Verbal Addition and Subtraction Problems: Some Difficulties and Some Solutions

Abstract

Many of the difficulties that children have in solving verbal (story) problems involving addition and subtraction arise because of their limited understanding of the arithmetic operations that are involved. They don't know when to use addition or subtraction because they lack specific knowledge regarding the various situations that give rise to these operations. Often, children are taught addition only as “putting together” and subtraction only as “taking away,” but many other settings involve addition and subtraction operations. Children need to receive specific instruction in different contexts if they are to become good solvers of verbal addition and subtraction problems. This article describes the contexts and then explains a successful sequence of activities that teach verbal problems.