Find the Problem
Maya kept waking up late because she could not hear her alarm clock from across the room.
What is the problem?
Answer: Maya kept waking up late because she could not hear her alarm.
Maya moved her alarm clock to the other side of the room so she had to get out of bed to turn it off.
What is the solution?
Answer: She moved her alarm to the other side of the room.
Name one signal word that helps you find the PROBLEM in a story.
Answer: Any one of: problem, challenge, trouble, difficulty, conflict, issue.
Zoe felt hurt because Lily was leaving her out. Zoe pulled Lily aside and told her how she felt.
Which part is the problem and which part is the solution?
Answer: Feeling hurt and left out is the problem. Pulling Lily aside and being honest is the solution.
The school garden was overgrown with weeds and the vegetables were not getting enough sunlight.
What is the problem?
Answer: The garden was full of weeds and the vegetables were not getting enough sunlight.
The garden club laid down mulch around all the plants to prevent new weeds from growing.
What is the solution?
Answer: They laid down mulch to stop new weeds from sprouting.
Name one signal word that helps you find the SOLUTION in a story.
Answer: Any one of: solved, fixed, resolved, finally, in the end, as a result, because of this.
Noah read so slowly he forgot the beginning of sentences by the time he finished them. His tutor had him read out loud every night for fifteen minutes.
Is this a problem and solution text structure? How do you know?
Answer: Yes. There is a clear problem — reading too slowly — and a clear solution — the tutor's reading strategy.
Jaylen and Marcus kept fighting over which video game to play and it was ruining their friendship.
What is the problem?
Answer: Jaylen and Marcus kept arguing over video games and it was hurting their friendship.
Their older sister suggested they take turns choosing the game each visit.
What is the solution?
Answer: They agreed to take turns choosing the video game each time they hung out.
After that she was up on time every single morning.
What does the phrase after that tell you?
Answer: It signals that the solution worked and the problem was resolved.
Aaliyah did not know where to start her project. Her brother helped her break it into smaller steps.
What made the solution work in this story?
Answer: Breaking the project into smaller steps made it feel less overwhelming and gave Aaliyah a clear plan to follow.
The basketball team kept losing because nobody was communicating on the court.
What is the problem?
Answer: The team kept losing because players were not communicating during games.
The coach cancelled regular practice and replaced it with team building drills focused on communication.
What is the solution?
Answer: The coach replaced regular practice with team building drills focused on communication.
Finally the club advisor suggested laying down mulch.
What does the word finally tell you about the story?
Answer: It signals that other solutions were tried first and this is the one that ultimately worked.
What is the difference between a problem in a fiction story and a solution?
Answer: The problem is the challenge or conflict the character faces. The solution is the action taken to fix or resolve the problem.
The neighborhood lot was full of trash and weeds and kids had nowhere safe to play.
What is the problem and who does it affect?
Answer: The lot is full of trash and weeds which is dangerous and leaves kids with nowhere safe to play. It affects the children and parents in the neighborhood.
Marcus asked his aunt if his cousin could have his own markers and sketchbook.
What is the solution and why did Marcus try a different one first?
Answer: The solution was getting his cousin their own art supplies. Marcus tried putting the markers up high first but his cousin climbed to reach them so that did not work.
Can a story have more than one problem and more than one solution? Give an example from our lesson.
Answer: Yes. In Marcus's story he first tried putting the markers up high which did not work and then tried getting his cousin their own supplies which did work. That is two solutions for the same problem.
Write your own two sentence problem and solution story using at least one signal word.
Answer: Any correctly written two sentence story that includes a clear problem, a solution, and at least one signal word like finally, in the end, or after that.