Word Problems of Addition and Subtraction | Fruit Themed, with Answer Key

Word problems of addition and subtraction with fruit

These word problems of addition and subtraction fill an 11 page packet with 70 questions about fruit. It is marked for grades 1 to 4 and also includes some multiplication and division.

The stories use apricots, watermelons, mangoes, cherries, figs, pears and dates. Students buy, sell, share and group the fruit, and write what is left or how many in all.

Teachers who need word problems of addition and subtraction with a simple theme will find four sections here, and the fruit word problems come with an answer key and a lesson plan.

What’s on the pages

The worksheet has four sections, and each one has its own heading and directions.

• Fruit addition and subtraction, multiple choice: 20 questions, such as Sara buying 14 apricots and using 4 for jam, and a store that sells 8 of its 20 watermelons.
• Fruit math statements, true or false: 15 statements, such as 5 apples plus 5 apples making 10 apples, and 15 watermelons shared into 3 equal groups.
• Fruit number sentences with a Number Bank: 15 questions, such as sharing 24 cherries between 2 children and 4 baskets with 4 pears in each.
• Fruit word problems, short answer: 20 problems, such as 16 figs grouped into pairs, 50 dates put 10 to a bag, and a farmer who picks 22 pears on Monday and 18 on Tuesday.

The numbers are small, mostly under 50, so students can focus on choosing the right operation. A few problems use costs, such as 1 mango for 3 coins.

The fruit word problems also include fruit number sentences and a fruit math statements true or false section, so the same theme gives four ways to practice. Fruit themed word problems with answer key are easy to hand to a helper, and the word problems of addition and subtraction can be reused for homework.

Because the theme is simple, students concentrate on the question instead of an unfamiliar setting, and the word problems of addition and subtraction feel natural to read aloud.

What’s in the download

• Student worksheet: 11 pages
• Answer key: 13 pages, with a short explanation after each answer
• Answer sheet: 3 pages
• Lesson plan: 2 pages

The four parts add up to 29 pages, and everything comes as PDF.

How to use these word problems of addition and subtraction

The lesson plan is set for 60 minutes. Its objectives are applying the four operations in fruit contexts, checking whether a statement is accurate, finding the missing number with a Number Bank, and solving multi-step and single-step word problems independently.

The materials list the worksheet, pencils and erasers, and counters or pictures of fruit as optional supports. Students who struggle can draw circles for each fruit and cross some out.

Start with Section 1 together and talk about the clue words. When a store sells 8 watermelons, the amount goes down. When a farmer picks more on Tuesday, the amount goes up.

The true or false statements are short and useful as a quick check. The Number Bank section lets students see sharing and grouping as division in a friendly way, and the short answer section asks them to write their own answers.

The answer sheet keeps the worksheet clean for reuse, and the answer key explains each answer in a sentence, so a parent can see how the problem was solved.

Where it fits

Use it for math centers, morning work, homework, a food and health theme or review in the weeks before a test. Homeschool families can use a section a day.

Take a look at the preview pages before you buy, so you can see the worksheet, the answer key and the answer sheet.

For more practice, browse the math worksheets, the wider set of printable worksheets or the whole shop.

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