problem solving skills for grade 3

Developing Problem-Solving Skills for Kids | Strategies & Tips

We've made teaching problem-solving skills for kids a whole lot easier! Keep reading and comment below with any other tips you have for your classroom!

Problem-Solving Skills for Kids: The Real Deal

Picture this: You've carefully created an assignment for your class. The step-by-step instructions are crystal clear. During class time, you walk through all the directions, and the response is awesome. Your students are ready! It's finally time for them to start working individually and then... 8 hands shoot up with questions. You hear one student mumble in the distance, "Wait, I don't get this" followed by the dreaded, "What are we supposed to be doing again?"

When I was a new computer science teacher, I would have this exact situation happen. As a result, I would end up scrambling to help each individual student with their problems until half the class period was eaten up. I assumed that in order for my students to learn best, I needed to be there to help answer questions immediately so they could move forward and complete the assignment.

Here's what I wish I had known when I started teaching coding to elementary students - the process of grappling with an assignment's content can be more important than completing the assignment's product. That said, not every student knows how to grapple, or struggle, in order to get to the "aha!" moment and solve a problem independently. The good news is, the ability to creatively solve problems is not a fixed skill. It can be learned by students, nurtured by teachers, and practiced by everyone!

Your students are absolutely capable of navigating and solving problems on their own. Here are some strategies, tips, and resources that can help:

Problem-Solving Skills for Kids: Student Strategies

These are strategies your students can use during independent work time to become creative problem solvers.

1. Go Step-By-Step Through The Problem-Solving Sequence 

Post problem-solving anchor charts and references on your classroom wall or pin them to your Google Classroom - anything to make them accessible to students. When they ask for help, invite them to reference the charts first.

2. Revisit Past Problems

If a student gets stuck, they should ask themself, "Have I ever seen a problem like this before? If so, how did I solve it?" Chances are, your students have tackled something similar already and can recycle the same strategies they used before to solve the problem this time around.

3. Document What Doesn’t Work

Sometimes finding the answer to a problem requires the process of elimination. Have your students attempt to solve a problem at least two different ways before reaching out to you for help. Even better, encourage them write down their "Not-The-Answers" so you can see their thought process when you do step in to support. Cool thing is, you likely won't need to! By attempting to solve a problem in multiple different ways, students will often come across the answer on their own.

4. "3 Before Me"

Let's say your students have gone through the Problem Solving Process, revisited past problems, and documented what doesn't work. Now, they know it's time to ask someone for help. Great! But before you jump into save the day, practice "3 Before Me". This means students need to ask 3 other classmates their question before asking the teacher. By doing this, students practice helpful 21st century skills like collaboration and communication, and can usually find the info they're looking for on the way.

Problem-Solving Skills for Kids: Teacher Tips

These are tips that you, the teacher, can use to support students in developing creative problem-solving skills for kids.

1. Ask Open Ended Questions

When a student asks for help, it can be tempting to give them the answer they're looking for so you can both move on. But what this actually does is prevent the student from developing the skills needed to solve the problem on their own. Instead of giving answers, try using open-ended questions and prompts. Here are some examples:

2. Encourage Grappling

Grappling  is everything a student might do when faced with a problem that does not have a clear solution. As explained in this article from Edutopia , this doesn't just mean perseverance! Grappling is more than that - it includes critical thinking, asking questions, observing evidence, asking more questions, forming hypotheses, and constructing a deep understanding of an issue.

There are lots of ways to provide opportunities for grappling. Anything that includes the Engineering Design Process is a good one! Examples include:

• Engineering or Art Projects
• Design-thinking challenges
• Computer science projects
• Science experiments

3. Emphasize Process Over Product

For elementary students, reflecting on the process of solving a problem helps them develop a growth mindset . Getting an answer "wrong" doesn't need to be a bad thing! What matters most are the steps they took to get there and how they might change their approach next time. As a teacher, you can support students in learning this reflection process.

4. Model The Strategies Yourself! 

As creative problem-solving skills for kids are being learned, there will likely be moments where they are frustrated or unsure. Here are some easy ways you can model what creative problem-solving looks and sounds like.

• Ask clarifying questions if you don't understand something
• Admit when don't know the correct answer
• Talk through multiple possible outcomes for different situations 
• Verbalize how you’re feeling when you find a problem

Practicing these strategies with your students will help create a learning environment where grappling, failing, and growing is celebrated!

