- Teachers Home

- Building Reading & Writing Skills

- Additional Lessons »

- Problem and Solut...



Explain Tell students that they will discuss everyday problems and their possible solutions.
Guided Practice/Practice Have students write an everyday problem that might arise in school or at home on one card and a possible solution for that problem on another card. Ask them to label the blank sides of their cards with a P for problem and an S for solution. For example, they might write on one card, The classroom has no more paper towels and label it P and on another card Students borrow towels from a neighboring classroom and label it S.
After students have made the game cards, have them shuffle each pack of cards (one for P and one for S) and lay the cards out in two arrays of rows and columns with the lettered side facing up. Students then play the game by turning over one card in each array. If they can give a logical explanation of why a solution might work for a problem, they get to keep both cards. If they cannot give an explanation they turn the cards over and place them back in the same places. The winner is the person who has the most cards when there are no more matches that can be made. Note that solutions do not have to be the original ones suggested, as long as they work.
Note to Teachers, Parents, and other adults: please read this Important information before using this web site with children or students. Please read our Terms of Use and Privacy Notice before you explore our web site. For questions regarding permissions, please visit our Permissions Site.
Published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., Two Penn Plaza, New York, New York 10121.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, network storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.
Web site photo credits: Student: Photodisc/PunchStock; Teacher: dynamicgraphics/Jupiterimages; Family: BananaStock/PunchStock.