Skill 3G
Drawing Pictures to Solve Word Problems
Being able to draw a simple picture related to a word problem dramatically improves the accuracy of answering word problems correctly.  Unfortunately, students are often "in a hurry" or think that they "already know" the answer when in fact they are incorrect.  Therefore, it is important to specifically practice the skill of drawing pictures quickly but accurately to help with solving word problems.

 I am going to read a word problem to you.  Although you may know the answer right away - don't tell me the answer immediately.   I want you to first draw a picture of all important facts in the problem and label the objects in your picture.

 
Alan has 7 marbles.
He gives 4 away.
How many does he have left?
 
Now draw a picture that will help you answer this question correctly.
 
IMPORTANT::  Whether to give this skill additional practice is not determined by if the answer is right or wrong, but rather, if a quality picture is drawn that can be used to solve the problem correctly.  The picture should have enough detail to help the student come to the correct answer by simply looking at the picture.