem.Ask yourself: * Are groups being ** joined **? (This is addition). * Are things being ** taken away **? (This is "take away" subtraction). * Are we ** comparing ** two groups ? (This is "comparison" subtraction). 2. ** Find the Numbers:** What are the important numbers in the story ? 3. ** Choose a Strategy & Solve:** Pick your favorite tool from your toolbox(drawing, cubes, counting on / back, etc.) and find the answer. 4. ** Check Your Work:** Does your answer make sense in the story ? Let's do one together: "There are 5 bluebirds and 8 redbirds in a tree. How many more redbirds are there?" 1. ** Understand:** This is a ** comparison ** story. 2. ** Numbers:** 5 and 8. 3. ** Strategy:** Let's use subtraction. 8 - 5. I can count on from 5: "6, 7, 8". That's 3 steps. 4. ** Check:** The answer is 3. It makes sense that there are 3 more redbirds.

Try it

Let's start the challenge! ** Instructions:** Read each problem carefully.Decide what kind of story it is, then solve it. ** Problem 1:** A bus has 9 people on it. 4 people get off at the first stop.How many people are still on the bus ? * Type of story: ____________ * Answer: ___ ** Problem 2:** You read 6 pages of a book in the morning and 4 pages at night.How many pages did you read in total ? * Type of story: ____________ * Answer: ___ ** Problem 3:** A cat weighs 8 pounds.A kitten weighs 3 pounds.How much more does the cat weigh ? * Type of story: ____________ * Answer: ___ ** Problem 4:** You have 7 stickers.How many more do you need to have 10 stickers in all ? (This is a missing part problem!) * Hint: 7 + ___ = 10 * Answer: ___