Teaching Word Problems with Confidence

Inspired by CEC 2025 Session with Sarah Pawell, Kate Berry, and Megan Carroll

I recently gave my students a set of multi-step word problems personalized with their names and interests. These weren’t just generic problems—they were crafted with care to be engaging and accessible. Students worked in groups and had support… but they still couldn’t do it.

They couldn’t even figure out what the problems were asking.

That moment stopped me. I realized I had to change how I was teaching word problems—because it wasn’t just a math issue. It was a reasoning issue. A reading issue. A confidence issue.

 What I Learned at CEC

At CEC, I went to a session that completely flipped the way I think about word problems. I learned that strategies I had trusted—like labeling worksheets “Addition Word Problems” or posting keyword posters (“more” means add, “left” means subtract)—were actually limiting student thinking.

These cues shortcut the critical thinking process. And while they might help a few students get the right answer, they stop others from really understanding what’s happening in the problem.

What surprised me most? Removing the numbers actually makes it easier for students to understand word problems. Why? Because it forces them to focus on the context—the story—before they jump to solving. That shift is huge.

How I’m Shifting My Practice

To bring these ideas into my classroom, I started using two key tools:

Numberless Word Problems – Prompts that guide students to talk through a situation before seeing the math.

UPS Check Strategy – A step-by-step approach that helps students Understand, Plan, Solve, and Check every problem.

Why This Matters

For students who struggle with both math and reading (which is a lot of my students), word problems feel impossible. But when we teach them how to unpack a problem, recognize patterns, and reason through a situation—they gain more than math skills.

They gain problem-solving skills they’ll use in real life.

Reading comprehension impacts every academic subject. And when students build confidence in math word problems, they’re also building clarity, resilience, and self-trust.

Final Thought

This session made me rethink how I approach math instruction altogether. It’s not just about teaching steps. It’s about teaching thinking.

And I’d argue: that’s the most important thing we can do.