Guided Multi-Step Problem Solving
With teacher guidance, make sense of multi-step and more complex problems by planning a pathway to the solution, identifying relevant information, and choosing appropriate operations
Typical age: 6–7 years
“If your child works out that 3 children each get 12 sweets and ends up with 5, does your child pause and say "that doesn't seem right" rather than just writing it down?”
0 / 3 mastered
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Needs first
- Feeling of not understanding
Evaluating whether a maths solution is reasonable applies the universal comprehension-monitoring habit
- Addition and subtraction within 20
Choosing strategies for adding within 20 requires planning and evaluating approaches
- Planning a Task
Planning a mathematical approach is the domain-specific application of the universal task-planning habit
- Early Word Problems
Planning approaches to word problems within 20 exercises this skill
- Making Sense of ProblemsREQUIRED
Age 6-7 problem-solving builds directly on age 5-6 problem-sense-making
Unlocks next
- Breaking Tasks into Steps
The SEL skill of breaking a big task into manageable steps parallels and builds on the mathematical practice of planning a step-by-step approach to complex problems
- Choosing a Strategy
The LtL strategy evaluation skill (9-10) builds on the early scaffolded habit of checking reasonableness in maths introduced at 6-7
- Multi-Step Problem SolvingREQUIRED
Age 7-8 problem-solving builds on age 6-7 problem-solving