Problem-Solving Skill for Kids

Did we miss any of your favorites? Comment and share them below!

Looking to add creative problem solving to your class?

Another great way to help student's problem solve is to meet every learner where they are at. Our latest app, Kodable Creator, features CatBot, an AI-powered bilingual coding tutor, that helps challenge students who are ready for more and provides guidance to those who need it. Ready to try this out for yourself? Create your free teacher account today to try out this coding tutor for yourself!

Kodable Education has everything you need to teach kids to code!

In just a few minutes a day, kids can learn all about the fundamentals of Computer Science - and so much more! With lessons ranging from zero to JavaScript, Kodable's suite of learning apps help prepare children for a digital future.

• Home   |  
• About   |  
• Contact Us   |  
• Privacy   |  
• Newsletter   |  
• Shop   |  
• 🔍 Search Site
• Halloween Color By Number
• Halloween Dot to Dot
• Kindergarten Halloween Sheets
• 1st Grade Halloween Sheets
• Puzzles & Challenges
• Kindergarten
• All Generated Sheets
• Place Value Generated Sheets
• Addition Generated Sheets
• Subtraction Generated Sheets
• Multiplication Generated Sheets
• Division Generated Sheets
• Money Generated Sheets
• Negative Numbers Generated Sheets
• Fraction Generated Sheets
• Place Value Zones
• Number Bonds
• Addition & Subtraction
• Times Tables
• Fraction & Percent Zones
• All Calculators
• Fraction Calculators
• Percent calculators
• Area & Volume Calculators
• Age Calculator
• Height Calculator
• Roman Numeral Calculator
• Coloring Pages
• Fun Math Sheets
• Math Puzzles
• Mental Math Sheets
• Online Times Tables
• Online Addition & Subtraction
• Math Grab Packs
• All Math Quizzes
• Kindergarten Math Quizzes
• 1st Grade Quizzes
• 2nd Grade Quizzes
• 3rd Grade Quizzes
• 4th Grade Quizzes
• 5th Grade Quizzes
• 6th Grade Math Quizzes
• Place Value
• Rounding Numbers
• Comparing Numbers
• Number Lines
• Prime Numbers
• Negative Numbers
• Roman Numerals
• Subtraction
• Add & Subtract
• Multiplication
• Fraction Worksheets
• Learning Fractions
• Fraction Printables
• Percent Worksheets & Help
• All Geometry
• 2d Shapes Worksheets
• 3d Shapes Worksheets
• Shape Properties
• Geometry Cheat Sheets
• Printable Shapes
• Coordinates
• Measurement
• Math Conversion
• Statistics Worksheets
• Bar Graph Worksheets
• Venn Diagrams
• All Word Problems
• Finding all possibilities
• Logic Problems
• Ratio Word Problems
• All UK Maths Sheets
• Year 1 Maths Worksheets
• Year 2 Maths Worksheets
• Year 3 Maths Worksheets
• Year 4 Maths Worksheets
• Year 5 Maths Worksheets
• Year 6 Maths Worksheets
• All AU Maths Sheets
• Kindergarten Maths Australia
• Year 1 Maths Australia
• Year 2 Maths Australia
• Year 3 Maths Australia
• Year 4 Maths Australia
• Year 5 Maths Australia
• Meet the Sallies
• Certificates

Math Salamanders Free Math Worksheets

Welcome to the Math Salamanders

Take a look at our massive range of free math worksheets for kids aged Kindergarten and up!

We have a huge bank of free math resources, calculators, puzzles and games for you to use and enjoy with your kids or students.

For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript.

Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser .

• Is your child struggling with Math and needing help?
• Homeschooling your child and looking for some carefully graded free math worksheets?
• Do you want some fun printable Math games to play and enjoy with your child?
• Looking for some resources to help your child learn their math facts?
• Need a fraction or percentage calculator to solve a problem and show you all the working out you need?

Then look no further...the Math Salamanders are here!

🎃 Halloween Worksheets 🎃

It's that spooky time of year again!

We have a wide range of free Halloween worksheets with a mathematical theme.

There are dot-to-dot pages, coordinates, puzzles, Halloween color by number pages and much more.

Come and take a look!

🦃 Thanksgiving Worksheets 🦃

Check out our recently created Thanksgiving math worksheets.

