Five-Minute Activities for Young Learners

Box 124
Mathematics problems
Word problem
Number problem
Every day, William plays marbles with his friends.
(4 x 5) – 8 = 12
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
William won five marbles each day. On Friday he lost
eight marbles. How many marbles did he win?
Jill is learning to play the piano. She has two lessons
2 + (2 x 2) + 3 = 9
every week. On Mondays and Fridays she practises
in the mornings and in the afternoons. On Wednesdays,
Tuesdays and Thursdays she practises in the mornings.
How many times does Jill play the piano each week?
Follow-up
Ask the children to create other word problems to challenge their classmates.
They should write their name on a piece of paper and then write a word
problem, e.g. about chickens laying eggs in the farmyard, or about children
travelling on the school bus. Collect all the word problems and hand them
out to everyone in the class. When the children think they have written the
correct number problem, they should go to the original author and check
their answer. Encourage the children to use this opportunity to recycle
vocabulary, and to use their dictionaries to include new words in their word
problems.

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