Skill 2E
Problem Solving: Addition (Drawing Pictures in Word Problems)
Students must be taught to draw a picture for each word problem they encounter. No excuses!  Students make far "too many" errors when attempting to take short cuts to solve word problems "in their heads".  Therefore, the skill of drawing a simple picture first is very important since it clarifies what needs to be done to solve the problem correctly.  Stress to your student that we are not trying to be artists here, but rather, just need to get the main points down so they can be seen.  Here we are simply trying to see if your student can draw a picture that represents the problem.  A correct answer does not mean your student has mastered this skill.  If your student has trouble drawing a picture click the "Get Practice Worksheet" link.

There are 5 puppies playing.

3 more puppies come to play.

How many puppies are playing in all?

Draw a picture to help solve the problem,
Then tell me what numbers and symbols to use to make the correct number sentence to solve the problem.