aReading Problem Solving 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student reads a story where the main character cannot find her lost homework. Which step should the character take FIRST to solve this problem?
- Ask a friend to do the homework again
- Retrace her steps to remember where she last had it (Correct answer)
- Tell the teacher she never had homework
- Buy new school supplies
Correct answer: Retrace her steps to remember where she last had it
Retracing steps is the logical first action when something is lost because it narrows down where the item could be.
Question 2: In a passage about a broken bicycle, the rider decides to fix the flat tire himself. What type of problem-solving approach is this?
- Avoiding the problem
- Asking someone else to solve it
- Taking direct action to resolve the issue (Correct answer)
- Ignoring the problem and moving on
Correct answer: Taking direct action to resolve the issue
Taking direct action to fix the flat tire shows independent problem-solving rather than avoidance or delegation.
Question 3: A reading passage describes two friends who disagree about which game to play. They decide to play one friend's choice today and the other's choice tomorrow. What problem-solving strategy did they use?
- Compromise (Correct answer)
- Avoidance
- Competition
- Confrontation
Correct answer: Compromise
Taking turns so each friend gets their preference is a classic compromise strategy.
Question 4: After reading a nonfiction article, a student needs to answer a question but cannot find the answer on the page she read. What should she do?
- Skip the question entirely
- Guess without rereading
- Reread earlier sections or check the index (Correct answer)
- Write 'I don't know'
Correct answer: Reread earlier sections or check the index
Rereading earlier sections or using the index are effective strategies for locating information within a text.
Question 5: A character in a story faces a math problem she cannot solve. She draws a picture to represent the problem. This is an example of which strategy?
- Making a visual model to understand the problem (Correct answer)
- Guessing the answer randomly
- Asking a teacher for the answer
- Skipping the hard parts
Correct answer: Making a visual model to understand the problem
Drawing a picture or diagram is a recognized problem-solving strategy that makes abstract problems more concrete.
Question 6: In a passage, a boy's science experiment keeps failing. He changes one variable at a time to find the cause. Which problem-solving skill is he using?
- Guessing randomly until it works
- Systematic testing to isolate the cause (Correct answer)
- Copying another student's experiment
- Giving up after one failure
Correct answer: Systematic testing to isolate the cause
Changing one variable at a time is a systematic approach that isolates what is causing the problem.
Question 7: A student reads a story where a character solves a puzzle by breaking it into smaller pieces. What advantage does this problem-solving method provide?
- It makes the problem harder to understand
- It allows each small part to be handled one at a time (Correct answer)
- It requires more people to help
- It means the character does not have to think
Correct answer: It allows each small part to be handled one at a time
Breaking a large problem into smaller parts makes each component more manageable and easier to solve.
aReading Problem Solving 2
A student reads a story where the main character cannot find her lost homework.
Which step should the character take FIRST to solve this problem?