Table Of ContentMath Problem Solving
in Action
In this new book from popular math consultant and bestselling author Dr. Nicki
Newton, you’ll learn how to help students become more effective and confident
problem solvers. Problem solving is a necessary skill for the 21st century but can
be overwhelming for both teachers and students. Dr. Newton shows how to make
word problems more engaging and relatable, how to scaffold them and help
students with math language, how to implement collaborative groups for problem
solving, how to assess student progress, and much more.
Topics include:
• Incorporating problem solving throughout the math block, connecting
problems to students’ real lives, and teaching students to persevere;
• Unpacking word problems across the curriculum and making them more
comprehensible to students;
• Scaffolding word problems so that students can organize all the pieces in
doable ways;
• Helping students navigate the complex language in a word problem;
• Showing students how to reason about, model, and discuss word
problems;
• Using fun mini-lessons to engage students in the premise of a word
problem;
• Implementing collaborative structures, such as math literature circles, to
engage students in problem solving;
• Getting the whole school involved in a problem-solving challenge to
promote schoolwide effort and engagement; and
• Incorporating assessment to see where students are and help them get to
the next level.
Each chapter offers examples, charts, and tools that you can use immediately.
The book also features an action plan so that you can confidently move forward
and implement the book’s ideas in your own classroom. Free accompanying
resources are provided on the author's website, www.drnickinewton.com.
Nicki Newton has been an educator for 28 years, working both nationally and
internationally, with students of all ages. She has worked on developing Math
Workshop and Guided Math Institutes around the country. She is also an avid blog-
ger (www.guidedmath.wordpress.com), tweeter (@drnickimath), and Pinterest pin-
ner (www.pinterest.com/drnicki7).
Also Available from Dr. Nicki Newton
(www.routledge.com/eyeoneducation)
Math Problem Solving in Action:
Getting Students to Love Word Problems, Grades K–2
Guided Math in Action:
Building Each Student’s Mathematical Proficiency
with Small-Group Instruction
Math Workshop in Action:
Strategies for Grades K–5
Math Running Records in Action:
A Framework for Assessing Basic Fact Fluency in Grades K–5
Math Workstations in Action:
Powerful Possibilities for Engaged Learning in Grades 3–5
Math Problem Solving
in Action
Getting Students to Love Word
Problems, Grades 3–5
Dr. Nicki Newton
First published 2017
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Taylor & Francis
The right of Nicki Newton to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Thank you to Chelsea Schoeck at Teachers Pay Teachers (https://www.
teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Chelsea-Schoeck) for the use of her Snapcubes
clip art, which appears throughout the book.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Newton, Nicki.
Title: Math problem solving in action : getting students to love word problems,
grades 3–5 / by Nicki Newton.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016031045 | ISBN 9781138206410 (hardback) | ISBN
9781138206441 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Mathematics—Study and teaching (Elementary) | Word
problems (Mathematics)
Classification: LCC QA135.6 .N488 2017 | DDC 372.7—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016031045
ISBN: 978-1-138-20641-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-20644-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-46505-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Palatino and Formata
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Dedication
I dedicate this book to my mom, pops, bigmom & daddy
Contents
eResources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Meet the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
1 Real Stories, Deep Understanding: We Don’t Grow
Cornfields in the South Bronx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 The Basic Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3 Problem Types Across the Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4 Structures to Scaffold Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5 The Language of Word Problems: Things to Think About . . . . . . 78
6 Reasoning About Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
7 Modeling Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
8 Mini-Lessons: Springboards into Great Word Problem
Premises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
9 Math Literature Problem-Solving Circles and Other
Collaborative Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
10 Schoolwide Efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
11 Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
12 Action Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
◆ vii
eResources
Additional resources to accompany this book can be found on the author’s
website at www.drnickinewton.com
◆ ix
