Here is a short story: Aoife had some stickers, got 4 more, and now she has 11.

We do not know how many she started with. If we call that mystery number a box, what number sentence with a box would match this story?

Action words are the story words that tell us which operation to use, like altogether, left, each or shared. We turn a story into a number sentence in two steps: first spot the action words, then decide where the missing number, our box, goes.

Look at four worked stories. In each one, find the action words, then check where the box sits — at the start, the middle or the end.

Today we work through these stories together — write the number sentence first, then solve it.

A volunteer comes up to the board and types each answer while everyone else agrees or corrects out loud. For each one: spot the action words, choose the operation, then decide where the box goes.

Today we write and solve the number sentence for each story. They get harder as we go.

Watch the second story — the start amount is missing, so we add the two parts back together even though "taken" sounds like taking away. And watch the last one: it has two steps. First add the two prices together on the board, then take that total from €5.