• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Teaching Expertise

  • Home
  • Classroom Ideas
  • Technology
  • Teacher’s Life
  • Deals & Shopping
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • Classroom Ideas
  • Technology
  • Teacher’s Life
  • Deals & Shopping
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

55 Challenging Word Problems for 1st Graders

word problems for 1st graders

April 12, 2022 //  by Seda Unlucay

Word problems are an excellent way to develop critical thinking skills and reading fluency. While students may find them trickier than traditional math questions, they can benefit from using manipulatives, counting on number lines, writing out equations, and drawing pictures to visualize their thinking.

This set includes addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, countin27g, and comparing numbers using realistic, kid-friendly scenarios. Why not pair them with math journals, reinforce the concepts with printable worksheets or incorporate them into a daily math practice?

1. Jane has 9 dolls and her friend Amy has 5 dolls. How many more dolls does Jane have than Amy?

1st grade word problems

2. 3 birds were sitting on a branch. 6 more birds joined them. How many birds are now on the branch?

1st grade word problems

3. Emily had 9 cupcakes and ate 4 of them. How many cupcakes does she have left?

1st grade word problems

4. John has 7 stamps in his collection. How many more stamps does he need to have 12? 

1st grade word problems

5. A cow has 4 legs. How many legs do 4 cows have?

1st grade word problems

6. Brad has 9 red apples. His dad gives him 4 more. Then he eats 2 of them. How many red apples does he have left? 

1st grade word problems

7. Amy had 14 pennies and found 5 more. Then she gave 3 pennies to Paul. How many pennies does she have left? 

1st grade word problems

8. Sandra bought bubble gum for 12 cents and 3 pieces of candy for 6 cents each. How much money did she spend in all?

1st grade word problems

9. Andy had $13. He spent $4 on a toy truck and $3 on a bag of marbles. How much money does he have left?

1st grade word problems

10. Jane saw 10 ladybugs and 3 ants in the park. How many fewer ants than ladybugs did she see? 

1st grade word problems

11. Jacob saw 2 goats and 3 chickens on the farm. How many animal legs did he see?

1st grade word problems

12. Tina has 12 friends. She can only invite 7 friends to her birthday party. How many friends can't come to her party? 

1st grade word problems

13. Andrew read 11 pages of his book on Monday, 5 on Wednesday, and 7 on Friday. How many pages did he read in all? 

1st grade word problems

14. Stacy bought 2 pizzas. Each pizza has 6 slices. How many total slices of pizza are there?

1st grade word problems

15. John watched three movies per day for 7 days. How many movies did he watch in all?

1st grade word problems

16. There were 14 owls on a branch. 5 owls flew away. How many owls are still on the branch?

1st grade word problems

17. Peter and Jen ate 10 cookies. If Jane ate 4 cookies, how many cookies did Peter eat? 

1st grade word problems

18. Dan has 13 marbles. His friend Steve has 6 marbles. How many more marbles does Dan have than his friend?

1st grade word problems

19. There are 13 spiders in a web. 6 more spiders crawl into the web. How many spiders are on the web altogether?

1st grade word problems

20. There were 3 dogs playing with a stick. Some more dogs came to play with the stick, too. Now there are 10 dogs playing with the stick. How many more dogs came to play with the stick?

1st grade word problems

21. Ted had 9 cats. 4 of his cats ran away. How many cats does he have left?

1st grade word problems

22. Andy had some crayons. His friend gave him 8 more crayons. Now he has 16 crayons. How many crayons did he have before?

1st grade word problems

23. Claire is 7 years older than her sister. Her sister is 2 years old. How old is Claire?

1st grade word problems

24. Adam walked 8 blocks to school. Robert walked 3 blocks to school. How many more blocks did Adam walk?

1st grade word problems

25. Paul had some shirts. His mother bought him 7 more shirts. Now he has 15 shirts. How many shirts did his mother buy?

1st grade word problems

26. Susan made 8 cards for her friends. Linda made 5 more cards than Susan. How many cards did Linda make? 

1st grade word problems

27. Andy made 5 sandwiches with two slices of cheese each. How many slices of cheese did he use altogether? 

1st grade word problems

28. Ava brought 6 dresses to sell at the thrift store. Anna brought 12 dresses to sell. How many more dresses did Anna bring? 

