166: Kickstarting Problem Solving from Day One

Episode 166 of the Math Chat podcast, hosted by Mona Iehl, titled "166: Kickstarting Problem Solving from Day One" was published on August 25, 2025 and runs 20 minutes.

August 25, 2025 ·20m · Math Chat

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Summary

Send us Fan Mail It’s back-to-school season, and if you’re running on caffeine and sheer willpower, this episode is for you. The copy machine is acting up, your prep time is shrinking, and yet—you’re slowly building something amazing with your new class. In today’s episode, we’ll talk about launching word problems in math from the very first week to set the tone for a year of problem-solvers, not just answer-getters. Feeling overwhelmed by planning? I’ve got you covered with my First We...

Episode Description

Send us Fan Mail

It’s back-to-school season, and if you’re running on caffeine and sheer willpower, this episode is for you. The copy machine is acting up, your prep time is shrinking, and yet—you’re slowly building something amazing with your new class.

In today’s episode, we’ll talk about launching word problems in math from the very first week to set the tone for a year of problem-solvers, not just answer-getters.

Feeling overwhelmed by planning? I’ve got you covered with my First Week of Word Problem Workshop resources for K–2 and 3–5. These ready-to-go plans include SEL connections, sample problems, prompts, and teacher questions so you can focus on teaching—not reinventing the wheel. Grab them here:

🎧 Listen to the full episode of the Math Chat Podcast for the stories, strategies, and teacher gems that will help you kick off problem-solving right.
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