Word Math Problems for Grade Five
Fifth grade math students have learned the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division during their primary elementary education. Now, it's time to put those skills to work by solving word problems. Word problems require students to use logic and reasoning to figure out the best course of action to reach the desired answer to an equation presented in words, rather than just numbers and symbols.
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Addition Problems
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Word problems centered around addition should require fifth grade students to engage critical math thinking skills to solve the equation. One question might read, "Where should the addition signs be placed to make the sequence of numbers 987654321 add up to 99?" However, questions may also involve addition and another function. For instance a word problem that reads, "A teacher needs to be at school by 8:00 am. She needs 20 minutes to shower, 15 minutes to eat and 10 minutes to commute. What time will she need to wake up?" requires students to add minutes, and subtract them from units of time to find the answer.
Ordering Problems
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By fifth grade, students should be able to determine vital information, such as numerical order, by reading a word problem and analyzing the facts. An example of a problem dealing with numerical ordering may read, "Joe is younger than Jill, Jill is younger than Bob. Bob is older than Sue and Tom is younger than Sue. List the people in order of age from youngest to oldest."
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Multiplication Problems
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Fifth grade word problems involving multiplication should require students to identify the multipliers within the text to properly solve the equation. Problems may read something like, "Sally read her book for two hours. Joe read three times as long as Sally. For how long did Joe read?" Substitute larger numbers, fractions or amounts of time for whole numbers to increase the difficulty of the problems.
Division Problems
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Division word problems for fifth graders should focus on a child's ability to properly order an equation to create an effective division problem. A basic problem for the fifth grade level would be, "The Smith family eats 36 loaves of bread every nine days. How many loaves of bread does the Smith family eat on a daily basis?" Supplement with additional questions to make multipart division word problems. For instance, "How many loaves of bread will the Smith family eat in January?" requires students to take their initial answer and multiply it by the number of days in the month of January.
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References
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