UNIT III

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
FOR MATHEMATICS IN THE
PRIMARY GRADES

This unit will equip you with various learning strategies anchored in the constructivist
learning theory. These strategies are research-based and have been proven to be effective in
developing mathematical thinking in young children. The activities in this unit will engage you
in planning out your lessons using these strategies.

Lesson 7
Problem - solving

Objective
Plan a lesson that uses a problem – solving strategy

Introduction
Not all word problems promote problem – solving skills. In this lesson, you will learn
the characteristics of a good word problem, when it is best to give a word problem to promote
problem – solving skills, and how to process the students’ varied solutions.

Think
The problem – solving strategy involves students being challenged to collaboratively
solve real – world math problems that they have not yet previously encountered. It is student-
centered and promotes critical and creative-thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and
communication skills. The integral part of this strategy is the time given to the students to
struggle with the problem, and its beauty is the varied solutions that the students would
produce.
There are three main elements of problem-solving that you should take note of: (1)
the word problem, (2) the time given for the students to struggle with the problem, and (3)
the mathematical discourse that happens during the struggle and during the processing of
the student-generated solutions.

1
The Word Problem
In many Filipino classrooms. Word problems are given at the end of the lesson and the
students are expected to answer them by applying the concept or skills that have just been
taught to them. In most cases, the teacher first demonstrates how to solve a problem and
then students would independently answer a similarly structure problem. In this practice, the
students are not doing problem-solving they already know how to solve the problem! They
know that the just-taught lesson is the key to solve the problem and they pattern their
solution to what the teacher has demonstrate. In using the problem-solving strategy, the
problem serves as the starting point of the learning experience. Therefore, it is given at the
beginning of the lesson. The challenge for you, the teacher, is to choose or create a problem
that can be solved using the target concept of the lesson at hand but can also be answered
using previously learning knowledge and skills.
How you present the problem also matters especially for the elementary grades. It is
not always helpful to introduce the problem by posting it on the board, doing this may
intimidate some of the students and reading and comprehension skills may intervene.
Instead, it is suggested to narrate the problem in a storytelling manner to engage the learners.
Encourage the students to imagine the scenario and allow them to clarify information if they
find some details confusing. Showing drawings or real objects might help.
The Time Given to Struggle with the Problem
The goal is for the students to collaborate – share their ideas with each other – to
come up with a solution. Encourage the students to use their previously learned knowledge
and skills to solve the problem and to communicate their ideas with their classmates through
words, equations, and/or illustrations. It is natural for the students to find this phase
burdensome especially when it is their first time to engage in such an activity; critical thinking
and communicating ideas are not easy tasks after all. So, it is the task of the teacher to
encourage the students to think out of the box. Tell the students that there is more than one
way to solve the problem, so they do not need to worry about their solution being wrong as
long as every step they did is meaningful to solving the problem.
The Mathematical Discourse
This is the most exciting element of the problem-solving strategy. While the students
are working in small groups to solve the problem, you get to move around and enjoy the
mathematical talk that the students are engaging in. of course, you may intervene in the
students’ discussions when corrections and clarifications are needed but be careful not to
give hints. It may be tempting to do so especially when the students are struggling but don’t.
As you encourage your students to think, believe that they actually can. Allow yourself to be
amazed at how the students would defend their thinking, correct each other’s idea, and figure
things out on their own.
Remember that all the student-generated solutions, as long as correct, can be directed
to the concept or skill that is objective of the lesson. The challenge is how you would process
those various solutions, make sense of each of them, and use them to generalize or come up
with a solution that makes use of the knowledge, skill that is the objective of the lesson. In
this phase comes the importance of the teacher’s fluency of the subject matter.

2
Experience
Study the following lesson plan. Take note that the plan only shows development of
the lesson that involves the problem-solving strategy; other parts are not included.
Topic: Apply properties of multiplication to mentally multiply whole numbers up to two
digits.