We have a range of different math activities with a Thanksgiving theme for your child to enjoy, including:

• Thanksgiving counting worksheets
• Thanksgiving color by number worksheets
• Thanksgiving count and graph worksheets
• Thanksgiving puzzles and games
• Thanksgiving Math Activities for Kindergarten
• Thanksgiving Math Activities First Grade
• Thanksgiving Math Worksheets 2nd Grade

Christmas Worksheets

We have a wide range of free Christmas worksheets with a mathematical theme.

There are dot-to-dot pages, Christmas nets, coordinates worksheets, color by number pages and much more.

We also have a dedicated worksheet page for each grade from Kindergarten to 5th Grade.

Come take a look!

• Christmas Math Worksheets for kids

Easter Worksheets

We have a wide range of Easter worksheets with a mathematical theme.

There are dot-to-dot pages, color by number pages and much more.

• Easter Worksheets for kids
• Easter Color By Number Sheets
• Printable Easter Dot to Dot

Subscribe to Math Salamanders News

Sign up for our newsletter and get free math support delivered to your inbox each month. Free seasonal math grab pack included.

• Newsletter Signup

About this website

The Math Salamanders provide you with:

• A huge bank of free educational Math worksheets.
• Graded sheets so that you can easily select the right level of difficulty.
• Fun Math activities, puzzles and games to play.
• Practice worksheets to help your child to learn their basic math facts.

The Math Salamanders caters for all Elementary grades, from Kindergarten upwards.

We also have a growing selection of worksheets for middle and high school students.

You can easily find the correct level of our free Math worksheets to suit your needs by clicking on the age category.

Search Our Site

As our site gets larger and larger, it can be hard to find the worksheets and help you are looking for... Just use the search box below!

Alternatively, you can use the search box at the top of each page.

To search our site, just click on the magnifying glass on the right hand side of the screen.

• Math Salamanders Shop

We have a range of fun-packed Math games booklets for sale in our store.

There is a booklet for each grade from 1st to 5th with a wide range of math games carefully designed to meet learning skills for each grade.

Meet the Salamanders

If you want to know a little more about the math salamanders and who we are, then use the link below.

Math Salamanders Online Quizzes

We have created online quizzes to complement most of our worksheets.

Practice your skills online and get instant feedback.

There are also some handy hints to explain the correct answer for each question.

• Online Math Quizzes

Free Math Worksheets By Grade

Online practice zone.

Try out our online practice zone for testing your math facts and other math skills.

There are zones for practicing addition, subtraction, multiplication, division as well as place value and fractions.

• Online Learning Math
• Randomly Generated Worksheets

Most of the worksheets on our site are carefully graded so that you can choose the right level sheet for your child.

However, sometimes - especially when you are practicing math facts - you might want a few randomly generated sheets.

You can choose the values you want and tailor the sheet to the needs of your child.

You can now also write your own title and instructions (in your chosen language) to go with each sheet!

Perfect for homework!

FUN Math Games

Looking for some fun and motivating ways to inspire your kids to learn math?

Why not try one of our free math games - we have a wide selection of printable games for your students to enjoy!

• Math Games for Kids

Online Math Calculators

We have a selection of online calculators which are free to use.

Our calculators include fraction, decimal and percentage calculators as well as conversion calculators and age calculators.

Math Sheets By Topic

Here is our huge bank of free Math worksheets, sorted by topic:

Numbers & The Number System

4 operations, other math topics, view all our latest pages.

All the math worksheets printable and other math resources found on this website are original math materials produced by the Math Salamanders.

We hope you enjoy using this site and find the materials useful.

If you have used our website and found our resources useful, please consider making a small donation to help with our costs.

All donations are made through Paypal.

Get a free sample copy of our Math Salamanders Dice Games book with each donation!

You can also support us by liking our site on Facebook!

Any Problems with our site?

We do our best to ensure that our site works as smoothly as possible and we try to ensure that all of our resources are error-free.

Please let us know straight away if there are any problems with any of our resources - we can usually fix them within a few minutes!

The best way to contact us is to use the 'Contact Us' link at the top and bottom of each page.

You can also leave a facebook comment, but they make take a little longer for us to action.

Math-Salamanders.com

The Math Salamanders hope you enjoy using these free printable Math worksheets and all our other Math games and resources.

We welcome any comments about our site or worksheets on the Facebook comments box at the bottom of every page.

New! Comments

TOP OF PAGE

© 2010-2024 Math Salamanders Limited. All Rights Reserved.

• Privacy Policy
• Copyright Policy