How To Turn A Word Problem Into A Rich Math Task.

 

As we all know, most textbooks have a section of word problems at the end of each lesson but these word problems are designed specifically to be done in the same way as the other problems.  They lead to only one answer and rely on students identifying specific key terms to set up the equation.  Rich tasks are much better because are more open ended with multiple possible answers and multiple paths that can be used to solve the problems.

It is quite easy to transform a word problem into a rich math task by following six steps.  Begin with selecting a visual problem.  In other words, choose a word problem that can easily be pictured both in the mind and in the answer.  The answer needs to be expressed visually through a drawing, or by using manipulatives.  In addition, a student should be able to visualize several different ways to solve the question.

Next get rid of all those key words such as "in all", "total", "less than", and all the other words we teach students to look for. Now you have a word problem that has had all the key words removed but whose meaning is still the same. When the key words are removed, students are forced to think about the operation that must be used rather than relying on underlying certain words.

Now rewrite the problem again except this time you are adding in extra details and information that do not contribute to the solution of the problem.  If a student has. been trained to look only for key words, the additional information will confuse students but the reason or doing this is to help students learn to sort through information to decide which is important and which isn't.

Then personalize the problem by adding names to it.  You might choose the name of a student to make it more relatable by everyone.  At this point you've added enough details and names to turn the word problem into a story.  Remember, students relate to stories better than word problems.  You might start with a generalized problem on the specific number of apples needed for a pie and change it into a problem dealing with apple pies for thanksgiving. 

Turn any single step problem into a multiple steps tome it more challenging.  A one step problem might ask how long will it take to peel 30 apples if it takes 2 minutes to peel an apple.  To change this, you might tell someone that it took Sam 5 minutes to peel 2 apples and how long might it take the same person to peel 14 apples.

The final step is to change the numbers to make it more challenging and do not be afraid to end up with fractional answers.  The real world is more likely to end up with fractional answers so it is important for students to get used to working with them.  

So if you want to turn a word problem into a rich math task, just follow these steps to do it rather than searching the internet looking for the perfect topic.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear. Have a great day.