Here is an example of a “change over time” story problem.

Geraldine volunteers at the local cat shelter. On Monday, there are cats at the shelter. On Tuesday, more cats arrive at the shelter. How many cats are there now?

Solve this story problem with a picture. Did you use addition or subtraction to solve this problem?

Write another “change over time” story problem and then solve it with a picture. Challenge yourself to use the opposite operation as the first problem, and to not use time-indicating words like “Monday” or “tomorrow”.
Here is an example of a “part-part-whole” story problem.

Pamela has stickers on her notebook. of those stickers are from her local metro parks. How many of Pamela’s stickers are not from her local metro parks?

Solve this story problem with a picture. Did you use addition or subtraction to solve this problem?

Write another “part-part-whole” story problem and then solve it with a picture. Challenge yourself to use the opposite operation as the first problem, and to not use time-indicating words like “Monday” or “tomorrow”.
Here is an example of a “comparison” story problem.

Santiago baked dozen cookies on Monday, and then baked dozen cookies on Tuesday. How many more dozen cookies did Santiago bake on Monday than he did on Tuesday?

Solve this story problem with a picture. Did you use addition or subtraction to solve this problem?

Write another “comparison” story problem and then solve it with a picture. Challenge yourself to use the opposite operation as the first problem, and to not use time-indicating words like “Monday” or “tomorrow”.
Compare and contrast your solutions to each problem type. How did addition and/or subtraction show up? How were the pictures the same? How were they different?
2025-08-13 00:41:55