Math · Stage 2
Two-Step Word Problems with a Bar Model
Solve bigger word problems that take two steps — draw the parts and the whole, then work one step at a time.
✦ Math📘 Stage 2 · S2⏱ ~12 min🧒 Ages 6–7★ Free to start
I can solve two-step word problems by drawing a bar model and working one step at a time.
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Kavi's Market Stall 🧺
Kavi fills 4 baskets with 6 pears 🍐 each, then sells 9 pears. "How many are left?" Kavi asks. "I can't jump straight to the answer — first I find the whole (4 groups of 6), then I take some away. That's two steps! Let me draw a bar model so I can see every part before I count."
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What your child will learn
1Step 1 — a bar model builds the wholeA bar model puts the parts together to make a whole. Kavi has 24 pears from the baskets and picks 6 more: the parts are 24 and 6. Tap more ▶ and ◀ less and watch the two parts always add back to the whole.
2Step 2 — act on the whole (add on or take away)Once step one gives you the whole, step two is one more move — add more, or take some away. Hop along the number line in equal jumps to do the second step safely.
3Line up the columns for the second stepWhen the numbers are bigger, write them in columns so the ones sit under ones and tens under tens. The whole from step one was 30, and Kavi gets a crate of 15 more. Tap Step → to add 30 + 15.
4The whole and its parts — find any missing oneWhen you know the whole and one part, the other part is whole − part. These are ways a whole of 30 splits into two parts. Cover one number and say its partner — that is exactly what a take-away second step does.
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A peek inside
Kavi fills 4 baskets with 6 pears 🍐 each, then sells 9 pears. How many pears are left?
Bar model: step 1 → 4 groups of 6 = 4 × 6 = 24. Step 2 → 24 − 9 = 15
Try this at home: Step 1: 3 × 5 = ___. Step 2: take away 4 → ___
Part of Math · Stage 2 · S2 on KAVI Academy — a secular, whole-child learning platform for ages 5–12.