Guiding Students' Next Steps for Money Word Problems

Prior to this learning activity, students have learned the attributes of coins, their values, and have been introduced to money word problems. Students have also had practice adding and subtracting money equations.

The teacher explains that they will be reading money word problems, deciding which operation to use, and then adding/subtracting to get an answer. They will be expected to use correct symbols when recording their answers. Once the students have worked the word problems on their own using pencil and paper, they will be assessed using Plickers to guide the teacher's next steps.

The teacher then shows students an example of both an addition and subtraction money word problem.

The teacher then hands out “money word problem task cards” with ten different money word problems. Students will work out each problem individually and label their answer.

Once all students have completed their task cards individually, the class will do a formative assessment using Plickers. Each student will receive a response card. The teacher will have premade questions on the Plickers website to match the task cards. Students will then hold up their responses to the questions they answered on the task cards.

The teacher will display the question. The students will hold up their response card to match the answer they calculated on their own. The teacher will then scan in all student answers. The teacher will then have a student explain how they calculated the correct answer and show their work on the board.

Once all ten word problems have been assessed and reviewed, the teacher will look at the data on the Plickers data report sheet to decide who has mastered the skill and who still needs support.

The teacher will then work with the students who need support at a small group table. The teacher will keep a checklist to mark student progress. This group will practice simple money word problems. (Example: If you have one dime and one penny, how much money do you have?)

As these students in the small group begin to show mastery of simple word problems, the teacher will then begin to make the word problems more challenging.

For students who showed mastery during the formative assessment check, they will move to more challenging money word problem tasks. The teacher will visit with these students in the small group to see how well they performed with the challenging problems.

The teacher will use the Plicker assessment results and the knowledge gained from the small group setting to guide the next steps to teaching money word problems.