Addition and Subtraction Word Problems Made Clear Through Explicit Teaching

Addition and subtraction word problems ask students to make sense of real-life situations, identify what is happening mathematically, and choose an appropriate strategy to solve. For many learners, this shift from numbers to stories can be challenging without clear modeling and shared language.

This teaching slide deck has been designed to explicitly introduce addition and subtraction word problems in a structured, student-friendly way. Through guided discussion, visual examples, and repeated modeling, students learn how to recognize whether a situation involves adding or taking away, identify key information, and represent the problem using multiple strategies.

Teachers benefit from a ready-to-use resource that supports mathematical reasoning, discussion, and consistent problem-solving routines.

Engaging Ways to Use Addition and Subtraction Story Problems in Your Classroom

This slide deck is highly flexible and can be used in a range of purposeful and creative ways beyond a traditional lesson introduction, including:

• Interactive math talks – Use the Turn and Talk slides to spark discussion about what is happening in a story and whether it represents addition or subtraction.
• Think Board modeling sessions – Gradually reveal each stage of the Think Board (Read, Model, Draw, Solve) to explicitly demonstrate how mathematicians think through a problem.
• Role-play and acting it out – Bring story problems to life by having students physically act out scenarios such as bus stops, sharing food, or spending money.
• Math vocabulary exploration – Use the word clues slides to build understanding of language commonly used in addition and subtraction story problems.

These varied uses make the resource ideal for building strong foundations in word problem comprehension while keeping students actively involved.

Download These Adding and Subtracting Word Problems Teaching Slides

These adding and subtracting word problems teaching slides are available in Google Slides or PPTX formats to suit your classroom needs. Choose the format that works best for your teaching setup and easily adapt the slides to suit your students.
(Please note: when opening the Google Slides file, you will be prompted to make your own copy before editing.)

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher from Michigan and a TeachStarter collaborator.

Looking for More Addition and Subtraction Resources?

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Use a range of addition and subtraction strategies to solve twenty single-digit word problems.

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Adding and Subtracting Within 10 - Word Problem Task Cards

Solve word problems practicing addition and subtraction to ten with a set of printable task cards.