Ann Elise is the Queen of word problems so I’m going to send this to her and she will come in and answer.

Hi Christine!

There is the hierarchy of the word probelms from K, 1 to 2.  In kinder we explore Add to, Take From and PPW with the totals being unknown.  There also is the PPW with both parts unknown as we decompose numbers.  For first grade we introduce the changes or the parts unknown as well as easier versions of comparison.  For grade 2, the start becomes unknown and the harder comparson ones are explored as well as two-step problems.

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Here are two padlets of resources I’ve curated and created for exploring problem types:

Addition/Subtraction ones:  https://padlet.com/annelise_record17/problem-solving-k2-consulting-lelroxs59t6dn4vm

Multiplication/Division ones:  https://padlet.com/annelise_record17/problem-solving-35-consulting-evyhe9injqfyzt4b

You will find assessments I’ve created with one of each of the problem types together with a rubric and excel spreadsheet so you can see where your students are on the journey. You’ll then know which kids need work in small group with you and which ones the Tier 1 classroom should work on.  You can follow that hierarchy of probelm types no matter which grade the students are in.  Modeling the structure of the story types is really powerful. I love using Cuisenaire rods concretely to build to tape diagrams pictorially.  My favorite website for this is Thinking Blocks which is free.

To explore the problem types I suggest Numberless Word Problems, 3 Reads Strategy, and the super powerful Building Thinking Classrooms (book by Peter Liljedahl).  There are links to all these resources on the padlets.  I hope all this helps and be sure to reach back out with any questions!

Ann Elise