Word Problems: 5th Grade

Grade level

5th grade

Time

About 30 minutes

Topic

Math word problems

Answer key

Yes, page 2 of the PDF

Kids practice

Reading word problems, Choosing the operation, Showing work, Multi-step reasoning

What kids do

“Read each problem twice. Show your work. Write the answer with its unit.”

Printed on the sheet:

1. 1 Jon ran 2 1/2 miles on Monday and 1 3/4 miles on Tuesday. How far did he run in all?
2. 3 A recipe needs 3/4 cup of flour. How much flour is needed for 2 batches?
3. 4 A ribbon is 3.6 meters long. It is cut into 4 equal pieces. How long is each piece?
4. 5 Maria had $20.00. She bought a book for $7.85 and a pen for $1.50. How much money does she have left?

Teacher tip

Have kids circle the unit in each question so the final answer has the right label.

How to use it

• Let kids act out a problem or draw it before they write a number sentence.
• Have partners solve the same problem two ways and compare.
• Do the first problem together under a document camera, then let kids finish on their own.

Watch for

Answers with no unit. Ask “Twelve what?”

Talk about it

• What label goes with your answer?
• Which problem was the hardest? What made it hard?

Take it further

Have kids write their own word problem about something from their day and trade with a partner.

US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.