In a multistep situation, every number has a job. Some quantities form equal groups, some join the total, and some are removed or shared. The first task is to identify the question and label the quantities before choosing an operation. This prevents the common mistake of doing something to every number merely because it appears in the story.
MATH-102 · MODULE 07
Plan and Solve Multistep Problems
Represent a story, choose operations, and monitor the plan as the quantities change.
A complete learning route
Build a method you can explain, not a string of answers to rush through.
This course begins each module with a teaching conversation, then moves through visible models, worked reasoning, connected practice, and a useful check. Use paper, counters, bottle caps, or a pencil line whenever a model helps.
Restoring this module…
Before you begin
A multistep problem is a sequence of relationships, not a pile of numbers.
A diagram is a planning tool. An array can isolate repeated groups; a bar can hold a total and its parts; a number line can show change. Once the relationship is visible, write a one-line plan before you calculate. Pause after the first calculation to say what that intermediate answer represents.
You will estimate at more than one point and finish with a sentence that reconnects the answer to the question. That sentence is a check: if the units do not make sense, or if the answer names people when the question asks for buses, the plan needs another look.
Start
Read for quantities and relationships
Learning target
A useful plan begins with what is known, what changes, and what must be found.
Ignore extra words at first. Name the quantities and draw a quick bar, array, or group model.
Read or listen to the teaching conversation for this step
Module 7, Start
Transcript: Do not race into arithmetic. First identify the quantities, the relationship between them, and the exact question the story is asking.
Guided practice
Work one idea at a time.
Each question comes after a model or explanation. A wrong response opens support and a chance to rebuild the idea; it never counts as complete.
Identify the first relationship
A garden has 6 rows of 14 plants. Then 9 plants are moved. Which operation finds the number before any plants are moved?
6 rows × 14 columns of plants
Server-scored mastery check
Show what you can do without a hint.
The server selects an original equivalent mastery set. A pass needs at least 80% plus evidence on the module’s central ideas.
Complete each guided-practice item correctly to open this mastery check. You have a safe path to every idea; a wrong practice response never closes the route.