The idea in brief. Find one thing at a time. Ask what the question needs first, write that step on its own line with its unit, and only then use its answer in the next step. The order is the whole difficulty: the step you can do first is not always the step the question wants first.
Lesson video, with the working
Two-step word problems and matching units
5 min 16 s
The film teaches 2 questions in turn. Each question shows first; its working is written as the film explains it.
How can I help my child plan P4 two-step word problems?
Your child identifies a useful intermediate quantity before calculating the final answer.
What your child learns here
Your child identifies a useful intermediate quantity before calculating the final answer. These word problems apply the MOE Primary 4 multiplication and division outcomes together with earlier addition and subtraction. Naming the purpose of each step helps your child connect the arithmetic to the story instead of choosing operations from individual words.
Identify the quantity requested at the end and decide which missing amount must be found before that final calculation can be completed.
Combine equal groups by multiplication, or combine separate known amounts by addition, according to what the story says the groups contain.
Use a first result in a later comparison, sharing or grouping calculation, carrying its meaning and unit into the next step.
Distinguish the total number of individual items from the number of boxes, packets or groups, especially when one kind is packed inside another.
Write one derived quantity per working line and label it clearly, so that the route from the givens to the requested answer can be followed.
Does the answer make sense?
For a problem that finds a total and then shares it equally with no remainder, multiply the final share by the number of recipients. This should recover the intermediate total, which must also agree with the amount calculated from the original groups.
How to practise these questions
Basic practice combines equal groups with sharing, or separates one purchase from a total before finding an equal item's cost. Intermediate questions include repacking goods, using sales information and cutting pieces from separate rolls whose leftovers cannot be joined. Challenge questions compare money collected with money spent or find supplies remaining after distribution. Ask your child whether amounts may be combined before dividing; the rule about separate rolls changes the calculation. Label the first result with what it counts, then carry that meaning into the next step. When reviewing, identify the relationship that justified each operation and check that the final answer addresses the story's closing question.
Questions parents ask
How can I prompt my child without giving the first operation? Ask what must be known to answer the final sentence. If that amount is missing, ask which information in the story could produce it. Your child can then describe the first quantity in words before choosing how to calculate it.
Does a two-step question always use two different operations? No. The steps depend on the relationships in the story, and an operation can be used more than once. Two stages of equal grouping may both use multiplication. Your child should justify each operation from its meaning rather than expect a particular pair of symbols.
Why should intermediate working have a label? A label records what the calculated number represents, such as a total number of items or an amount remaining. It helps your child notice when a result is still only part of the solution. It also makes a later check easier because each number has a clear role.
