Problem solving: draw a picture
Read the problem. Say what you know and what you need to find. Draw it, then solve it.
- UK: Year 1
- France: grade 1
- Germany: grade 1
- Iran: grade 1
- Afghanistan: grade 5
- Syria: grade 1
- Ukraine: grade 1
- Russia: grade 1
Guide
Solving a problem has four steps: 1. understand the problem (what do we know, what are we asked?), 2. choose a strategy, 3. solve it, 4. look back and check the answer. This studio practises one problem-solving strategy: draw a picture.
In step 1 the child taps the facts needed to solve the problem and picks the question. Some problems include a number that is not needed; spotting it is part of understanding the problem.
The picture is a simple bar model: one bar for the whole with its parts underneath, or two bars to compare. It does not need to be a drawing of the real things; simple shapes are enough. The child picks up a number and puts it in its place, and puts ? where the number is not known.
The first mission suits Year 1: the answer is a number tile, so no typing is needed. Read the problem aloud if your child is not reading yet. Step 4, looking back, is the "why" question at the end of each mission.