How to Help Kids Solve Math Word Problems

By the Success Tutoring team · October 5, 2026

Many children who are confident with sums suddenly freeze when the same math is wrapped in words. Word problems ask children to do several things at once: read carefully, understand a situation, decide which operation to use, calculate and check. The good news is that word problems are a skill that can be taught, with a clear method and plenty of practice talking problems through.

Why word problems are hard

• Reading load: children who find reading hard may not understand the question, even if the math is easy.
• Choosing the operation: deciding whether to add, subtract, multiply or divide is the real challenge.
• Extra information: some problems include numbers that aren't needed.
• More than one step: older problems often need two or three calculations in order.
• Rushing: many children grab the numbers and do the first operation that comes to mind.

A five-step method

1. Read it twice. The first time, just understand the story. The second time, look for the details.
2. Say it in your own words. “So, Sam had some stickers, gave some away, and we need to know how many are left.”
3. Draw it. A quick sketch, bar model or number line. This is often the step that unlocks the problem.
4. Solve it. Write the number sentence and calculate.
5. Check it makes sense. Reread the question. Does the answer fit the story? Is it a sensible size? Have you included units?

Practise saying the steps aloud until they become a habit. Some families write them on a card to keep by the homework space.

Draw a bar model

Bar models are simple rectangles that show how the numbers in a problem relate to each other. They're widely used in schools because they work for all four operations and make the choice of operation much clearer.

• Part-whole: “Mia has 12 red beads and 9 blue beads. How many altogether?” Draw two bars side by side (12 and 9) with a bracket over both for the total.
• Comparison: “Tom has 25 cards. Ali has 8 fewer. How many does Ali have?” Draw Tom's longer bar and Ali's shorter bar underneath, with the gap labelled 8.
• Equal groups: “4 boxes each hold 6 eggs.” Draw one bar split into 4 equal parts with 6 in each.

Once children see the picture, the number sentence usually follows naturally.

Be careful with keywords

Children are sometimes taught that “altogether” means add and “left” means subtract. Keywords can be a helpful hint, but relying on them causes mistakes. Look at this problem: “Jess has 5 more stickers than Ben. Jess has 12. How many does Ben have?” The word “more” suggests adding, but the answer needs subtraction. Always encourage children to understand the story rather than hunt for keywords.

Multi-step problems

For older children, break longer problems into smaller questions. “A cinema ticket costs 8 dollars and popcorn costs 4 dollars. How much do 3 tickets and 2 popcorns cost?” Ask: “What do we need to find first?” (the cost of the tickets), then “What next?” (the popcorn), then “What's the final step?” (add them). Writing each step on its own line keeps work organised and makes errors easy to find.

Practice ideas at home

• Make up problems together about real life: “There are 4 of us and 10 strawberries. How many each? What about the leftovers?”
• Swap roles. Let your child write problems for you. Writing a problem shows they really understand it.
• Read problems aloud for children who find reading hard, so they can focus on the math.
• Remove the numbers. Give a problem with blanks and ask, “Would you add, subtract, multiply or divide?” It builds understanding without calculation pressure.
• Use printable practice. Our addition and subtraction word problems and multiplication and division word problems worksheets are free to print.

Build the fact fluency underneath

When basic facts are slow, all of a child's attention goes on calculating, leaving little for understanding the problem. Short daily practice with the addition game, times tables game or division game frees up thinking space. Reasoning puzzles in our thinking skills game help too.

Common mistakes to watch for

• Using all the numbers. Some problems include information you don't need. Ask: “Which numbers help answer the question?”
• Answering the wrong question. Working out how many apples Sam has when the question asked how many more Ali has. Underline the question sentence.
• Forgetting units. An answer of “12” might need to be 12 cm, 12 dollars or 12 minutes.
• Stopping after step one of a two-step problem. Rereading the question at the end catches this.

Above all, praise the thinking, not just the answer. “I love how you drew that” or “good idea to check it” build the habits that make word problems easier every year.

Frequently asked questions