Writing Story Problems

Introduction

You will practice writing story problems that your classmates will be able to solve. 

Task

Write 3-5 story problems about combining. Be sure that you ask a question. You will then need to provide an answer for your story problems. You will then create a worksheet on a GoogleDoc for your classmates to complete.

Process

Follow these steps to complete your story problems.

1. Watch the following videos. Let Mrs. Samuelson know when you are ready and she will put in the login and password.

Brainpopjr.com

             Choosing an Operation

             Solving Word Problems

Brainpop.com

             Word Problems

2. Begin your story problem by writing three statements.

Example: 1. Mrs. Samuelson has two cats.

                2. Mr. Samuelson has one dog.

                3. There are three pets at the Samuelson's house.

3. Decide which statement you are going to leave out from your story problem.

Example: I am going to leave out statement 3. There are three pets at the Samuelson's house.

4. Begin your story problem by writing the two statements that you have decided to keep.

Example: Mrs. Samuelson has two cats and Mr. Samuelson has one dog.

5. Add a question to your story problem.

Example: Mrs. Samuelson has two cats and Mr. Samuelson has one dog. How many pets are there at the Samuelson's house?

6. Answer your question.

Example: 2 cats + 1 dog = 3 pets

7. Create a worksheet in a GoogleDoc for your classmates to complete. Don't forget to leave the answers off of your worksheet!

8. Hand in your story problems with your answers and share your GoogleDoc with Mrs. Samuelson.

Evaluation

Below you will find the rubric for creating your story problems.

 

1 point

2 points

3 points

4 points

Story problems

I created less than 3 story problems.

I created 3 story problems.

I created 4 story problems.

I created 5 or more story problems.

Story problem content

My story problems are not appropriate for 5th graders.

My story problems are too easy for 5th graders to solve.

My story problems are too hard for 5th graders to solve.

My story problems contain appropriate 5th grade materials.

Story problem statements

I did not write statements for the story problems I created.

I wrote 2 statements for the story problems I created.

I wrote 3 statements for most of the story problems I created.

I wrote 3 statements for each story problem I created.

Beginning Story Problem

I did not write the statements.

The statements I wrote did not go with my story problems.

I wrote the two statements I wanted on most of my story problems.

I wrote the two statements I wanted to keep.

Question

I did not ask a question.

I asked questions, but they did not ask the right question.

I asked the right question on most of my story problems.

I asked the right question on all of my story problems.

Answers

I did not answer my story problems.

I answered my story problems, but did not answer them all correctly.

I answered most of my story problems.

I answered all of my story problems correctly.

Worksheet

I did not create a worksheet for my classmates to complete.

I created a worksheet for my classmates to complete, but left the answers.

I created a worksheet without the answers for my classmates to complete, but I did not include all of my story problems.

I created a worksheet without the answers for my classmates to complete.

Spelling/Grammar

I have five or more spelling or grammar mistakes.

I have four or fewer spelling or grammar mistakes.

I have three or fewer spelling or grammar mistakes.

I do not have any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Conclusion

To close out this activity, you will choose two story problem worksheets to complete. After you are done, you will have a deep understanding of how to write and solve story problems.

After completing your two worksheets, please rank yourself on our 1-4 scale on writing and solving story problem.

1: I do not understand the concept.

2: I am still a little confused.

3: I understand. I can do it by myself.

4: I understand and can teach it to a friend.

You also need to complete an effort meter for your completion of this activity.

Zero effort. I didn't really try.

Little effort, but I did not finish.

Some effort. I completed the task, but I amy have rushed through it.

Okay effort, but I can think of many things that would make it better.

Good effort. I know I could do more though!

Great effort. I think I could do one thing to make it even better.

Exceptional effort! I worked hard on this! I gave my all to this!

Credits

Extension Activities:

This Web Quest can be modified to fit all the learners. The same process can be used as students learn separating story problems, equal group story problems, and comparison story problems. They can also be mixed so the students have to determine which process they are doing when completing the worksheets the other students have created. 

Once students have a solid understanding on all four story problem types, they can then write and solve story problems using fractions.

The students could also create their own Web Quest describing how to solve each of these types of problems.

Teacher Page

Writing story problems is a concept I have seen 5th grade students struggle with every year. This gives them another opportunity to get extra practice instead of just doing one of these problems on their daily assignments. You can easily show the students how to complete the Web Quest by completing one along with them. My suggestion is to give them approximately a week to complete this. The time can easily be adjusted based on where the students are every day. 

This Web Quest can cover any standards that deal with problem solving, adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, and real-world problems.