Word problems with pictures worksheets
Aligned with Common Core 1.OA.A.1
Printable picture word problems for first grade: adding to, taking away, comparing, and adding three numbers. Each story has pictures and boxes for the number sentence.
The worksheets
- See it all
Word Problems Chart
Adding, taking away and comparing stories, each with a picture, a number sentence and clue words.
Adding Stories
Four short adding stories with pictures and a number sentence to fill in.
Take-Away Stories
Four short take-away stories. Cross out the pictures that leave, then write the number sentence.
How Many More?
Four comparing stories with two picture rows lined up so kids can see the difference.
Adding Three Numbers
Four stories with three groups to add. Matches 1.OA.A.2.
Print the whole packet
One copy of every sheet above, in order. Tap + for more copies (up to 10).
For the parent or teacher
What it is
Word problems are short stories with a math question at the end. The hard part isn't the math. It's working out what is happening in the story and whether to add or subtract. Pictures help kids see the story before they write any numbers.
What comes next
Tens and ones, so kids can solve stories with bigger numbers.
How to teach it
- Read the story out loud together, then ask "What is happening?" before anything else.
- Act it out with toys or draw it. Then write the numbers.
- Look at whether things are joining (add), leaving (subtract) or being compared (find the difference).
- Write the whole number sentence, not just the answer, so you can see their thinking.
Common mistakes
- Grabbing the numbers and adding them without reading the story.
- Treating "how many more" as adding. It's asking for the difference between two amounts.
- Writing only the answer, which makes mistakes hard to find.