1. Taking the Words Out of Word Problems How to turn word problems into math problems Part 2: Subtraction problems

2. The Steps Read the entire problem first. Identify the people in the problem. Identify their stuff Draw unit bars Read the problem again, one bit at a time, and label the unit bars. Determine the question and illustrate it on the unit bar Compute the problem Write the answer as a complete sentence

3. Subtraction problems are also simple. Let’s work through a problem together.

4. Rule - Read the red text

5. Subtraction problems are also simple. Let’s work through a problem together. Rule - Write down the green

6. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend?

7. Read the entire problem first

8. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Identify the people in the problem

9. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Jose

10. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Identify their stuff Jose

11. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Jose’s Money

12. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Draw Unit Bars Jose’s Money

13. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Draw Unit Bars Jose’s Money

14. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Jose’s Money L S

15. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Read the problem again, one bit at a time, and label the unit bars. Jose’s Money L S

16. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Read the problem again, one bit at a time, and label the unit bars. Jose’s Money40 L S

17. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Jose’s Money40 L S 13

18. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Determine the question, and illustrate it on the unit bar Jose’s Money40 L S 13

19. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Jose’s Money40 L S 13 ?

20. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? Compute the problem Jose’s Money40 L S 13 ?

21. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? 40 - 13 = 27 Jose’s Money40 L S 13 ?

22. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? 40 - 13 = 27 Jose’s Money40 Write the answer as a complete sentence L S 13 ?

23. Jose went to the swap meet with $40. He had $13 left when he came home. How much did he spend? 40 - 13 = 27 Jose’s Money40 Jose spent $27. L S 13 ?

24. Now that we’ve seen how it works, lets use a slightly more complicated example.

25. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have?

26. Read the entire problem first

27. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Identify the people in the problem

28. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Sylvia Diana

29. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Identify their stuff Sylvia Diana

30. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Sylvia’s Stickers Diana’s Stickers

31. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Draw Unit Bars Sylvia’s Stickers Diana’s Stickers

32. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Draw Unit Bars Sylvia’s Stickers Diana’s Stickers

33. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Sylvia’s Stickers Diana’s Stickers

34. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Read the problem again, one bit at a time, and label the unit bars Sylvia’s Stickers Diana’s Stickers

35. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Read the problem again, one bit at a time, and label the unit bars Sylvia’s Stickers Diana’s Stickers37

36. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Read the problem again, one bit at a time, and label the unit bars Sylvia’s Stickers56 Diana’s Stickers37

37. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Sylvia’s Stickers56 Diana’s Stickers37

38. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Determine the question, and illustrate it on the unit bar Sylvia’s Stickers56 Diana’s Stickers37

39. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? Compute the problem Sylvia’s Stickers56 ? Diana’s Stickers37

40. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? 56 - 37 = 19 Sylvia’s Stickers56 ? Diana’s Stickers37

41. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? 56 - 37 = 19 Sylvia’s Stickers56 Write the answer as a complete sentence ? Diana’s Stickers37

42. Diana has 37 stickers. Sylvia has 56 stickers. How many more stickers than Diana does Sylvia have? 56 - 37 = 19 Sylvia’s Stickers56 Sylvia has 19 more stickers than Diana does. ? Diana’s Stickers37

43. Now, try it on your own. We’ll still have the hints, and we’ll verify every step.

44. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have?

45. Read the entire problem first

46. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Identify the people in the problem

47. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Robert

48. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Identify their stuff Robert

49. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Robert’s Skittles Robert’s M&Ms

50. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Draw unit bars Robert’s Skittles Robert’s M&Ms

51. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Robert’s Skittles Robert’s M&Ms

52. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Read the problem again, one bit at a time, and label the unit bars Robert’s Skittles Robert’s M&Ms

53. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Robert’s Skittles28 Robert’s M&Ms4628

54. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Determine the question and illustrate it on the unit bar Robert’s Skittles28 Robert’s M&Ms4628

55. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Robert’s Skittles28 ?Robert’s M&Ms4628

56. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? Calculate the problem Robert’s Skittles28 ?Robert’s M&Ms4628

57. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? 46 - 28 = 18 Robert’s Skittles28 ?Robert’s M&Ms4628

58. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? 46 - 28 = 18 Robert’s Skittles28 Write the answer as a whole sentence. ?Robert’s M&Ms4628

59. Robert has 46 M&Ms and 28 Skittles. How many more M&Ms than Skittles does he have? 46 - 28 = 18 Robert’s Skittles28 Robert has 18 more M&Ms than Skittles. ?Robert’s M&Ms4628

60. Congratulations! You should be ready to do some subtraction problems without help now.

61. The Steps Read the entire problem first. Identify the people in the problem. Identify their stuff Draw unit bars Read the problem again, one bit at a time, and label the unit bars. Determine the question and illustrate it on the unit bar Compute the problem Write the answer as a complete sentence