CEC | Help Students Solve Word Problems with “Pirate Math”

Help Students Solve Word Problems with “Pirate Math”

By Pamela M. Seethaler, Sarah R. Powell, and Lynn S. Fuchs

Mr. Thomas presents his class with this word problem: “Jim spent $8 on a movie ticket and $5 on popcorn. How much more did Jim spend on the ticket?” Melanie adds 8 and 5 on her fingers, raises her hand, and shouts, “13 dollars!”

Melanie’s answer is incorrect, but is it unusual? Unfortunately, no.

Pirate Math is a tutoring program aimed at second and third graders that gives students like Melanie strategies to solve word problems. First, students learn to identify word problems by type. Next, students learn to represent the problem structure with an algebraic equation and then to solve the equations. Students also learn how to transfer problem-solving skills to problems with irrelevant information and to problems where relevant information is found in graphs, charts, or figures, like word problems found on high-stakes tests. In addition, Pirate Math integrates a pirate theme into the program. Students learn to “find X,” just like pirates do on a treasure map, and they are reinforced and motivated by treasure coins.

Pirate Math is conducted with three sessions per week for 16 weeks (48 sessions). Each session lasts 25–30 minutes and comprises five activities. A Pirate Math manual comes with scripts (which are studied, not read) and materials to implement the activities.

Pirate Math Activities

Math Fact Flash Cards. The tutor shuffles a stack of addition and subtraction flash cards and presents the flash cards one at a time, placing correctly answered cards in a stack on the table. If a student answers incorrectly, the student “counts up” to find the correct answer before the card is placed in the stack. “Counts up” is an addition and subtraction strategy. For addition, students are taught to put the big number in the problem in their head and to count up using their fingers. For subtraction, students start with the “minus” number and count up on their fingers to the top number, which gives them the difference. After one minute, the tutor counts the number of correctly answered flash cards. Then, the student has another minute to try to beat the first score. The higher score for the day is graphed. The graphs, which are a visual representation of progress, are inspirational for the students, and teachers give their students their graphs at the end of the program.

Word-Problem Warm-Up. Here the student explains how he or she solved a word problem from the previous lesson. The Daily Lesson follows, which focuses on word-problem strategies. During the first few daily lessons, students learn to count up addition and subtraction problems and check their word-problem work. In subsequent lessons, the tutor introduces three word problem types: Total, Difference, and Change. For each problem type, which is taught separately, the student learns how to set up algebraic equations to represent the problem type and how to solve the algebraic equations by finding “X.” The teacher also incorporates into the daily lessons explicit instruction on how to ignore irrelevant information; gather relevant information from scenes, bar charts, and graphs; and solve problems involving money or double-digit numbers.

Word-Problem Sorting Cards. These flash cards each show a Total, Difference, or Change word problem. The tutor reads the problems. For two minutes, the student identifies word problems by type and places the card onto a Sorting Mat. The tutor reviews incorrectly sorted cards at the end of the activity.

The Lesson. The student learns the strategies for solving word problems. For example, a lesson may focus on how to indentify extraneous information in story problems. Teachers are provided with a manual for these lessons.

Final Review. Here, the student has four minutes to solve nine algebraic equations and one word problem. The tutor grades the work and provides immediate corrective feedback.

In the spirit of Pirate Math, throughout each session, the tutor awards token “treasure coins” to students to reinforce on-task behaviors such as listening, following directions, and completing activities accurately. At the end of each session, the tutor counts the coins, and the student colors in the same number of “footsteps” on a “treasure map.” Once all the footsteps leading to the “X” on the treasure map are colored in, the student earns a small prize from a treasure chest.

So, back to Melanie, who missed Mr. Thomas’s word problem: “Jim spent $8 on a movie ticket and $5 on popcorn. How much more did Jim spend on the ticket?” As a Pirate Math student, Melanie would solve the word problem like this:

“Okay, this is a Difference problem because it compares two amounts. The $8 movie ticket is the Bigger number. The $5 popcorn is the smaller number. I have to find the Difference. I know that B – s = D. So, $8 - $5 = $X. To find X, I have to subtract. 8 - 5 = 3. So, X = $3 and the Difference is $3. The movie ticket costs $3 more than the popcorn!”

Melanie’s explanation may seem advanced for a young student, but students in second and third grade who experience serious math difficulty can learn these strategies. Over the last three years, evaluations of Pirate Math in Nashville and Houston, where students with math difficulty were randomly assigned to Pirate Math or to other tutoring or control conditions, produced the same results: Pirate Math resulted in significantly better improvement on word problems and algebra skills, as well as on fluency with math facts.

The authors are from Vanderbilt University, where Lynn S. Fuchs is the Nicholas Hobbs Professor of Special Education and Human Development, Pamela M. Seethaler recently earned a doctoral degree in special education, and Sarah R. Powell is a predoctoral fellow specializing in high-incidence disabilities. They are members of Tennessee CEC.