Math Mad Libs
When students create their own problems they are able to internalize the text structure of the the word problem.
In Susan O’Connell’s book Introduction to Problem Solving, the author suggests helping students understand word problems by showing students how to connect problem solving to their own lives and interests. Using the idea of a creating a mad lib can accomplish this goal and add some fun to math class.
To understand problems (or situation) where the result is unknown, give the following mad lib:
________ (Name of a boy) had ______ (number from 1-10) green ________ (object that is green). He bought _____ (number between 1-5) more. How many green _________ (object that is green) does he have?
To understand problems (or situation) where the change is unknown, give the following mad lib:
________ (Name of a girl) has _______ (number between 10-19) cents. She got some more cents. She now has ______ (number between 20-30) cents. How much money did she get?
To understand problems (or situation) where the start is unknown, give the following mad lib:
________ (an animal that lays eggs) were hatching from eggs. _____ (number between 1-10)
__________(name of the animal) eggs hatched on _________ (day of the week). There were (number between 11-20) eggs by _________ (day that comes 2 days after the day of the week chosen in sentence 2). How many hatched on _______ (day of the week that falls 1 day after the first day that was chosen)?
For more problems to use to create mad libs, visit this website created by teacher leaders in South Dakota. https://sdesa.k12.sd.us/esa5/docs/sdcounts/SDCountsMathProblemBooklet.pdf