Word Problems: The Secret Chaos in My ELA Class
Confession time, friend: I thought I was clever. As a 7th grade ELA teacher in sunny Santa Fe, I decided to spice up our reading of Chew on This with a dash of math. The book is loaded with stats—perfect, right? I tossed out a simple question: If kids see 40,000 commercials a year and 20,000 are for junk food, what percentage is that?
Cue the chaos. Answers flew like wild arrows—400, 2, 8—then came the debates, the confusion, and finally, a meltdown from my star student. Was I too ambitious? Or is there a secret math teacher magic I’m missing?
Have you ever tried blending subjects and ended up in a similar pickle? Drop your stories, corrections, or tips below. Maybe together, we can crack the code of cross-curricular word problems! 😅🤯
#Education #WordProblems #TeachingStories
