Put all those word problem strategies and skills together with this whole-class activity. Start by reading the problem as a group and sharing important information. Then, have students work with a partner to plan how they’ll solve it. In round three, kids use those plans to solve the problem individually. Finally, they share their answer and methods with their partner and the class. Be sure to recognize and respect all problem-solving strategies that lead to the correct answer. To help students become familiar with the RDW process, start by modeling the steps. Read the whole problem aloud. Then chunk the problem. Ask, “Can I draw something? What can I draw?” Model different types of drawings based on student responses (even for the same problem) to show students there is more than one correct way to represent a problem. Call out how you keep going back to reread the problem, how you add to a drawing, or how you change a drawing when you think a different type of drawing is more helpful.

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