CGI Word Problems Setup

These problems are based on the mathematics instruction philosophy of Cognitively Guided Instruction (PDF). Allow students to use blocks, paper & pencil, or whatever method with which they are comfortable to arrive at their response. The point is that the solving makes sense to them.

As students progress in their understanding of operations, you can encourage them to formulate number sentences to show their solutions. Demonstrate how to use variables in the equations, beginning first with blank lines or boxes ( __ and    ) then later introducing classic algebraic variables (b, y, etc.). By the way, avoid calling variables "letters" and discourage your students from calling them letters. They are not letters, they are numbers. The numbers may change (vary, that's why they are called variables) or they may be unknown or unset, but they are numbers nonetheless.

Below, you can make a list of student names to use in the word problems. Students will be more excited and motivated to work diligently at solving the problems when the stories include their names or those of their friends.

The problem types are listed in the dropdowns from simplest to most complex. Do not be afraid of letting your students tackle "multiplication" and "division" problems even though they have not been taught those concepts. The whole point of CGI is to allow students opportunities to develop understanding of number operations through exploration, then using their knowledge to guide formal instruction of numerals and numeric operations.

For an even deeper dive into CGI, including sample problems of different types, check out the CGI Teachers Guide PDF

Be sure to use the proper format for saving names. No error checking is performed. Improperly formatted entries may corrupt word problem texts using student names.