Word Problems in Maths to help with comprehension

Having students write their own word problems is another way to improve comprehension.  

1. You Write the Story.  Give students an equation and let them write a word problem that can be solved using the equation. This requires little or no prep as a workstation activity, and you get a lot of bang for your buck.  Of course, students need to be familiar with the structure of word problems and you need to model the process of writing a problem before the students try it on their own.  You can differentiate the activity easily by giving students different equations based on need.  For example, while most of the class is writing a problem to match the equation 32 x 4 = ____, students on a lower level could use 12 x 4 = ____, while students who need more of a challenge could use 328 x 4 = ____.
2. The Answer Is.  For this version, give students only the solution, for example The answer is 32 books, what is the question?  This frees students up to use any operations and numbers they are comfortable with (even two-step problems) and will result in a wide range of story problems.
3. You Write the Question.  Give students just the information part of the word problem, without the question (similar to the way I started this blog post).  Let them write a question that can be answered using the information.