The Five Stages of Solving Worded Problems in Maths 

In the last edition of our school newsletter, we referred to a strategy that can be used to assist students to solve worded problems more effectively. The strategy is called Newman’s Prompts.

One of the biggest obstacles for children when solving worded problems is not the mathematical knowledge and skills that are needed to process the problem. It is often the way the question is worded as well as the many steps that are required in order to solve it.

Newman’s Prompts is a strategy that takes the students through the five stages of problem solving that are necessary to assist them to comprehend the question and unpack the language in order to be able to do the maths that is required of them.

Error Analysis Interview:

A teacher can follow a series of interview cues to probe the student as they solve a worded problem. Each cue relates directly to one of the five stages of the basic structure of solving worded problems for mathematics. The interview can expose why a student has made an error in a word problem.

Interview cues

• Please read the question to me. If you don't know a word, leave it out (reading and decoding).
• Tell me what the question is asking you to do (comprehending).
• Tell me how you are going to find the answer (transforming).
• Show me what to do to get the answer. 'Talk aloud' as you do it, so that I can understand how you are thinking (processing).
• Now, write down your answer to the question (encoding).

After interviewing the student, the teacher then has a better understanding of which part of the problem solving process the student is struggling with. Then they are able to give them strategies to target that particular area of weakness. For example, if the issue is in the transforming stage, the teacher would encourage the student to look for a pattern or make a list or table.

Kylie Billett      Helen Libro
Acting Assistant Principals