Learning Academy · Math
Making sense of word problems
'He can do the math — he just can't do word problems' is one of the most common sentences in tutoring. Here's what's actually breaking, and the fix that isn't keyword tricks.
Written by Andreea Schwimmer, M.A. — credentialed elementary teacher, 13+ years in TK–5 classrooms · Reviewed by South Bay Peak Learning
Last updated July 11, 2026 · 8-minute read · This guide is written to support families and complements — never replaces — communication with your child's classroom teacher.
In this guide you'll learn
- The three-link chain: comprehend the story, model the math, compute the answer
- Why keyword tricks ('altogether means add') quietly sabotage problem-solvers
- The read-retell-draw routine that fixes most word-problem struggles
- How to coach with questions instead of rescues
The word-problem lament is universal: he knows his math — he just can't do word problems. Here's the reframe that changes how you help: word problems aren't a math topic. They're a chain of three skills, and the computation your child owns is only the last link. When word problems fail, one of the first two links broke — and drilling the third link harder fixes nothing.
The three-link chain
Link 1 — Comprehend: understand the story: who has what, what happened, what's being asked. Pure reading comprehension, wearing numbers.
Link 2 — Model: translate the story into mathematics: what's known, what's unknown, and which structure connects them (joining? separating? comparing? equal groups?). This is the link school teaches least and children miss most.
Link 3 — Compute: the arithmetic. Usually the strongest link — which is precisely why "more computation practice" is the most common wrong prescription in math help.
Why keyword tricks backfire
The tempting shortcut — "altogether means add, left means subtract" — is instruction's junk food. It works on the exact problems it was built from, then fails treacherously: "Maya gave away 5 stickers and has 12 left — how many did she start with?" ("Left" — but the answer needs addition.) Worse than the wrong answers is the habit keywords install: grab numbers, grab a word, skip the story. Test-makers know the trick and write against it from 3rd grade on. Children need the opposite reflex — slow down and understand — and the tool for that is drawing.
The routine that works: read, retell, draw, then solve
- READ it twice — the first read is for the story, the second for the details (this alone fixes a surprising share of errors)
- RETELL it in their own words, including what's being asked — no retell, no pencil
- DRAW the situation: circles, stick figures, or bar models (rectangles for quantities — the single most powerful modeling tool in elementary math). The picture makes the operation visible instead of guessed
- ESTIMATE before computing: 'about how big should the answer be?' — the reasonableness alarm every problem-solver needs
- SOLVE, then CHECK against the story: 'does 3 buses for 52 kids... wait.' The story is the answer key
When to bring in help
Word-problem work is genuinely diagnostic territory — the struggle can live in reading, in modeling, in planning, or in computation, and they look identical from across the kitchen table. If the retell test keeps coming back foggy, check reading (this guide explains how); if modeling is the wall despite drawing practice, structured work with bar models and problem types moves it — a standard strand of my math tutoring, and honestly one of my favorites, because problem-solving is where math stops being homework and starts being thinking.
Suggested next reading
- Reading Comprehension, Explained — Link 1 lives here
- Mental Math Strategies — estimation power for Link 3
- Math Skills by Grade — when each problem type arrives
Questions parents ask
My child computes perfectly but bombs word problems. What's breaking?
One of the first two links in the chain: comprehending the story or modeling it mathematically. Have them retell a problem in their own words — if the retell is foggy, it's comprehension (possibly a reading issue); if the retell is clear but they can't pick an operation, it's modeling. Different links, different fixes.
Aren't keywords like 'altogether' and 'left' helpful shortcuts?
They help exactly until they betray: 'Maria has 5 more than Jake, they have 5 and how many does Jake have altogether?'-style problems are DESIGNED to punish keyword-grabbing, and later grades are full of them. Keywords teach children to skip understanding; drawing teaches them to build it.
Should my child write the equation first?
Picture first, equation second. The drawing (or bar model) IS the understanding; the equation is just its receipt. Children pushed to equations before models learn to guess-and-pray with operations.
How do I help without giving away the answer?
Ask, don't tell: 'What's the story? What do we know? What's it asking? Can you draw it?' If they solve it after your questions, THEY solved it — that's coaching. If you named the operation, that was a rescue, and rescues don't transfer to the next problem.