185: A Better Way to Use CUBES - Ditch Keyword in Math for Making Sense

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Many classrooms use the CUBES strategy for solving word problems. It's familiar, structured, and gives students a clear process. However, in this episode, we explore how traditional CUBES may unintentionally encourage students to “hunt for clues” instead of understanding the meaning of the story. Let’s talk about how to shift from keywords to reasoning using the Word Problem Workshop approach.

In this episode, you’ll hear how we reimagine CUBES to shift students from identifying to understanding:

• C — Consider the Context: What’s the story about?
• U — Understand the Question: What is being asked?
• B — Bring Meaning to Numbers: What do the numbers represent?
• E — Examine the Situation: What is changing or happening?
• S — Support Understanding: Grapple and discuss before solving.

This small shift leads to huge gains in reasoning, confidence, and real problem-solving.

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