A word problem is just a case waiting to be cracked. You are the detective. The goblin is your brain on your shoulder. Every case gets the same calm routine, so a scary question stops being scary.
Right. Here is the secret no one tells you: the hard part of a word problem is almost never the maths. It is working out what the question is actually asking. Decode the case first, and the sums are the easy bit.
So we do not panic, and we do not arrest the first suspect we see. We read it twice, hunt the question, and grab the clues. Then we solve. Ready, partner?
Most cases are one of four shapes. Once you spot the shape, you already half know what to do. Your job over the term: collect every type in your case journal.
The six-step routine, the six detective skills, and the Goblin Translation table that turns English into goblin-maths. Start here.
Open the handbook →Real cases to crack, one of each type. Stuck? Knock three times, then take a smaller case, then check the full solution.
Open the files →The Triangle Crimes Unit. Sin, cos and tan are the three informants; learn to interrogate them, then crack nine cases out to elevation and depression.
Open the unit →The Records Room. File evidence into stem-and-leaf ledgers, mirror two suspects spine to spine, then hand the chief your verdict in sentences.
Open the room →A print-and-write page for GoodNotes: working space, a dot grid, and your Case Notes. Every case you crack gets archived here.
Print a page →The one move that matters most. Mid-case, knock: What am I doing? Why? Is it helping? Switching paths is a detective skill.
Learn the knock →
A wrong turn is not a failure, it is information. Every good detective follows a few dead ends before they crack the case. When something does not work, you just learned what the answer is not. Keep going.
Got one wrong? Here's what to do →