If your class struggles with solving math word problems, you’ve come to the right place. Using the CUBES or CUBED problem-solving strategy for math story problems will help your students focus on the steps they need to solve word problems.
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We love math story problems!
Everyone does love word problems – right? That’s sarcasm! I know – I feel your pain! Some students and teachers don’t love them? Hmmm.
Math keywords posters
I introduce this math strategy early in the school year. With younger students, it’s important to use controlled math story problems as students are learning the procedure. By controlled math word problems, I mean basic problems that will probably result in success for students. If you are one of those teachers, or if you have some of those students in class, you might find the CUBES or CUBED Word Problem Solving Strategy helpful.
As we move deeper into the school year, we encounter more challenging word problems – multi-step word problems. Depending on your math series, you may encounter the “Throw it all at you” style word problems. These are the word problems where they – literally – throw it all at you. There are multi-steps, lots of wordy problems, and you know what I’m talking about here!
The “Throw it all at you” problems bring us to a screeching halt. My students become totally bogged down by the multi-step problems that require organized thinking that students haven’t developed yet.
Tape these reference bookmarks into student folders!
CUBES Math story problem strategy
Students need a strategy and organized method of approaching these math story problems to avoid the overwhelming feeling of fear and dread. For example, my students just wanted to pull the numbers out of the word problem and add them together – I KNOW that YOU KNOW what I’m talking about! They weren’t sure if they should add, subtract, or multiply (division hadn’t been introduced yet), so they picked one randomly.
Below is a bulletin board using posters from the CUBES Strategy Posters for solving math story problems. Bulletin boards and teacher-created anchor charts make great reference tools for students.
The small task cards are from the bundled set of CUBES/CUBED posters and the Beginner Level Multiplication and Division Word Problems set.
CUBES or CUBED math word problem reference bulletin board
What I love most about these posters is the choice. You decide between the more traditional CUBES method, which stands for:
1. Circle the numbers
2. Underline the question
3. Box the keywords
4. Eliminate what you don’t need
5. Solve and Label (I added the “Label” because we all require it – don’t we??)
Or you can choose the newer CUBED method, which stands for:
1. Circle the numbers
2. Underline the question
3. Box the keywords
4. Eliminate what you don’t need
5. Draw a picture (which is a push in the Common Core State Standards)
CUBES – or CUBED – Poster Resources
Whichever method you prefer, you’re covered because there are poster sets for both versions.
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All of the posters in the picture above are included. In addition, you also receive mini-posters so each student can have their own copy. The mini-posters can be laminated and handed out to students and even attached to their math folders or binders to use as a reference tool at home.
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A basic, smaller-sized poster set is also included for smaller class displays.
Is your class beginning to work on multiplication and division facts? Below is a bundled set of CUBES (and CUBED) posters with beginner-level task cards featuring basic multiplication and division facts in math story problems. They’re basic cards (both with and without extra information to eliminate), making differentiation easy!
These posters feature a clean, updated/modern look:
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More articles about the CUBES strategy
Want to learn even more about the CUBES math word problem-solving strategy? Click here to visit my feature article “How to Teach Math Word Problems.”
Feel free to email me with any questions you have about these resources or the CUBES or CUBED math story problems solving strategy! Pin these for later!
