Magic words to look for in math class
Okay, real-talk: hands up if word problems stress you outπββοΈπ
I have always found that the key to word problems is actually understanding what MATH words mean, in like, normal-speak. When we tutor students at The Math Guru, our strategy is to actually make them underline every single word in a problem, and get them to translate those words into words THEY would say IRL.
The truth is, a lot of word problems are worded in a way that's so detached from how we say things in real life, that it's hard to wrap our heads around what they're actually asking us to do. The good news? All you have to do is TRANSLATE each problem into words you would ACTUALLY say in real life, and things become so much easier.
When our tutors teach math, they try to tap into how each of their unique students tend to speak and say things in every day language, and that informs how they will coach each individual student when it comes to βtranslatingβ word problems.
For example, if a word problem said something like:
"Olivia Rodrigo's album sales π₯π£ππ‘πππ overnight after ππ°π°π₯ π§π°π³ π π°πΆ went viral on Tik Tok. If yesterday she made $100 000 in album sales, how much money will she make today?"
We might get a student to reword it in a way they would tell that story to their friends. So maybe something like:
"OMG did you hear that Olivia Rodrigo's album sales π₯π£ππ‘πππ overnight after ππ°π°π₯ π§π°π³ π π°πΆ went viral on Tik Tok WTH?! That means that today she legit sold πββπΌπΌ ππππΌπ πβπΌ πΈπππβπ OF ALBUMS THAT SHE SOLD YESTERDAY! Yesterday she made $100 000 in album sales, which means today she's going to make πββπΌπΌ ππππΌπ that amount. So, how much $$$ will she make today?!"
See?! Now weβre all like OMG, she made $300k IN ONE DAY! The answer jumps out at us!
Everyone always wants some magic solution to solving word problems and honestly, our advice is to chill out, look for keywords, and remember that EVERY word problem tells a story. Pretend you're talking to like, a stuffy grownup (sorry, but like, that's what most textbooks sound like π΅π), and you need to de-code what they're saying!
The sooner we all realize that word problems are just like ALL the other problems in our lives that need solvingβ¦the closer we are to not only finding the solutions, but enjoying ourselves in the process!
If you found these language hacks useful, youβre in luck! For more math hacks, order ππΆππ½ π»πΆπΈππ + ππΆππ½ π»πΆπΈππ π on either Amazon or Chapters!