Do you find yourself sitting at the kitchen table, watching your Year 5 student stare blankly at a word problem, only to give up because “it’s too hard”? You aren’t alone. Many parents assume that math ability is fixed—that some children are simply “math kids” and others are not. This is a myth. The reality is that most students don’t struggle with the math itself; they struggle with the language and the multi-layered logic of the question.
In Stage 3 of the Australian curriculum, the jump in complexity is significant. Students are expected to move from simple arithmetic to solving multistep problems involving percentages. If your child struggles with this, they likely need a strategy to decode the story, not more repetitive drills. At EinstyAI, we help students transform this frustration into confidence by aligning math practice with stories they actually want to read.
The Secret to Decoding Word Problems
To help your child succeed with multistep problems—specifically calculating 10%, 25%, and 50%—teach them the “STOP-THINK-SOLVE” method.
1. Stop and Underline Keywords:
Ask your child to highlight the important numbers and the specific percentage they need to find. If the problem asks for 10% of a collection, circle “10%.” If it mentions “total” or “remaining,” highlight those. Ignoring keywords is the number one reason for errors.
2. Think in “Easy Chunks”:
Before jumping into complex division, use “friendly” percentages.
- 50% is half: Just divide the number by 2.
- 25% is half of a half: Divide by 2, then divide by 2 again.
- 10% is a tenth: Just move the decimal point one place to the left (e.g., 10% of 80 is 8).
3. Solve the Steps Separately:
Multistep problems are just a series of small problems chained together. Teach your child to solve one part, write the answer down, and then use that answer to solve the next part. Never try to hold all the numbers in your head at once.
Changing the Mindset
Math homework doesn’t have to be a battleground. When you shift the focus from “getting the right answer” to “solving the mystery” within the story, anxiety drops. A Year 5 student who views a word problem as a puzzle to be cracked—rather than a test to be failed—will naturally develop better problem-solving stamina.
Ready to put these strategies into practice with your child? Scroll down to download our latest story-based worksheet designed to make Stage 3 percentages manageable and fun.
Practice Questions
The Great Outback Wildlife Rescue
Help the ranger team save our native animals! Use your math skills to calculate the supplies needed for the rescue mission.
Question 1
The ranger team found 120 injured kangaroos in the bush. They need to give medicine to 25% of them immediately. How many kangaroos need immediate medicine?
A) 20
B) 30
C) 40
D) 60
Question 2
The rescue station has a stockpile of 400kg of eucalyptus leaves for the koalas. The team uses 10% of the stockpile for the morning feed. How much eucalyptus is left for the rest of the day?
A) 40kg
B) 300kg
C) 360kg
D) 390kg
Question 3
The team rescued 80 baby wombats. They decided to transport 50% of them to the main shelter and keep the rest at the field hospital. Later, 25% of the wombats at the field hospital were cleared to go home. How many wombats are still at the field hospital?
A) 10
B) 30
C) 40
D) 20