Problem Solving: Draw a Picture Strategy
Use simple drawings to solve word problems
Problem Solving: Draw a Picture Strategy
Use simple drawings to solve word problems
Math - Grade 2-3
- 1
Lena has 6 red marbles and 5 blue marbles. Draw the marbles. How many marbles does Lena have in all?
Draw 6 circles for the red marbles and 5 circles for the blue marbles.
Lena has 11 marbles in all. A picture could show 6 red marbles and 5 blue marbles, then all the marbles can be counted together. - 2
There are 14 birds on a tree. 6 birds fly away. Draw the birds to show what happens. How many birds are left?
There are 8 birds left. A picture could show 14 birds with 6 crossed out, leaving 8 birds. - 3
Mia puts stickers in 3 rows. Each row has 4 stickers. Draw the rows. How many stickers does Mia have?
Draw an array with 3 rows and 4 stickers in each row.
Mia has 12 stickers. A picture could show 3 rows with 4 stickers in each row, which makes 12 stickers total. - 4
Sam has 18 grapes. He shares them equally between 2 plates. Draw the plates and grapes. How many grapes go on each plate?
Each plate gets 9 grapes. A picture could show 18 grapes split into 2 equal groups of 9. - 5
A class has 9 pencils in one cup and 7 pencils in another cup. Draw the cups and pencils. How many pencils are there altogether?
You can draw tally marks instead of detailed pencils.
There are 16 pencils altogether. A picture could show 9 pencils in one cup and 7 pencils in another cup, then count 16 total pencils. - 6
Noah builds a tower with 10 blocks. Then he adds 8 more blocks. Draw the blocks. How many blocks are in the tower now?
The tower has 18 blocks now. A picture could show 10 blocks first and 8 more blocks added, for a total of 18 blocks. - 7
A dog has 4 legs. Draw 5 dogs or use groups of legs. How many legs do 5 dogs have in all?
Draw 5 circles for dogs and 4 legs under each circle.
Five dogs have 20 legs in all. A picture could show 5 groups with 4 legs in each group, then count by 4s to 20. - 8
Ella has 20 beads. She uses 8 beads to make a bracelet. Draw the beads and cross out the used beads. How many beads are left?
Ella has 12 beads left. A picture could show 20 beads with 8 crossed out, leaving 12 beads. - 9
There are 4 baskets. Each basket has 6 apples. Draw the baskets and apples. How many apples are there in all?
Draw 4 groups. Put 6 dots in each group.
There are 24 apples in all. A picture could show 4 baskets with 6 apples in each basket, then count 6, 12, 18, 24. - 10
A path has 15 stepping stones. The first 9 stones are gray and the rest are white. Draw the stones. How many stones are white?
There are 6 white stones. A picture could show 15 stones with the first 9 shaded gray, leaving 6 white stones. - 11
Ben has 12 toy cars. He lines them up in 3 equal rows. Draw the rows. How many cars are in each row?
Place one car in each row over and over until all 12 cars are used.
There are 4 cars in each row. A picture could show 12 cars arranged into 3 equal rows, with 4 cars in each row. - 12
A garden has 5 flowers in the first row, 5 flowers in the second row, and 5 flowers in the third row. Draw the rows. How many flowers are in the garden?
There are 15 flowers in the garden. A picture could show 3 rows of 5 flowers, then count by 5s to 15. - 13
Jamal reads 6 pages on Monday, 6 pages on Tuesday, and 6 pages on Wednesday. Draw groups of pages. How many pages does he read in all?
Draw one group for each day.
Jamal reads 18 pages in all. A picture could show 3 groups of 6 pages, then add 6 + 6 + 6 to get 18. - 14
There are 22 students in line. 10 students are wearing hats. Draw the line or use dots. How many students are not wearing hats?
There are 12 students not wearing hats. A picture could show 22 dots with 10 marked as wearing hats, leaving 12 unmarked dots. - 15
A farmer has 3 pens. Each pen has 7 sheep. Draw the pens and sheep. How many sheep does the farmer have altogether?
Draw 3 boxes for the pens and 7 dots inside each box.
The farmer has 21 sheep altogether. A picture could show 3 pens with 7 sheep in each pen, then count 7, 14, 21.