Grade level: 3

Target learning competency: By the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to mentally
multiply whole numbers up to two digits.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills:

Multiplication of whole numbers up to two digits
Presentation of the problem:

Mentally multiply 18 and 5.

Present the problem above in a narrative approach which will engage the students.
See an example below.
“Hannah is next in line to pay at the counter. She will buy 5 pieces of bread which
cost 18 pesos each. She would like to know how much she needs to pay for all the bread.
Her hands are full so she couldn’t write her solution nor use her phone calculator. She needs
to solve mentally! If you were in Hannah’s shoes, how would you solve it?”

Generation of solutions:

Students will work in pairs or triads. Encourage the students to think about the
problem and share their thoughts with their classmates. Assure them that there is no one
right solution. They may do calculations or draw, any solution is welcome as long as they
can explain why they did such.

The problem calls for mental calculations but for the sake of discussion and to
facilitate mathematical communication through writing, instruct the students to write
down their thoughts as they explain to their group mates/partner.

Watch out:
The students should realize that the given is a multiplication problem. Give guide
questions to pairs/groups who may have not realized this. In giving guide questions,
determine first what the students know and then build on that.

Processing of solutions:
Have some pair/group write their solutions on the board and explain.

3
Possible solutions:
(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Use solution (1) to introduce the commutative and associative properties. Solutions (2) and (3) will
aid in the discussion of the distributive property. Solution (4) is the usual algorithm in multiplying
but done in the imagination of the student.

Guide the students to realize that the different solutions all lead to the same
answer, which is 90. Ask the students who among them did the same as the ones presented
in class.

4
 Tip:
Name a solution after the students who shared it. For example, the illustration is
“Paolo and Jose’s technique.” Doing this would (1) deepen the students’ sense of ownership
of their learning and (2) motivate them to think of unique solutions when given the same
task in the future.

Assess
Answer the following questions to solidify your understanding of the problem-solving
strategy.
1. How are the three possible solutions shown in Experience different from each other?
What goes in the minds of the students who would possible give those solutions?

2. As a teacher, how would you ensure that the word problems you will give genuinely
promotes problem solving?

Challenge
As discussed, the task of the teacher is to present the problem in an engaging way and
to be able to anticipate possible solutions from students. Do the following to practice these.

5
 1. Browse the DepEd mathematics curriculum guide. Choose a topic from K to Grade 3.
Write the topic and grade level below.
__________________________________________________________________________

2. Browse the DepEd mathematics teaching manual for the grade level you chose. Find
a problem from your chosen topic. Write the problem below like how it is written in
the teaching manual.

3. How would you present your chosen problem in an engaging way? Put it in a situation
where the students can relate to. You may use your own experience, too (many times
children are interested in what’s happening to their teachers’ lives) imagine you are
talking to your students. Write your script below. If you plan to use materials, write a
note about it.

4. The possible solutions in the sample lesson plan are generated by real Grade 3
students. So be convinced that Filipino students are actually capable of thinking! As
would-be teachers, your task is to anticipate such possible solutions. How? Consult
with experienced teachers! Show your problem to some teachers and ask them how
they think the students would answer if they are given the problem for the first time.
You may also ask the children themselves. Talk to your nephew/niece, godchild,
neighbor, etc. share with them your problem and have them explain to you how they
think they can solve it. Write in the boxes three of the possible solutions that you have
gathered.

6
Possible Solution 1

Possible Solution 2

7
 Possible Solution 3

Harness
Write a lesson plan that makes use of the problem-solving strategy. Use the topic,
problem, and possible solutions that you have answered in Challenge. This activity will be
part of the learning portfolio that you will compile at the end of this module.
Topic: ______________________________________________
Grade level: ____________________
Target learning competency: by the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to:
______________________________________________________________________
Prerequisite Knowledge and skills:
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Presentation of the problem:

Generation of solutions:

8
 Processing of solutions:

Summary
Not all word problems develop problem-solving skills. A good use of the problem
solving strategy involves a realistic, ample time for students to think about the problem, and
a venue to engage the students in mathematical discourse.