Problem+Starters

This list contains situations for which student-created word problems can be generated. As the teacher, you might decide not to provide any additional information or requirements, allowing the students to take the problems in whatever direction they choose, or you might set parameters, such as which operation(s) must be incorporated or which types of values must be used (e.g. negative numbers, percentages). Problems can be created by a single student or built cooperatively in a jigsaw fashion (see example that follows). Problems could be solved during this session, or presented to the class later as warm-ups, homework or quiz questions.


 * Example : **//The town is preparing to decorate their park for the annual winter festival.//
 * Student #1:** They plan to use 243 strings of lights and each string of lights has 35 bulbs.
 * Student #2**: 2/5 of the bulbs are solid yellow. 4/9 of the remaining bulbs blink.
 * Student #3:** How many bulbs are not yellow and do not blink? What fraction of the total bulbs is this (in simplest form)?


 * Problem Starters** (these have not yet been linked to pages)**:**
 * Your math class is having a party this Friday
 * Kelly's classroom organized an e-Pal club.
 * A new play just opened on Broadway.
 * Rachel, Kim and Shawn went to Cuba for a vacation.
 * Kim, Raelene, Jim and Rick finished a motor bike race.
 * On a hot day, you visit a build-it-yourself frozen yogurt shop.
 * Four boys worked together painting houses for the summer.
 * Some students hold a bake sale to raise money for their school library.
 * Sixteen players enter a tennis tournament.
 * Two friends went on a road trip together and they agreed to split all expenses.
 * Tom put a fence around his vegetable garden to keep the deer from eating his corn.
 * Rob wanted to buy a new cell phone.
 * Carpeting is on sale and Mrs. Doyle is looking for some carpet for her living room.
 * Three people share a car for a period of one year.
 * Jane was walking the long way home from school.
 * Four men were shipwrecked on an island.
 * The Jones family decided to build a pool.
 * Adam took his little sister to a baseball game.
 * Brendan and Shawn were out for a bike ride when the tire fell off Brendan's bike.
 * Faye was babysitting her two year old brother Frank.
 * Batman decided to go gambling one night.
 * The owner of a local jewelry store hired 3 watchmen to guard his diamonds.
 * Paul took a walk through the forest with his class to record the different types of wildlife and plants growing there.
 * Joe is helping his dad collect bottles for recycling.