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When I was growing up, I struggled in middle and high school with how and when to apply mathematics. It wasn’t because I couldn't do the math itself. I could add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers and fractions just fine. Where I consistently got stuck was with word problems and how to apply the math I knew to a real world situation.
As someone with dyslexia, reading a page full of text was challenging enough. Then, to look at a problem, figure out which information mattered, decide what operation to use, and often complete several steps before finding the answer was an insurmountable task. I can’t recall anyone taking the time to work me one-on-one through these problems and providing multiple problems to gain practice and understanding.
Unfortunately, I see the same thing happening with many children today.
We Spend So Much Time Teaching Computation
Elementary classroom educators work hard helping learners master addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These are essential skills that deserve the attention they receive.
But computation alone isn't enough. Eventually, every learner reaches the point where they must apply those skills to solve real problems. Suddenly math isn't about finding an answer to "8 × 7." It's about deciding whether multiplication is even the correct operation to use.
That shift can be overwhelming if learners haven't had years of practice thinking through multi-step problems.
The Research Is Clear
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) states that problem solving is the central focus of mathematics learning, not something to teach after students have mastered computation. In other words, problem solving should be woven into math instruction from the very beginning.
Research consistently shows that students should regularly solve meaningful, multi-step problems throughout the elementary grades because those experiences develop:
Problem solving isn't an extra lesson at the end of the chapter. It's how children learn mathematics.
Word Problems Are About Much More Than Math
A recent review of elementary mathematics research found that children struggle most when problems require them to:
Sound familiar? These are the exact thinking skills adults use every day. When learners solve multi-step problems, they aren't simply "doing math." They are learning to organize information, make decisions, evaluate different approaches, and explain their reasoning. Those are life skills.
Reading and Math Work Together
One reason word problems can be so difficult is that they require children to use several brain processes at once.
Successful problem solving combines:
That's why children who struggle with reading, language processing, or dyslexia often find word problems especially challenging. I certainly did. If someone had provided me with multiple problems instead of one at the end of a worksheet. I believe the repetition and practice would have helped me in understanding how to apply the math that I was learning.
Starting Early Makes the Difference
Research examining dozens of intervention studies found that instruction focused on mathematical word problems has a significant positive impact on student achievement, with the strongest effects occurring during the elementary years.
That shouldn't surprise us. We don't expect children to become fluent readers after a few lessons. Reading develops over years of guided practice. Problem solving works the same way.
Learners gradually develop the ability to:
These skills aren't mastered in a single unit. They grow over time through repeated experiences with increasingly complex problems.
Why I Created the Add+venture Series
My own experiences had a profound impact on the way I designed the Add+venture books. I didn't want another workbook filled with isolated computation. There are already plenty of those. I wanted learners to experience mathematics the way it exists in real life.
Each story asks children to:
Those are the habits of successful mathematical thinkers. More importantly, they're the habits I wish someone had taught me when I was young.
If we want children to become confident problem solvers in middle school, high school, and beyond, we can't wait until they get there to introduce multi-step thinking. The elementary years are where those habits begin. Every time a learner works through a rich, meaningful problem, they are doing far more than practicing math facts. They are learning how to think, analyze, persevere, and make sense of the world around them.
That is the kind of mathematics that lasts a lifetime.
