Progression of Skills - Applying Operations to Solve Word Problems

Before this lesson:

Students should be fluent in rounding to the nearest whole number from a fraction or decimal. For example, if a student can complete this rounding to the nearest whole number activity, Rounding to the Nearest Whole Number with little to no help,  they are ready for this toolkit lesson.  Although rounding is not used throughout all of the operations of the word problems provided in this toolkit,  it is a skill that students will need to have mastered to successfully engage with the toolkit skills and activities.  

Students Do:

 Round when deciding how many items to purchase at a store so family members or friends can all have an equal amount.

This Toolkit Lesson:

focuses on making sense of word problems involving the four basic operations.

Students Do:

Helping plan for a trip and how many miles can be driven before needing more gas, or building a schedule and organizing the time needed for events. 

After this lesson:

Students will be able to follow the steps to solve a word problem, understand how to use a leftover amount and begin to solve for unknown quantities throughout an equation.  Here is an activity that could come next:  Extension Activity 

Students Do:

Planning a road trip, and the car’s fuel efficiency is calculated in terms of miles per gallon to determine the total distance traveled and the total amount of fuel the car’s tank can hold.