Maths Word Problem Strategies – Student Cheat Sheet
- Year groups
- Years 1–4
- File type
- Preparation
- Print ready
- Topic
- Word Problems, Addition Strategies
- Resource types
- Word Problems, Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables
- Preparation
- Print ready
From the author
About this resource
This resource is a maths strategy cheat sheet that students can utilize when solving word problems. Word problems can be tricky for students because they forget about the different strategies they can use to solve the world problems.
All you need to do is print off these cheat sheets and let students add them to their maths notebooks. When working on a problem, students can pull out this resource guide and determine which strategy will help them most.
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6 related resources were found in the released localized catalogue using shared categories and topics.
In the classroom
Teaching tips & learning objectives
Learning objectives
Identify and name common addition and subtraction strategies, such as number lines, ten frames, fact families, and tens rods and units
Compare how different strategies reach the same answer for a given addition or subtraction fact
Extend a place-value strategy (tens rods and units, a 120 chart) from a single-digit fact to a two-digit addition or subtraction problem
Teaching tips
Keep the addition side visible during addition practice and flip to the subtraction side during subtraction practice, since each strategy set is presented on its own page
Use the repeated 8+2 (addition) and 10-2 (subtraction) example shown across every strategy box to explicitly compare how different methods reach the same answer before applying the strategies to new problems
Introduce a few strategies at a time rather than the whole page at once, since fourteen addition strategies and eleven subtraction strategies are shown together on a single page each
Pair this reference with word problems from another resource, since this sheet itself demonstrates strategies using number-fact examples rather than word-problem scenarios
Skills covered
Strategy recognition — students identify named addition and subtraction strategies such as number lines, ten frames, fact families, and 120 charts.
Multi-representation understanding — students see the same addition fact (8+2) or subtraction fact (10-2) solved fourteen and eleven different ways, respectively.
Place-value strategy application — students see the tens-rods-and-units and 120-chart methods extended to two-digit addition and subtraction (34+23 and 57-23).
Good to know
Questions teachers ask about this resource
What examples does the sheet use to demonstrate each strategy?
Every addition strategy is shown solving the same fact, 8+2=10, and every subtraction strategy is shown solving 10-2=8, so students can compare how different methods reach the same result; a two-digit example (34+23=57 / 57-23=34) also appears near the bottom of each page.
Are the same strategies used for both addition and subtraction?
Several are shared — fingers, a number line, a ten frame, fact families, tens rods and units, and a 120 chart appear on both pages — while counting on and making an organized list are addition-specific and counting back is subtraction-specific.
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Resource details
Concepts & topics
Core concepts
Core concepts
Addition strategies
Subtraction strategies
Number sense
Place value
Topics
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