Multi-Step Word Problem Worksheets
At this point we are introducing students to slightly more advanced word problems. This will require them to analyze problems and determine how many different operations that they needed to complete. It is important to give students a mix of problems that require single, double, and even triple operations. It is also important that you encourage students to draw out the problems to make them more real and life like for them. This can also lead them to determine what is happening at each stage of the problem. Below you will find a series of worksheets and lessons that help students identify what they need to do to complete these types of multi-step word problems.
Aligned Standard: Grade 4 Operations - 4.OA.3
- Wayne's Coin Collection Step-by-Step Lesson- Wayne exchanges and gives away coins. How many does he have left?
- Guided Lesson - Three problems that have just as many steps, if not more.
- Guided Lesson Explanation - All the problems need 3 steps to complete them.
- Practice Worksheet - A number of solid word problems. Remember that a lot of the time, it helps to draw pictures when solving these.
- Matching Worksheet - Match the five word problems to their answers. I left off the units to make sure students had to complete them entirely.
- Answer Keys - These are for all the unlocked materials above.
Homework Sheets
I hate when you go to zoo and don't have enough bananas for all the monkeys. Example problem: "There were 13 monkeys on a tree. Carl gave only 10 bananas to 10 monkeys. How many monkeys didn't get bananas?"
- Homework 1 - Rita was playing a game with marbles. She had 15 marbles with her. Her friends Max and Sam came and asked for some marbles. Rita gave 5 marbles to Max and 3 marbles to Sam. How many marbles did Rita have left?
- Homework 2 - Geoff is the lifeguard at a local pool. There are 9 children, 3 men, and 3 women at his pool. How many people is Geoff supervising in total?
- Homework 3 - A shopkeeper sold 28 burgers & 35 muffins in a week. How many burgers and muffins did he sell on an average day?
Practice Worksheets
I made these problems more focused on money and quick thinking. Example: "Sophia paid $300 to buy 2 pairs of shoes. How much money was it for one pair of shoes?"
- Practice 1 - Matt has $30. He gave $4 to Ted & $3 to Eve. How much money did Matt have left?
- Practice 2 - Bob buys 2 milk packets for $7. If he buys 3 more milk packets, how much money he have to pay?
- Practice 3 - Ben has some eggs. He finds 8 more eggs. He now has 30 eggs. How many eggs did Ben start with?
Math Skill Quizzes
The questions here are quite progressive for the level that they target. Example: "At the dog show there were 759 large dogs and 650 small dogs. How many dogs were at the dog show?"
- Quiz 1 - A has 7 pens. B has 5 more pens than A. How many pens does B have?
- Quiz 2 - A book contains 400 pages. Jayden is currently on page 228. How many more pages does Jayden have to read?
- Quiz 3 - A vase can hold 10 flowers. If Jack had 200 flowers, how many vases would Jack need?
What Are Multi-Step Word Problems?
The are some of more dreaded problems for students. That is because multi-step problems require you to understand what you have, what you want to get to, and everything in between. These types of problems require at least two steps which may have different operations involved in the problems in order to solve them.
When we first begin learning how to solve problems that are story or situational based, the main goal is to determine the operation that is involved. As the skills of our students advance, they will start to see problems that involve operational changes and shifts in the focus of the problems. These types of problems require you to first fully comprehend what is being asked of you. What you start working with does not always directly relate to the drive of the final answer. You will also find that these exercises transition between the method used to display a value. They may use standard numbers, words, or even expand numeric form. Whenever possible we would encourage to draw an outline diagram of the problem for yourself. If you find this topic difficult, please check our tips available below, at the bottom of this page.
How to Approach Multi-Step Word Problems?
Words problem scare away the kids. Even though there is a step-by-step approach to solve these problems but, just the name can freak the kids out. Simple word problems can be challenging to solve, and multi-step word problems can add more complexity to it. You were having difficulty solving a single step word problem, and now you are expected to solve a word problem with more than one step!
Well, do not worry as you can solve these multi-step word problems with ease. All you have to do is follow this simple procedure; Circle, Circle, Underline.
It is a smart strategy that can help you solve even the toughest of multi-step word problems.
Step 1: Read the problem. You will not be able to solve the problem until you do not fully understand the words.
Step 2: Circle the important data. When you understand the words, you will be able to identify the important data. You won’t be able to do it without understanding the problem.
Step 3: Underline the requirement. Every word problem requires you to find one quantity, and you will be able to identify it only when you have identified the right keywords and circled the necessary data.
Step 4: Prepare a strategy to solve the word problem. You know what will make things easy for you? You can easily solve the problems if you create instructions for yourself. Read the problem and identify the steps that will help you find the final answer.
Step 5: Read the instructions that you have prepared and start solving the problem. Take a step-by-step approach to ensure you do not miss out on any important data or steps.
This is a collection of worksheets that present you with word problems that have a wide range of steps needed to complete it.
Example problem:
Jim loves collecting toy trucks. He already has 24 trucks. His friend Dylan bought him 3 new trucks for his birthday. Jim enjoyed sharing his tricks with his friends. Jim lends his friend Tracy 8 of his trucks. All the remaining trucks were put in his toy box. How many total trucks are there in the toy box now?
Solution:
We start by drawing out what the problem gives us. The first thing we know is that Jim has 24 trucks. His friend Dylan has given him 3 new trucks. To find the total trucks Jim has now, we would add those new tricks to the number of trucks he already had.
That means that after the first step he has 24 + 3 = 27 trucks, as the diagram above displays. We then move on to the next step of the problem. Jim gave 8 of his trucks (which is now a total of 27) to his friend Tracy. This means that you would take this number of trucks (8) away from the total number of trucks.
This means that in the end Jim has 27 – 8 = 19 trucks. That is the total number of toy trucks that Jim is left to put in his toy box. So, the final number of trucks that he has will be 19 trucks.