Listen to episode 21 on YouTube
Sue Griffith
Sue is a registered teacher with many years of experience in primary teaching. She has specialist Maths training in programs designed to support students experiencing difficulties or delays in Maths skills, including students with dyscalculia and/or dyslexia.
- QuickSmart Numeracy Intervention
- Ron Yoshimoto Multisensory Maths program – based on the Orton-Gillingham principles
- Singapore Maths
Sue designs individual courses that are explicit, structured, multisensory and manipulative-based for students who are underachieving in Maths. Programs utilised are all evidence-based interventions. Students learn to think mathematically and develop understanding beyond rote memorisation. Programs focus on fostering a positive attitude towards Maths and the foundational skills, including but not limited to:
- Place value and the decimal system
- Basic Mathematical operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
- Basic number fact knowledge and multiplication tables
- Fractions, decimals, percentages and ratios
- Problem solving strategies
- Application of Number knowledge to concepts of Time, Money and Measurement
Sue also offers young people support in Literacy.
- She has specialist training in ‘Teaching Students with Dyslexia’ and follows the Multi-Sensory Playberry Dyslexia Program which is based on the Orton-Gillingham approach.
- Sue also has a Graduate Diploma in Education, specialising in Literacy and Language.
- Sue designs literacy support programs such as ‘The Writing Process’ to suit individual student needs.
Sue believes all children can succeed in improving their reading, writing and mathematical skills. Please contact her to discuss how she can best support your child in their learning.
Show notes
Word problems in maths are a source of frustration for many students and teachers. On the surface, the maths is usually simple, but the language, layout and assumptions can make even easy problems feel impossible for students living with learning difficulties. In this episode, I talk with teacher and intervention specialist Sue Griffith about why these problems are so hard, what’s really being tested, and how we can teach them in a way that makes sense.
Why word problems exist
Word problems are supposed to reflect real life. If someone asks you to work out how much meat to order for an event, that’s a word problem. It’s messy, verbal and practical. You have to extract the maths from the situation and decide what operations to use. When we teach students to solve word problems, we are trying to build those interpretation skills.
But the problems in textbooks and tests often fail to do that. Some are just badly written. Others are deliberately tricky, with irrelevant information, vague phrasing or double negatives. Sue points out that this is sometimes justified as “higher order thinking,” but in reality, it’s often just a way to rank students. The student who pushes through the ambiguity and guesses correctly is rewarded. The student who tries to reason it out properly and gets stuck is penalised.
I talk about how frustrating this is for students who think scientifically or literally. If you are trained to be precise and not jump to conclusions, a word problem can feel impossible. There are no follow-up questions. You are forced to assume things without evidence. It’s not how we solve problems in real life.
The language of maths
We both agree that word problems are often a literacy problem, not a maths problem. A student might know how to calculate 15 percent of $200, but if the question is phrased as “Sue buys a $200 coat at a 15 percent discount,” they may not recognise what they are being asked to do. It’s not about the maths. It’s about knowing what the words mean.
Sue points out that the language is rarely taught explicitly. We often teach the operations, then add word problems later, assuming students will make the leap. But for many kids, it’s like being taught vocabulary in a foreign language without learning how to have a conversation.
I mention a past episode with Liana McCurry, where she described how teachers at her school agreed on shared maths vocabulary across year levels. I also describe a process I use where I give students a card for each operation. On one side is the operation (like addition) and on the other is a growing list of all the different words we encounter that signal it: add, plus, increase, altogether, total. This is not for memorising, it’s for exposure and flexibility. Unless we give students repeated, explicit encounters with maths language, they are not going to spot it when it shows up in a test.
Structured strategies
We talk about how important it is to give students a clear, repeatable way to approach word problems. Without structure, students either rush and guess or freeze and give up. Both Sue and I use systems that help students slow down and work through the steps.
Sue uses a version of CUBES, where students circle numbers, underline the question, box action words, and cross out anything irrelevant. It gives them something to do with the text, which reduces overload and helps them focus on what the question is actually asking. See the video below for an explanation.
