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How to teach the CUBES math strategy

CUBES stands for Circle the numbers, Underline the question, Box the key words, Evaluate and Solve and check. This page explains each step and where key words mislead, with a free activity where students send a photo of their marked-up word problem and Sparky asks which step is missing.

Jemel Fanfan

Jemel Fanfan | Founding Member at Flint

Title card reading 'How to teach the CUBES math strategy', next to three chat cards: a student boxed 'in all' and added every number to get 142, Sparky asks which CUBES step is missing from her paper, and she fixes it with 47 + 15 = 62 and 80 − 62 = 18.

"Overall, my life has become much easier and streamlined with Flint. Flint has allowed me to spend less time planning and more time focusing on student interaction and reflection."

Bradley EvansBradley Evans, 6th Grade Math Teacher at American School of Milan

Why this matters

A student can circle every number, underline the question and box "in all", then add all three numbers in a problem that needs subtraction. Four of the five CUBES steps are on the paper, so the work looks finished to the student who wrote it. The teacher has to wait until the practice test is graded to find out who skipped Evaluate.

What the CUBES math strategy stands for

CUBES is a five-step routine for reading a word problem before solving it (K20 Center, University of Oklahoma):

  • C: Circle the key numbers and units.
  • U: Underline the question the problem asks.
  • B: Box the key words that say what the question wants students to do.
  • E: Evaluate and eliminate. Find the information the question doesn't need and cross it out.
  • S: Solve and check. Show the work, then check it.

Key words can mislead. A study of 747 released state test items for grades 3 to 8 found that the operation a key word suggests gave the right answer less than 50% of the time on routine problems, and less than 10% of the time on multistep ones (CTL, "CUBES: Who is Doing the Thinking?", citing Powell, Namkung and Lin, 2022). So the E step is where students check each boxed word against the story.

In the Flint activity, each student solves two-step word problems on paper, marks them with CUBES and sends Sparky a photo. Unlike a worksheet, Sparky reads the marks on that student's paper and asks which step is missing before saying anything about the answer.

Sparky gets Cora to find the step she skipped

Cora ends up naming her missing step, rewriting her plan and solving the problem in two steps. Every student gets the same activity, and Sparky's replies depend on the photo and answers each student sends.

Sparky works from Cora's photoSparky sends Cora back to her own paperA right answer gets a harder problem
C

Cora

Interest: Saving her allowance for a skateboardStarting point: Thinks "in all" always means add

Cora

hi im cora! im saving my allowance for a skateboard. its a blue one with flames

Sparky

A blue skateboard with flames sounds SO cool! Solve this one on paper using all 5 CUBES steps, then send me a photo of your work. Cora has saved $47. Her grandma gives her $15 more for her birthday. The skateboard costs $80. After getting her birthday money, how much more does Cora still need in all?

Cora

heres my paper. i boxed in all so i added them all up and got 142
A photo of Cora's lined paper. She copied the skateboard problem, circled $47, $15 and $80 in red, underlined the question and boxed the words more and in all. Down the margin she wrote C, U, B, E and S, with check marks next to every letter except E. Her work adds 47 + 15 + 80 = 142, and she wrote: Cora needs $142 more, check: 47 + 15 + 80 = 142.
PhotoCora's paper

Sparky

I can see you circled $47 and $15, and you boxed the words "in all." I notice one CUBES step looks blank on your paper though. Which CUBES step is missing?

Cora

E!! i skipped evaluate. i just saw in all and added everything

Sparky

Yes, exactly, E is missing! Now look at your boxed words: "more" and "in all." What does the story actually want you to find out? Does it want you to combine things, or figure out how much is still needed?

Cora

how much is still needed. so i add 47 + 15 = 62 thats what she has. then 80 - 62 = 18. she needs 18 more dollars

Sparky

That's right! $18 is correct! You caught the key word trap: "in all" didn't mean add everything! Ready for a harder one? Cora wants to buy the skateboard for $80 and a helmet for $23. She has saved $47 and earns $8 doing chores. … Solve it with all 5 CUBES steps on paper, including your E plan!

Named the step she skipped, solved it in two steps and got a harder problem

Cora is an example student, and Sparky's replies are shortened.

What Flint did for Cora

  • Sparky read Cora's photo, saw the blank E in her margin and asked which CUBES step was missing instead of marking 142 wrong.
  • When Cora named Evaluate, Sparky sent her back to the two words she had boxed, "more" and "in all".
  • After Cora found the $18, Sparky gave her a harder problem with a helmet and chore money to sort out.

A teacher can't do this by hand for 30 students, and Sparky does it in every student's chat.

The activity page shows who is skipping Evaluate

While the class works, Needs attention shows the teacher which student is stuck and on which message. In Cora's chat, Sparky flagged her first photo for the teacher as a missing E step, so the teacher knows who to check on before that student uses the same plan on the next problem. After three or more students submit, activity analytics lists what the class did well, where students went wrong, and a follow-up to practice next.

Flint's activity page for the CUBES Word Problems: Check Every Step activity. Needs attention shows that one student has sent two photos with nothing next to Evaluate and added every number both times. Activity analytics says most students circled every number and underlined the question in their first photo, and 16 students wrote a two-step plan next to E after naming it as their missing step. 9 students boxed 'in all' and added every number in a problem that needed subtraction. The follow-up suggests saying what each question asks in their own words, then writing a problem where 'in all' means subtract. The Sessions table lists three students: two submitted and one still in progress.

Example activity page

After a fourth grade class sends its first CUBES photos

The school and students are made up for this page.

Set up the activity for free

Open the CUBES activity in Flint's public library, select Use activity to copy it into a free Flint account, and assign it to a class. The guidelines tell Sparky to write each student's first problem about something that student likes or is saving for, with a key word that points the wrong way, such as "in all" in a problem that needs subtraction. Students solve each problem on paper, then send a picture of it with Take a photo or the paper clip, Add attachment(s), under the message box. Sparky reads JPG, PNG and HEIC photos, so the activity needs no extra setting turned on (Flint help center).

For more test prep activities, see Flint for test prep.

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