Detail from a comic that Suzanne Ciminesi created using Pixton. When assigned math word problems, students often groan and complain. They may try to start solving without making sense of the problem ...

“Danny has 564 tomatoes. He then buys 623 carrots. How long will it take him to get home?” This scenario is what many people picture when we mention word problems. Many educators think they’re taboo.

Students often struggle to connect math with the real world. Word problems—a combination of words, numbers, and mathematical operations—can be a perfect vehicle to take abstract numbers off the page.

Word problems are often described as “math stories” and can put complex mathematical operations into a more approachable form for students. But students often struggle when they see a combination of ...