How to Create Word Problem Worksheets
- 1). Determine the skills need to be practiced. Many word problem worksheets are designed to help students review skills learned in a daily lesson or to practice skills taught in other chapters or units. Identify and list the types of skills the problems should contain. If the student needs to practice reading a clock, for example, list all the skills necessary, such as identifying the big and little hands, counting by fives, dividing the minutes into quarter hours or halves, or counting off the 60 minutes in an hour. Write these skills down.
- 2). Write drafts of the word problems. Word the problems so that information is not too easily identifiable. For example, a problem concerning time could read, "Joey has to be in school at a quarter past eight. It takes twenty minutes for him to walk to school and ten minutes if he rides his bike. Joey got out of bed at seven twenty-seven on Monday morning. If he rides his bike, what is the latest he needs to leave his house?" The student has to figure out how many minutes Joey has to get to ready and get to school, and how many minutes before the deadline he'll need to leave. He also must ignore the extraneous information about how long it would take to walk to school.
- 3). Type the problems into a word processing program. Number each problem and provide space at the end of each problem for the student to make notes or work out the problems. Make the answer blank easy for the child to find. Be sure to include graphics or pictures that are necessary to complete the problem. A drawing of a clock could be placed on the worksheet for time problems.
- 4). Create an answer key that shows each problem worked out and the method used to do it. Type the answers into the word processing document using an ink color that contrasts with the original document. Include each step or make a note of any skill or hint you want to give the student. Make copies of the worksheet for the students and a copy of the answer sheet to keep with your lesson plans.
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