Composing text problems by students
To master the ability to solve word problems, you need to know and understand their structure. You can learn it, arranging tasks. Students should acquire this skill in parallel with learning the art of solving problems. In elementary education, the ability to arrange tasks can be shaped in many ways. We will discuss them with examples.
First of all, attention should be paid to arranging tasks analogous to the solved tasks. Good patterns of tasks with a correct structure are necessary, reflecting the nature of the type of tasks being learned and specific mathematical relationships. Analogies may apply:
a) figures and actions leading to the solution,
b) numerical data,
c) actions used to solve.
Arranging data analogous tasks using the same numbers or actions.
Arranging tasks analogous to the task, in other words, transforming a task, it concerns changing the content of the problem without changing the numbers and the way of solving it. For example, students solve a problem during the lesson:
It was on the plate 6 apples and 3 pears. How much fruit was on the plate?
When solving the problem it was established, that there are numbers in the task 6 (apples) i 3 (pears), while to answer a question, the addition must be performed: 6 + 3 = .
Many tasks can be solved in the same way. The student should understand this well, therefore we propose to arrange the tasks with the same data – numbers and the same solution – action 6 + 3 =. You can, especially in the early stages of developing skills, advise students on the subject, which may be related to new tasks, e.g.. Complete the task with the same numbers, which can be solved in the same way, but with a different content. These can be tasks: about collecting chestnuts, buying pencils, measuring the length of the boards, weighing fruit, etc.. E.g:
Janek collected 6 chestnuts, and Piotrek 3 chestnuts. How many chestnuts they collected together?
Ania bought it 6 pencils and 3 felt-tip pens. How many writing utensils Ania bought?
You can arrange new tasks in a similar way, using only numbers, e.g.. comparing what is more or less and by how much, be arranging tasks with any data and with any content, but such, so that they can be solved, using addition.
The children planted in the garden 5 pansies and 3 daisies. How many flowers have the children planted? Marek found it 7 mushrooms, and Kamila 5. How many mushrooms did the children find?