Word problems: which operation?
A child who can do 48 ÷ 6 and cannot do it inside a story has an arithmetic skill and no way to know when to use it. The marks go at the decision, and almost every worksheet drills the part that is already working.
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You are shown a word problem and asked one question first: what do you do to it? The sum comes after, because that is not usually the part going wrong.
There are 6 boxes of pencils with 12 pencils in each box. How many pencils altogether?
The word is “altogether” and the answer is not addition. That is why this game never teaches keywords.
Why keyword tables make word problems worse
Word problems fail at the decision, not the arithmetic
A child who can do 48 ÷ 6 on its own but not inside a story does not have an arithmetic problem. They have an arithmetic skill and no way of knowing when to use it.
This matters because of what it means for practice. Almost every word-problem worksheet asks for the answer, so a child who picked the wrong operation and computed it perfectly is marked exactly the same as one who did not read the question - and neither the child nor the parent finds out which happened. The mark disappears and takes the diagnosis with it.
Splitting the question in two makes it visible. Ask for the operation on its own and the pattern shows up in about five minutes: for most children the operation score is well below the arithmetic score, and the gap between them is the entire problem.
Why keyword tables make it worse
The standard advice is a table of signal words: altogether means add, left means subtract, each means multiply. It is popular because it works on easy questions, and it fails on precisely the ones that carry marks.
| The question | What the keyword says | What it actually is |
|---|---|---|
| 6 boxes with 12 pencils in each. How many altogether? | “Altogether” → add | Multiplication. Equal groups, counted up. |
| Priya had 50 rupees and has 18 left. What did the pen cost? | “Left” → subtract | Subtraction, but of the wrong pair if you match blindly - it is 50 minus 18, not 18 minus something. |
| Arun scored 45, Vikram 62. How many more did Vikram score? | “More” → add | Subtraction. Nothing is added; two amounts are compared. |
| 84 saplings in rows of 7. How many rows? | No keyword at all | Division - and a child trained on keywords has nothing to go on. |
What works instead is naming the shape of the story. There are only a handful: two amounts put together, an amount that grows or shrinks, two amounts compared, equal groups counted up, one amount shared out. A child who can say “this is equal groups” has already chosen the operation, and that recognition survives an unfamiliar question in a way a word list never does.
How to help, in three questions
You need no method beyond these, and they work on any word problem in any textbook.
- “What is happening in the story?” Not what to do - what is happening. Someone is sharing, or comparing, or has equal groups. Answering this is choosing the operation.
- “Roughly how big should the answer be?” Bigger or smaller than what we started with? A child who expects an answer smaller than 50 will notice when they get 800, and estimating is the only thing that catches a wrong operation.
- “Read it again and tell me what it is asking for.” A surprising share of lost marks are questions answered correctly - just not the question that was asked.
Resist giving the operation, even when it takes a while. The moment you say “that is a multiply”, the only part that needed practising is over.
The maths worksheets carry word problems on paper with answer keys, and Times Tables matters here too - a child whose tables are slow avoids multiplication in word problems and picks addition instead, which looks like a reading problem and is not.
About this game
How do I teach my child to solve word problems step by step?
Split it in two, and do the parts in order. First: what is happening in the story - putting together, taking away, comparing, equal groups, sharing? That question chooses the operation. Only then write the sum and do it. Most children who struggle are being asked to do both at once, and the second one hides the failure in the first.
Should I teach keywords like 'altogether means add'?
No, and it is worth being firm about this. Keyword tables work on easy questions and break on the ones that carry marks - the pencils question in this game says 'altogether' and is multiplication. Teach the shape of the story instead: equal groups, comparing, sharing. That survives an unfamiliar question, and a word list does not.
Why does the game ask for the operation before the answer?
Because that is where the marks go, and asking only for the answer hides it. A child who chooses the wrong operation and computes it perfectly scores the same as one who did not read the question. Separating them shows the gap in about five minutes - for most children the operation score is well below the arithmetic score.
My child can do the sums but not the word problems. Why?
Because those are different skills and only one of them has been practised. Doing 48 divided by 6 is arithmetic; knowing that a story about sharing laddoos calls for it is comprehension. Worksheets drill the first, exams test both, and the gap only shows up under exam conditions.
What class is this for?
Class 2 to 5. The adding and taking away level suits Classes 2 and 3, where the two operations get confused by comparison questions. All four operations suits Classes 3 to 5, which is where multiplication and division start appearing in stories rather than as sums.
Why are there rupees and cricket runs in the questions?
Because a child reading about dollars and quarters is doing two unfamiliar things at once. Context should be invisible so the maths is the only hard part, and for an Indian child that means rupees, runs, laddoos and rickshaw fares.
My child gets the operation right but the answer wrong. Is that a problem?
It is much less of one, and the game reports the two scores separately for exactly that reason. Getting the operation right means the question was understood - the rest is arithmetic practice, which is far easier to fix and which most worksheets already provide.
Are there two-step problems?
One, deliberately, in the four-operation level. Two-step problems are where Class 5 marks vanish, and the failure is specific: children do the operation they spot first. In the biscuits question, a child who subtracts before multiplying gets a number that means nothing.
How long should we play?
Ten minutes, two or three times a week. This is a thinking activity rather than a drill, and it is tiring in a way that practising tables is not. Six questions properly discussed beats twenty rushed.
Is it free?
Yes, with no account, no email and no sign-up. Nothing your child does leaves the browser.
How do you play the word problem game?
- 1
Read the problem twice
The second reading is not wasted. Most misread questions are read once, quickly, and answered from the numbers.
- 2
Choose the operation, on its own
Before any arithmetic. Ask what is happening in the story - sharing, comparing, equal groups - because that is the same question as which operation.
- 3
Read why, even when you are right
The feedback names what the story is doing rather than a word to look for. That is the part that transfers to a question you have not seen.
- 4
Then do the sum
Reported separately, so you can see whether the marks are going on the thinking or the arithmetic. They are usually going on the thinking.
What it actually practises
- Choosing the operation - where word-problem marks are actually lost
- Recognising problem shapes: combining, comparing, equal groups, sharing
- Resisting keyword-matching, which breaks on exactly the hard questions
- Two-step problems, where the order of operations decides everything
When not to use it: It builds the decision, not the calculation. A child whose subtraction with borrowing is shaky still needs that practised - this makes sure they are at least doing the right sum.
Practise the same thing elsewhere
- Maths worksheetsWord problems on paper, with answer keys
- Times tablesSlow tables make children avoid multiplication in word problems
- Class 4 maths tuitionWhere word problems start carrying real marks
Wrong operation, perfect arithmetic, no marks.
It is the commonest way maths marks are lost from Class 3 onwards, and it is invisible on a report card. The first class is free, with no card.
- You tell us the class, board and what is going wrong.
- We match a teacher who has taught exactly that, and send you a time.
- A free 20-minute assessment. Sit beside your child if you like.
- No card, no commitment
- Live classes, never a crowd
- The same teacher every week