I use a strategy called C.O.P.P.E.R. to break word problems into manageable steps:
Collect – Highlight the information and the question you need to answer
Order – Make a list of the operations or calculations you need to do
Picture – Draw a picture or use counters to visualise the problem
Plan – Work out how you are going to solve the problem
Equations – Solve each step of your strategy
Redo – Check your answer. Does it seem reasonable? Can you double-check your calculations?
I often do this casually with students, not always writing down every step, but always talking it through. It slows them down, helps them avoid jumping to conclusions, and reduces the pressure on working memory. For multi-step problems, it makes a huge difference. I also talk to students directly about working memory and give them ways to notice when it’s overloaded so they can stop and use the strategies they know rather than shut down. Download COPPER
There are many resources available to support students with Maths Word Problems. There is even a complete intervention program available here. Pirate Math
The impact of anxiety
A key theme in this episode is the link between working memory and anxiety. The moment a student thinks “I don’t get this,” their anxiety increases. That anxiety uses up cognitive resources, which reduces their ability to focus and reason. They miss key words, reverse the question, or shut down entirely.
We both describe ways we support students to recognise when this is happening. I talk about teaching kids to spot the signs of overload and having a bank of actions they can use when it hits: write down what you know, sketch a diagram, simplify the sentence, break it into steps.
Sue highlights that this is not a strategy limited to students living with learning difficulties. She uses these methods herself when a problem is unfamiliar or badly written. Adults do it. Kids need permission to do it, too.
The impact of ambiguous language
Later in the episode, we look at some examples of word problems that aren’t mathematically difficult but still cause trouble because of how they’re written.
One says: “Grandfather gives his four grandchildren a box containing 18 balloons, which they share equally. How many balloons do they each get?”
At first glance, it seems simple, but I explain that I don’t know what I’m meant to assume. Are they sharing the balloons or the box? Are the balloons inflated? Does the grandfather keep some? Could some pop? These aren’t distractions. They’re legitimate questions for someone who sees multiple interpretations and possibilities. I get stuck because there is no way to answer this question based on the information I am given; I am forced to guess the question writer’s intent, and at that point, I’m no longer doing maths.
Another question mentions “a fair coin.” I say that the word “fair” throws me. I don’t think about probability. I picture a country fair and try to picture what a fair coin might look like.
My brain starts building a scene that has nothing to do with the intent of the question. Then I have to backtrack and try to figure out what they actually meant. By then, I’ve wasted time and processing energy.
Sue and I both notice that these questions throw students not because of the maths, but because of the ambiguity.
I explain that for some students, especially those who are more literal or process language precisely, it’s not possible to ignore the confusing part and just keep going. Their brain won’t let them. They get stuck on what doesn’t make sense and can’t move forward until they’ve resolved it. And if the student is also anxious, that pause can turn into a shutdown.
We talk about how these questions don’t have one fixed answer. Whether it’s right or wrong depends entirely on what the student assumes. If you think they’re sharing the balloons, you’ll divide 18 by four. If you think the grandfather is keeping some, or that the box is part of it, you’ll come up with something different. All of those are logical. The student is being marked wrong for guessing wrong about what the test writer meant.
We both say these questions should not be marked as yes or no outright, but allow for an explanation. If a student says, “Yes, if they’re sharing the balloons,” that shows reasoning. If they say, “No, because I thought the grandfather kept some,” that’s also valid thinking. That gives the teacher far more useful information than just marking it incorrect.
The bigger issue is that these problems ask students to figure out what the writer is thinking. They have to filter through different interpretations, make assumptions about the context, and decide what is most likely. That is not mathematical reasoning. It is guessing intent. And it takes up a huge amount of processing time and energy, especially for students who are already managing overload.
What supports students
We agree that students need repeated exposure to maths vocabulary and a consistent way to approach unfamiliar wording. They need a clear structure for working through a problem and time to think about it. For students who are already managing a heavy cognitive load, even small ambiguities can make the task feel impossible.
It’s not about simplifying the maths. It’s about removing the confusion that stops them from being able to show what they understand.
Some silliness I couldn't resist
This 1981 song, The Problem, by Godley and Creme, has resonated with me since I first heard it.
Can you help solve the problem?
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