Problem Solving Strategies

Problem Solving Strategies What strategy is best?

Task As we go through the strategies you are going to write the name of the strategy down, and if you want to an illustration to help you remember. There are 12 Problem Solving Strategies that can help us solve a problem! When you are given a problem, it is handy to have a variety of strategies to help you work it out. You will already be using some of them without knowing.

Problem Solving Strategies • Draw a Picture • Make a Table • Write a Number Sentence • Guess and Check • Look for a Pattern • Use Materials • Make a Model • Act it out • Explore Possibilities • Make a List • Work Backwards • Solve a Simpler Problem

Reminders • For each question: • Write the strategy down • Work out the answer on your own whiteboard/paper • Hold it up when you get an answer • Remember, word problems have full sentence answers - not just numbers

1. Draw a Picture Emme and Makayla are making pizzas. If one pizza has 6 whole mushrooms on it, how many mushrooms they need to make 6 pizzas? Work:

2. Make a Table Dad gives you $50 for doing your chores a month. how much will you have at the end of the year? Work

3. Write a Number Sentence A) Nathan has three times as many skateboards as his sister. his sister has 3 skateboards. B) Nathan’s mom takes four skateboards away and then buys him a new one. How many skateboards does Nathan have? Work: A- 3 X S = N, S= 3 3 x 3 = 9, N = 9 B- N - 4 + 1 = ? 9 - 4 + 1 = 5 +1 = 6

4. Guess and Check Mrs. Moore decided to take all her children to see a movie. The tickets cost $5 for children and $12 for adults. She spent $124. How many children and how many adults went tothe movies? Work:

5. Look for a Pattern You arrange tennis balls in triangular shapes as shown. How many balls will there be in a triangle that has five rows. * Can you find a rule to explain the pattern? Work:

6. Use Materials Mrs. Guillory has four squares of yellow cardboard. She asked her class to join them all so they are connected by at least one edge. How many different ways can you do this? Work:

7. Make a Model Jake has 21 bricks to build a wall in a pattern of 1, 2, 3, 4 … bricks high. How many bricks long can he make the wall? Work:

8. Act it out Four students measured their heights. Nick was taller than Julie, but not as tall as Luke. Ashlynn was taller than Luke. Write down their names in order of their heights, from shortest to tallest. Work:

9. Explore Possibilities Susie the snake has up to 20 eggs. She counted her eggs in fours. She had three left over. She counted them in fives. She had 4 left over. How many eggs has Susie got? Work: Group of 5 4 leftover Groups of 4 3 leftover

10. Make a List The letters ABC, can be put into different order. How many different combinations of the letters ABC can you make? Work: ABC ACB BCA BAC CBA CAB

11. Working Backwards Shane got on the school bus. At that stop after Shane’s, 7 students got on. Five students got on the bus at the next stop. At the last stop before school, 9 students got on. When the bus arrived at school, 38 students got off. How many students when already on the bus when Shane got on? Work: Got off : 38 Students Got on : 1+7+5+9 = 22 students Before Shane : 38-22 = 16 students

12. Solve a Simpler Problem A problem may seem very difficult. It may contain large numbers or appear to require many steps to solve. Instead of solving the given problem, solve a similar but simpler problem. Look for lesser numbers, patterns, and relationships. Then use what you’ve learned to solve the original problem. The houses on Main Street are numbered consecutively from 1-100. How many house numbers contain at least one digit 7? Work: Change to a simpler problem - Work out for houses 1-50. 1-10 > 7 11 - 20 > 17 21- 30 > 27

NOW WE CAN SOLVE ANY PROBLEM.

Problem Solving Strategies