Money Word Problems Resources

Once your student understands the basic concepts of dealing with money in a mathematical sense, you can begin to challenge their understanding with word problems. Word problems push students to apply their understanding of mathematical concepts in real world scenarios.
The key to correctly solving a word problem is to determine the correct equation required to find the answer. The first step is to read the problem slowly and more than once. The goal is to identify certain keywords or phrases in the problem to tell us which operations we’re going to be performing.

Here are some sample keywords or phrases to look for:

• Addition: Total, In all, All together
• Subtraction: Difference, How much more, Less than
• Multiplication: Total, Group, Double
• Division: Half, Fourth, Each

As your student identifies these words and phrases they could highlight or underline them. Practicing with some of the resources provided by Education.com above may help your student with this.
Many word problems may require several steps to complete. Carefully reading the problem completely will allow your student to be aware of all of the necessary steps. In addition, when your student reaches the answer, they need to write the answer fully. For example, if the question is asking how much money Thomas would have, and the answer is $10, the full answer should read, “Tom would have $10.”
Teaching your student to take their time, read carefully to identify the keywords and phrases, and fully answer the question will allow them to further their understanding of mathematical concepts related to money.