UPS These are the steps you may take to solve a word problem. You may not do everything in every category, but you should do many of them. 

Understand

• Understand what the question is asking
• Put the question in your own words
• Make a picture in your head or on paper
• Find out how many steps your problem has
• Decide what operation or operations you will have to perform

Plan

• Find out if there is too much or too little information
• Choose a problem solving strategy

Solve

• Show your thinking!!!
• Estimate
• Write out a number sentence
• Draw a picture or Diagram
• Solve your problem

for reasonableness

• Check the answer. Did I perform my operations correctly?
• Did I answer the question proposed?
• Is the answer reasonable?
• How does my answer compare to my estimate?
• Could I work it another way to make sure I'm right?

*Modified from work done by Kathy Gibson