Avoid "key words." Ask "why?"

After our first chapter test, we spent the next 2 days diving into "How do I solve this question and WHY?"  The "why" is the most important part.  Many students are relying on "key words" to solve the lengthy word problems, rather than THINKING about what is happening.  If they're only looking at the "key words" then silly mistakes are happening and they're not able to understand the question.  Sometimes they end up giving up and just picking an answer.  Many students earned a lower score on heir test because of this...they understand how to add, subtract, etc.  What they don't understand is WHY they should use an operation.  They end up choosing the wrong one.  They add when they should have subtracted, and because of the key word they are sure they have done it correctly.  Then, they pick the closest answer, not the one that matches what they got.  DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOUR CHILD!

When I was in school I was taught key words.  You probably were too.  This makes the challenge even harder.  We have to STOP teaching our kids to use key words!  Instead we have to teach them to "think about what's happening and what makes sense." 

My goal is to teach your child to explain their thinking and why they do certain operations.  I want them to learn more than how to pass a test!  When you're looking over their homework, spend some time on the back page (where there are 6 word problems).  Ask them, "how do you solve this problem?" Then follow it up with, "why?"  Don't allow them to give answers such as, "the problem says 'how many more' so I knew to subtract." We practice this daily! Every class period starts with 2 word problems on skills we've already learned and word problems come up throughout each day's lesson.

Here are some examples of key words: