'word problems' in maths - help please

[basildonbond]

ds2 (y5) has always found maths very easy - at parents' eve last night his teacher said he was 5b at the moment, but given his ability should be much higher. The trouble is whenever he's faced with a word problem, he just goes completely the wrong way about it - chooses the wrong operation, gives an answer which is right, but not the answer asked for or some other silly mistake. He has mild asperger's and seems to have a real blind spot for questions like these. Can anyone point me in the direction of resources that will help get him over this hurdle please?

Is this the sort of thing you're looking for?
bbc bitesize

To emphasise the things to look for in a word problem, you could highlight the most important words together - at least initially.
Also, it is good to learn what certain words mean. For example, "product means multiply", "and" usually means add, "of" means multiply, "difference" means subtract etc.

Good luck with it :-)

I don't really see how a child can be a 5b if he can't answer word problems. This is required to get a Level 4.

Thanks monoid - that's the kind of thing, although those are a bit easy for him, but highlighting the important words is a good idea, we'll try that

easterbunny - I can assure you he is that level - he's been on the G&T register for maths since y1 and was level 4 at the end of y2. This is a specific difficulty he has because of his asperger's. I was rather hoping for help like monoid's rather than scepticism

Your DS2 should find going through these strategies useful:

www.mathstories.com/strategies.htm

Once he knows the strategies the word problems will seem much easier!

Just came across this:
Rick's Math

Just to set the record straight, the criteria for levels is just a guide. The teacher has some discretion when it comes to class work. The fact that your DS2 has been given a 5b means that he is working almost completely at this level. It is unfair to say that a child hasn't reached a particular level because they are struggling with one or two concepts. This is also why levels by teachers are very inconsistent. Quite often, teachers will try to give their pupils the highest possible levels in order to make the school look good.
This is of no consequence however, you know that he is doing well and you know his week area and you are doing something about it. I tend to listen to the comments and completely ignore the level that they claim my DD is working at.

Anyway, good luck with it. I will pop back if I find anything more

thanks flamingtoaster and thanks again monoid - really helpful

Sorry, I wasn't being nasty about what your son is achieving - he is obviously gifted at calculation.
However, I do think the school may be wrongly assessing at a 5B as great chunks of current maths assessment relies on interpretation of word problems and data (particularly at level 4 and 5), as monoid so tactfully explained.

My DS who is in Y6 and has Aspergers also has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to certain word problem questions. He regularly achieves level 5 in his maths work (usually 5a) BUT there is the odd question that is phrased so that it is misinterpreted by DS. This is a very common AS problem. He then will make silly calculation errors, use the wrong operation and often get very frustrated with the question and has been known to destroy his whole paper (hurrah - can't wait for the sats in May!).

I work as a TA in a KS2 setting and working across Y3-6 I have found that many AS children have an issue with word problems. Sometimes the question is too wordy and they cannot process it properly, too many confusing instructions which leads to guessing at what is required. Sometimes they get stuck on an unhelpful picture, eg a question says that a bowl of fruit has 5 oranges in it but the picture only has 4 oranges on it, which can lead to refusal to do the question or ignoring the numbers stated in the question and relying on the picture.

I think the resources above should be helpful but also thinking about the questions form an AS point of view helps you to understand WHY he does it. When it comes to homework I supervise DS carefully with these questions and make sure he has understood what it actually means - get him to tell me what operation needs to be used and why. Sometimes breaking it down one sentence at a time helps. For what its worth I think my DS will always struggle with very wordy questions as there is too much to process in too short a time and he has a need to finish first.

Hope that's helpful!

Thanks Wedgiesmum - it's good to know ds2 isn't the only one

we'll try getting him to break it down into understandable segments and see if that helps