Math: Are word problems easier than equations?

[Five More Minutes]

DD6 has been reviewing subtraction within 100, and while she's doing it accurately, it is slooooooowww. I thought we'd do some subtraction-based word problems to reinforce those regrouping skills that seem to be taking so much time. What surprised me was her ability to look at the word problem, and immediately "see" the answer. These were the same subtraction questions she had been working on as equations, but when they were expressed in word problems, she was able to rapidly arrive at the answer. I decided to ramp up the difficulty of the problems, and she still wasn't having any difficulty arriving at answers.

 

So my question is: is this a typical 6-year old thing, finding word problems so much easier than math sentences? Is this just a developmental phase that will resolve itself, or do I need to try to help her make that connection between word problems and math equations? If so, how?

[wapiti]

I think that's a thinking-style sort of thing, your child's individual combination of strengths and weaknesses. My kids tend to be the exact opposite - equations easy, word problems hard :tongue_smilie:

[nova147]

I don't think it's typical, though it seems to be common among gifted kids. I think the best "solution" is harder word problems. With the easy ones, she can "see" the answer. You need to find/make ones hard enough that she needs to write the equation to fin the answer. I had this problem with DS in LoF Fractions a few weeks ago. He had no problem reducing easy fractions in the text, but when the "your turn" had a tough one, he didn't know what to do. The easy ones he could "see", so he didn't lean HOW to do it. BTW, it's hard to make fractions that are tough to reduce! :D

[jennynd]

make sure don't let her do everything in her head... make her write it down

[Dana]

BTW, it's hard to make fractions that are tough to reduce! :D

 

Use prime factorization & it's easy (and shows why using prime factorization is the best method for reducing fractions). Include a factor of 13 or 17 (or often even a couple of 7's) and that really gets them :)

[FairProspects]

I think that's a thinking-style sort of thing, your child's individual combination of strengths and weaknesses. My kids tend to be the exact opposite - equations easy, word problems hard :tongue_smilie:

 

:iagree:I think it just shows that verbal is her strength - putting the problem into words makes it much easier for her to solve. I was the same way as a kid. Ds is the opposite. Putting it into an equation or pictures makes it easier for him to solve, and words = hard.

[shann]

I don't think it is unusual. Based on what I read in Arithmetic for parents equations require abstract thinking which develops later for most children. Using words puts the numbers in context, makes them real.

[Tanikit]

My 4.5 year old DD is also better with word problems than with equations. She has found it difficult to turn a word problem into an equation even when she knows the answer immediately because she has little concept of + and - although she knows when to do each. We are busy working on this now and she is picking it up rapidly - I am also wondering whether it will make her find equations easier later and if so how to get the correct balance so that she can do both with ease. I think at this age the word problems are easier to visualise and the numerals do not mean much - there seems to be an extra step for my DD to turn the equation into real life quantities.

[blondeviolin]

I don't think it is unusual. Based on what I read in Arithmetic for parents equations require abstract thinking which develops later for most children. Using words puts the numbers in context, makes them real.

 

:iagree:

[Five More Minutes]

Thanks for the responses -- you've all been so helpful. Please bear with me as I think through this here. Part of the challenge for me is that I think so differently from my daughter that I'm having a hard time getting my head around it.

 

So, this is hard for her:

 

38 - 7

 

But this is easy (so easy, in fact, that she asked me to make it more challenging!! :glare:):

 

Danny bought 63 apples and 27 pears. How many more apples than pears did he get?

 

From what I'm hearing from you, this is either (a) a 6-year old thing because numbers are more abstract than stories; or (b) a result of her strengths in language.

 

And the good news is that you all seem to be saying to just keep on with what we're doing, maybe throwing in tougher word problems more often.

 

Did I get that right? :001_smile:

Edited May 16, 2012 by Lynnita

[Tanikit]

I actually would probably teach her to turn the word problem into equations and get her to turn the equations into word problems so that she can work with both.

 

38 - 7 = teach her to say a story for this: There are 38 apples on the tree and 7 fall down, how many are left. Working out a story for herself is creative and possibly not that easy for her til she has been shown a few times how to do it. You may also need to go back to manipulatives.

 

Is she able, after being given the word problem with the apples and pears , to write down the equation 63 - 27 (don't worry about the answer when teaching this) or is this all done in her head? She does need to be able to do both.

[Five More Minutes]

I actually would probably teach her to turn the word problem into equations and get her to turn the equations into word problems so that she can work with both.

 

38 - 7 = teach her to say a story for this: There are 38 apples on the tree and 7 fall down, how many are left. Working out a story for herself is creative and possibly not that easy for her til she has been shown a few times how to do it. You may also need to go back to manipulatives.

 

Thanks -- that's a good reminder that I need to do that more often.

 

Is she able, after being given the word problem with the apples and pears , to write down the equation 63 - 27 (don't worry about the answer when teaching this) or is this all done in her head? She does need to be able to do both.

 

Sometimes she can write the equation down afterwards without my help; sometimes I have to walk her through it. (I never let her leave a word problem with just an answer; we always have to write the equations that got us to the answer.) Right now, though, she keeps insisting that in her head she's adding when it's question related to difference; as she walks me through the steps she's doing in her head, I realize that she's using number bonds and rapid regrouping, but because she thinks of those as "adding" she has a really hard time writing an equation.