Five problems, chosen so each one leans on a different part of solving. The point is not her score. The point is to hear exactly where her thinking stalls, so the next nine weeks aim at the right thing.
Solving a word problem is a chain. It can snap at any link. These are the six links, what a snap sounds like, and where to push if it is the culprit.
Doesn't work out what is being asked. Grabs every number including irrelevant ones. Answers a different question than the one asked.
Treats every problem as brand new. Doesn't notice two problems are the same shape. Can't say what "type" it is.
Stares, no idea where to start. Doesn't reach for a table or diagram. Tries random operations hoping one works.
Picks a path and never checks it. Doesn't catch a wrong step. Stops one step early and answers half the question.
Decodes fine, but the arithmetic is the wall: percentages, fractions, negatives, or rearranging an equation.
Writes a number and moves on. Never asks if it is reasonable. Wrong units, or an impossible size, left unchallenged.
Kelcy sees only the questions (on her sheet). You see the intent, what to watch for, and the worked answer. Every one has been solved and checked.
Liam is filling a 45 litre fish tank using a bucket. The tank already has 9 litres in it. Each time he tips the bucket in, it adds 4 litres. He started at 3pm. How many bucket-loads until the tank is full?
Watch for: Does she ignore "started at 3pm" (irrelevant)? Does she use the 9 litres already there, or divide 45 by 4 straight away? This is a friendly Tank problem on purpose, so any wobble here is about decoding, not maths.
Start 9 L, target 45 L, rate 4 L per bucket. To go: 45 − 9 = 36. Buckets: 36 ÷ 4 = 9. 9 bucket-loads. Check: 9 + 4×9 = 45. The 3pm is a red herring.
A candle is 20 cm tall when it is lit. It burns down by 3 cm every hour. After how many hours will it be 5 cm tall?
Watch for: Does she notice this is the same shape as Q1 (a start value and a steady rate), just going down instead of up? Recognising the structure across the sign change is the schema skill. If she restarts from scratch with no sense of déjà vu, that is a Connect snap.
Start 20 cm, target 5 cm, dropping 3 cm per hour. To lose: 20 − 5 = 15. Hours: 15 ÷ 3 = 5. 5 hours. Check: 20 − 3×5 = 5.
At a market stall, one large jar of honey costs the same as three small jars. Maya buys two large jars and four small jars and spends $50 in total. How much does one small jar cost?
Watch for: There is no single sum to reach for. Does she find a strategy, swapping everything into "small jars", or a table, or trial and improvement? Flailing with random operations is a Strategy snap. Picking any sensible representation, even slowly, is a win.
One large = three small. So two large = six small. Total in small jars: 6 + 4 = 10 small jars = $50, so one small = 50 ÷ 10 = $5. Small jar $5 (large jar $15). Check: 2×15 + 4×5 = 30 + 20 = 50.
A jacket costs $80. In a sale it is reduced by 25%. At the till, Kelcy also uses a member card that takes a further $5 off. How much does she pay?
Watch for: Two steps, in order: the percentage first, then the flat $5. Does she do both? Does she stop after the 25% and forget the $5? Does she wrongly treat the $5 as another percentage? Stopping early or losing track is a Monitor snap. (A shaky 25% is a Fundamentals note, see Q5.)
25% of 80 = 20, so sale price 80 − 20 = 60. Then the card: 60 − 5 = 55. She pays $55. Common slip: answering $60 (stopped early) or taking 25% off after the $5.
The perimeter of a rectangle is 30 cm. The length is twice the width. Find the length and the width.
Watch for: The words are simple, so a snap here is almost certainly fundamentals: setting up length = 2 × width, using the perimeter, and solving 3 × width = 15. If she understands the situation but can't do the algebra, that tells you the wall is earlier skills, not word-problem reading.
Perimeter = 2 × (length + width) = 30, so length + width = 15. Length = 2 × width, so 2w + w = 15, giving 3w = 15, w = 5. Width 5 cm, length 10 cm. Check: 2 × (10 + 5) = 30, and 10 is twice 5.
Print this (lands in landscape) and fill it in while you listen to the memo. Rate each link: ✓ smooth, ~ wobbly, ✗ stuck. The blocker that collects the most ~ and ✗ is where the teaching weeks should lean.
| Q | Probes | What a snap sounds like | ✓ ~ ✗ | 👃 Checked? | What she actually said / did |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Decode | Used the 3pm, or divided 45÷4 ignoring the 9 | |||
| Q2 | Connect | Restarted from zero, didn't see it as a Tank again | |||
| Q3 | Strategy | No way in, random operations, no table or swap | |||
| Q4 | Monitor | Stopped at $60, or muddled the two steps | |||
| Q5 | Fundamentals | Understood it but stuck on the algebra | |||
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Biggest blocker(s): ________________________________
So weeks 2 to 4 lean into: ________________________________ Anything surprising (a strength, an emotion, a habit): ________________________________________________ | |||||