1st grade word problems

29. How many nickels do you need to make 30 cents? 

1st grade word problems

30. Sandy counted the wings of 7 birds. How many wings did she count in all?

1st grade word problems

31. How many corners are on 3 squares?

1st grade word problems

32. Today is Tuesday and Sam's birthday is in 6 days. What day is Sam's birthday on?

1st grade word problems

33. Sandy saw 3 cats and 4 dogs at the park. How many legs did she see?

1st grade word problems

34. Alex saw 5 horses at the farm. How many ears did he see?

1st grade word problems

35. Jane and Emily have to share 18 dolls. How many dolls will each of them get?

1st grade word problems

36. Steven counted 6 flowers with 3 petals each. How many petals did he count in all?

1st grade word problems

37. I have 4 nickels, 2 dimes, and 3 pennies. How much money do I have altogether?

1st grade word problems

38. There were 12 cupcakes at the school party. 8 of them were chocolate and the rest were vanilla. How many were vanilla?

1st grade word problems

39. Jane plants 3 trees. Tom plants 5 trees. Beth plants 4 trees. How many trees did they plant in all?

1st grade word problems

40. Tim made 11 sandcastles. Sara made 4 sandcastles. How many more sandcastles did Tim make than Sara?

1st grade word problems

41. A soccer ball costs $20. Jack has $13 dollars. How much more money does he need?

1st grade word problems

42. Andy collected 12 seashells and gave 5 away. How many seashells does he have now?

1st grade word problems

43. Gabe has 8 books. Nick has 4 books. How many fewer books does Gabe have than Nico?

1st grade word problems

44. Jane has 3 fewer pencils than Bill. Bill has 9 pencils. How many pencils does Jane have?

1st grade word problems

45. Ken has 12 toy trucks. Five of them are yellow and the rest are red. How many are red?

1st grade word problems

46. Henry had 15 gumballs. He gave 2 to Suzy, 7 to Stacy, and 3 to his sister. How many gumballs does he have left?

1st grade word problems

47. Mary had 9 ice cream cones. Nancy gave her 2 more cones. Then, 4 cones melted away. How many ice cream cones does she have now?

1st grade word problems

48. 17 children were playing outside. 5 boys and 3 girls left to go home. How many children were still playing in the park?

1st grade word problems

49. Sam has to walk 12 blocks to get to the corner store. He walked 4 blocks, took a break, and then walked 3 more blocks. How many more blocks does he still have to walk?

1st grade word problems

50. Paul has 4 boxes. There are 5 pencils in each box. How many pencils are there altogether?

1st grade word problems

51. You have to split 12 carrots among 4 rabbits. How many carrots will each rabbit get?

1st grade word problems

52. Rita used 10 cups of flour and 3 fewer cups of sugar than flour to bake a cake. How many cups did Rita use in all?

1st grade word problems

53. James, Stacy, and Bill went to the movies. They paid $15 for three tickets. How much did each ticket cost? 

1st grade word problems

54. Jim had 12 bananas. He ate 4 of them. Then his friend gave him 7 more. How many bananas does he have now?

1st grade word problems

55. Emily had 18 sprinkles on her ice cream cone. She ate 8 sprinkles, then 5 more, then 4 more. How many sprinkles does she have left?

1st grade word problems

Related posts:

30 Engaging Fourth Grade STEM Challenges
80 Classroom Awards To Make Students Laugh
Systems of Equations Hands-On Activity: 15 Strategies to Make Algebra Fun and Easy

You'll also like:

No related posts.

Category: Classroom Ideas

Previous Post: «kindergarten word problems 20 Challenging Word Problems for Kindergarten
Next Post: 20 History Jokes to Give Kids the Giggles history jokes for kids»

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • 40 Inventive Worm Activity Ideas
  • 15 Adorable Sheep Crafts For Young Learners
  • 13 Mindful Eating Activities
  • 10 Radical Romeo and Juliet Worksheets
  • 50 Fun I Spy Activities
  • 16 Raisin In The Sun Integrated Extension Activities