Students struggle with word problems. They often say that it’s the hardest part of math exams. Many students have trouble to analyze word problems and if they don’t understand the situation well, they often grab numbers and do random operations.
In this routine, students are shown a version of word problem without numbers and, importantly, without a question! Students can’t jump into random calculations if there are no numbers and no questions to answer.
This routine encourages discussion and close reading before students are given all the information needed to get to answer. It allows all students to access the problem since they will have the benefit of hearing their peers’ comments. This is helpful for multi-level classes and students who might need a bit more time to understand the problem before starting to make calculations.
Note: Numberless Word Problems are very similar to Slow Reveal Graphs. If your students enjoyed those, they will likely enjoy Numberless Word Problems as well.
To begin:
To create a numberless word problem, remove the numbers from a word problem. Allow time for discussion with students. Then, give students the original problem with numbers. Does it help them think about relationships and model the problem mathematically without jumping in and randomly adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing?
This is a normal word problem:
Ivan has 8 quarters and 3 dimes in his pocket. Gaby only has quarters. Gaby has 4 more quarters than Ivan. Who has more money?
This is a numberless word problem:
Ivan has quarters and dimes in his pocket. Gaby only has quarters. Gaby has more quarters than Ivan.
Discussion around numberless word problems can be prompted by questions such as:
- What do you wonder?
- What do you notice?
- What do we know?
- What is going on in the problem?
- What can you picture in your mind?
- How do you know?
- What information is missing?
- What questions could we ask?
The group discusses the situation along the way and makes predictions about what the numbers could be and what questions they might try to answer.
This strategy helps all students find success with word problems and math problems in a real world context. The routine is useful test practice since you can start with a test question and strip away details that you will reveal slowly during class. By the time you present the original problem, the whole class will generally be confident and well-prepared. It’s a great confidence booster.
Numberless Word Problems can be found at https://numberlesswp.com and in our Slow Reveal Collection. See Teaching with word problems for other useful routines.
Here is a Numberless Word Problem example based on an HSE math practice question:
