Maths Word Problems Year 6 — How to Solve Them

Why Word Problems Are Different

Give your child “3 × £1.75” and they’ll probably get it right. Bury the same sum inside a paragraph about Tom buying stickers and suddenly they’re stuck. The maths hasn’t changed — the reading has.

Word problems test whether children can pick out the numbers, decide what to do with them, and ignore the bits that don’t matter. It’s a reading skill as much as a maths skill, which is why some kids who fly through arithmetic freeze on reasoning papers.

The RUCSAC Method

Not every school uses this acronym, but the process is the same wherever your child goes. RUCSAC stands for:

1. Read the whole question. Don’t skim.
2. Understand what it’s asking. What do you need to find?
3. Choose the right operation (add, subtract, multiply, divide).
4. Solve — do the calculation, showing your working.
5. Answer — write it clearly, with the right units.
6. Check — does the answer make sense?

The “Check” step catches more dropped marks than any other. A quick “does this answer actually make sense?” is worth its weight in gold.

Spotting the Operation

Certain words are clues. “Altogether” and “total” usually mean add. “Left” or “remaining” usually mean subtract. “Each” or “shared equally” point to division. “Times as many” means multiply.

But watch out — some questions need two or three steps. “Tom buys 3 packs and pays with a £10 note — how much change?” That’s a multiply then a subtract. Teaching your child to spot multi-step problems is half the battle.

Multi-Step Problems (Worked Example)

“Tom buys 3 packs of stickers at £1.75 each and pays with a £10 note. How much change does he get?”

1. Step 1: 3 × £1.75 = £5.25
2. Step 2: £10 − £5.25 = £4.75

Two steps, two marks. If your child shows clear working for each step, they’ll still pick up a method mark even if the final answer goes wrong. That’s why “show your working” is drilled in so hard at school.

The Tricky Ones

Some questions are designed to catch children out. “How many 35cm pieces can be cut from 2 metres of ribbon?” The maths gives 200 ÷ 35 = 5.71… but you can’t cut 0.71 of a piece. The answer is 5.

These “rounding in context” questions pop up nearly every year. Talk about them at home: “if a minibus holds 14 people and 50 people need a ride, how many minibuses?” It’s 4, not 3.57. You round up because you need the extra bus.

Reading the Question Properly

This sounds obvious, but most word problem mistakes come from answering a different question to the one that was asked. Teach your child three habits:

• Underline the actual question (usually the last sentence).
• Circle the numbers and key words.
• Cross out the waffle — extra detail that’s just scenery.

Practice Makes It Click

One word problem a day is better than a batch of twenty on Sunday night. Keep it short and talk through the thinking out loud. Don’t just check whether the answer is right — ask “how did you know to multiply?” or “why did you subtract there?”

When children can explain their reasoning, the method sticks. And once the method sticks, word problems stop being scary and start being puzzles.