Today I want to share about the difficulty of reaching all learners in your classroom. I don't know about you, but in most of the classes I have had there has been quite a range of levels in reading and math. To help with this, I created open ended, differentiated word problems to help students identify which operations to use, find multiple solutions to a given problem, and work within their ability and move up when needed.
I've created a set of word problems for each month of the school year in my TPT store, but there is also a free version of the September word problems available here if you would like to check it out. I usually do word Problem Wednesdays in my classroom, so each week I use a different set of problems. To give you an idea of how I use them in my classroom, I'll show you the basics.
Each set comes with four different problems, and each problem has three levels. There is also a full sized page for each level, that you can either project onto your SMART board or print off and give to the kids. These pictures are all from my February set, with roses as the subject for Valentine's Day. :)
Level 1 word problems include a read aloud, as some of these kiddos struggle reading. The addition or subtraction visuals are clear and the numbers they work with are not too large, usually less than ten.
Level 2 word problems include the words for students to read themselves. I usually have my class use highlighters to circle the key vocabulary. These numbers are in the middle range, up to about 30.
Level 3 word problems just build on level 2 and just involve working with larger numbers. The solutions to these problems can be anywhere up to 100.
Sometimes instead of having them glue the problems into their math journals, I have given groups a copy of the large problem for them to write on. This could also be laminated/put in a dry erase sleeve for kids to use dry erase markers on. They love collaborating together on these.
All sets of the problems include addition, subtraction, and working with money. If you have any suggestions for how to make these products better, I would always love to hear it! :)
These photos are all from my February set:
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| https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Open-Ended-Differentiated-Word-Problems-FEBRUARY-2359514 |
Also available in a year long bundle to save you money!
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| https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/YEAR-LONG-BUNDLE-Open-Ended-Differentiated-Word-Problems-2741348 |
Have a wonderful week!
Lauren
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