Something that explains the how-to's of word problems?

[PinkInTheBlue]

Last night I saw that our local Barnes and Noble has several of Singapore's word problem workbooks. They look great for more practice and that's something I'm looking for. However, what I really want before that is something that educates on HOW to do word problems. Something that covers what to look for and how to decipher which action is needed. I don't remember learning this and I believe that even I am not as fluid at word problems as I should be. They are very uncomfortable for me.

 

So, anyone know of any workbook, curriculum, book or anything that specifically teaches the mechanics of word problems?

 

Thank you!

[Guest]

"Crossing the River With Dogs" is a terrific book for older kids (it says high school), but my daughter and I have gone through all of it except one chapter, and she is 13. It would probably work for your two oldest. The book is organized by problem-solving methods or techniques: using diagrams, turning a word problem into charts, using basic algebra, using manipulatives or props to act out a problem, how to set up proportions, Venn diagrams, breaking a problem down into smaller components, etc. I found it HUGELY useful. And my daughter, a math-o-phobe, actually asked to work from this book, for fun. However, it's a textbook, it's hardback, and it's expensive. I'd try really hard to get it from a library to see if it's what you want.

 

"Challenge Math for the Primary and Middle Grades" does some of this, not as much and not as explicitly, but still it's useful.

 

That said, if you are looking for something on a more basic level for your younger children, such as when to use division, how to work percent word problems, etc., this is not the book.

[Tonia]

 

Math Tutor DVD has good stuff - I know they have a dvd set for word problems. You can see samples of the videos at the website too.

[Crimson Wife]

:bigear:

If there's a resource that would be good for a student working at about a 3rd grade level in math, I'd really love to hear about it!

[cheryl h]

So, as part of the review at the beginning of the book for A Beka 4, it has you learn all the "clue words" for certain functions and how to work through a story problem. We made a poster to put up in the beginning and now we have it down. Words like altogether, both, in all, sum, total...add; for difference, how much more, how many more, how many are left, less than, more than...subtract; each, times, product...multiply. This of course would be for the younger crowd. Though it didn't list for us the clue words for dividing, it seems to have come naturally after all that. Hope this helps.

[Mabelen]

"Crossing the River With Dogs" is a terrific book for older kids (it says high school), but my daughter and I have gone through all of it except one chapter, and she is 13. It would probably work for your two oldest. The book is organized by problem-solving methods or techniques: using diagrams, turning a word problem into charts, using basic algebra, using manipulatives or props to act out a problem, how to set up proportions, Venn diagrams, breaking a problem down into smaller components, etc. I found it HUGELY useful. And my daughter, a math-o-phobe, actually asked to work from this book, for fun. However, it's a textbook, it's hardback, and it's expensive. I'd try really hard to get it from a library to see if it's what you want.

 

"Challenge Math for the Primary and Middle Grades" does some of this, not as much and not as explicitly, but still it's useful.

 

That said, if you are looking for something on a more basic level for your younger children, such as when to use division, how to work percent word problems, etc., this is not the book.

 

This sounds great, I think this is what my dd might need. She is an A math student but word problems are a problem! I just checked and Amazon has the first book you mention. They also have a Kindle edition which is slightly cheaper but still pricey.

 

You say it is a text book, do you need the teacher's edition as well or are all the explanations and answers in the student text book?

Edited February 8, 2010 by Mabelen

[Socalmom]

I really like the looks of "Crossing the River With Dogs"! I think it's something that would be great for my middle school DD. I looked at the reviews on Amazon and one of them mentioned that there is an older version of this with the same material. There are used copies available for a very reasonable price. It is ISBN 1559533706. I'm going to check it out. Thank you!

 

Margie

(mostly a lurker :001_smile:)

[Guest]

There aren't any answers in the regular "Crossing the River with Dogs" text. A separate instructor's guide is available, but I didn't buy that, as the text itself was sort of a wild jump into the unknown and I had no idea what was in it. Because it's laid out by methods and similar kinds of problems, my daughter and I between us could generally figure out NEARLY every problem, but not all. So I guess it whether you needed the instructor's guide would depend on how you prefer to do things: read ahead, know, and show; or be willing struggle through alongside your child. Either way works, I think. They just work differently.

 

The problems get increasingly difficult in every chapter as you go through them; they start off fairly easy. We just went until we hit the wall, which was usually fairly close to the end of the chapter set and the math required was a notch higher than what my daughter knew at the time.

[stripe]

The Essential Parents' Guide to Primary Maths (ISBN 9789810174583) is sort of like this, but it's OOP so hard to find.

 

There are two ed2go online math classes, aimed at adults, about Singapore's Primary Mathematics style word problems.

[lamolina]

Hi- I know this is an old thread, but just wondering if anyone else has used Crossing the River with Dogs, and if you think the teacher manual is important? The book is available used but I can't find the TM.

Also, if you have used it, could you tell me for what age?

Thanks!

[hmschooling]

Singapore math has a supp book called Visible Thinking. It's awesome!!!!!

[5LittleMonkeys]

This might help a bit.