CUBES Math Strategy Posters

About this resource

CUBES is the five-step routine many classrooms use for word problems: Circle the numbers, Underline the question, Box the key words, Eliminate extra information, Solve and check. This is 31 pages that put the routine on the wall, on the desk and on the page: 6 posters, desk strips to cut, 12 key word cards to sort, and 12 original word problems with five check boxes each. Print what you need, or type before you print.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (31 pages)

• 6 full-page posters: one for each of the 5 steps (circle, underline, box, eliminate, solve and check), each with the same small example problem marked up the way a child marks it, and one stacked C.U.B.E.S. overview poster.
• A "Watch Me Solve It" page that shows all 5 steps on one problem, with a drawn tick in each box.
• 6 tall desk strips (bookmark size) to a page, 12 in all (color set and ink-saver set), with the five letters and a few words. Tape one to each desk or use it as a bookmark.
• 12 key word cards (in all, altogether, total, combined, left, fewer, difference, take away, each, every, groups of, times) to cut and glue on a sort mat under add, subtract and multiply. The page reminds children that a clue word is a clue, not a rule.
• 36 pieces to cut across 4 cut sheets, edge to edge so each cut is one straight line. Every cut set comes in color and in ink-saver.
• 12 original word problems on 6 practice pages, 2 problems to a page, in 3 sets of 4: a circle set (one step, add or subtract), a square set (one step, multiply or bigger numbers) and a triangle set (two steps). Every problem has the five CUBES check boxes, a big work box, a number sentence line and an answer line. 5 of the problems carry a fact that does not help, so the E step is real practice.
• A CUBES log (7 rows) and a write-your-own-problem page.
• Teacher pages: how to use it (5 short routines), an answer key with the circled numbers, key words, extra fact, number sentence and answer for all 12 problems, a class roll-up with a filled example (an invented class of 6), a take-home "CUBES at Home" page with one more problem, a phrase bank of 20 prompts in 5 groups, and a binder cover with spine and 4 tabs.
• Terms of use and a thank-you page.

How To Use It

Read one poster a day, then hang them in a row. Each child cuts a desk strip and tapes it down. Before any word problem, point to each letter and say the step. Hand out the practice set that fits each child, check with the key, and mark the class roll-up to see which step the group needs again.

Built For The Child Holding The Page

Every student page has a big "My name" line, one short direction with a picture, and room to work. The levels are marked with a circle, a square and a triangle, never a number. Pictures are friendly clip art. Everything reads in black and white too.

Type In, Or Print

The name lines, work boxes, number sentence and answer lines, the CUBES log, the class roll-up and every notes area are type-in fields in any PDF reader (174 fields in all). You can also print any page and write by hand. Print at 100 percent with fit-to-page turned off. This is a fillable PDF; it is not a Google Slides or PowerPoint file.

Who This Is For

Grade 3 to 5 classrooms, resource rooms and small groups that are learning to slow down, read the whole problem and show their steps.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

Working paper and room decoration. It is not a curriculum, a test or a program, and it promises no outcome. All names and the class in the examples are invented.