Expository Text Problem-Solution
Produce a problem-solution paragraph using cohesive text structure.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Require the problem to be stated before the solution, and require the solution to name a consequence. The structure is state the problem, say why it matters, propose something, say what would happen — and students almost always skip the second element. Start with the school-based problems, which the student can see; the ocean plastic and city traffic prompts are harder because the student has to supply the context too. Fifteen minutes covers one paragraph properly.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- Question promptAsk a story-grammar question: who, where, what was the problem, what happened next?Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two possible next parts of the story and let the student pick and say it.Log as cued
- ModelTell that part yourself; the student tells it back in their own words.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer parts, and keep a first-next-last visual on the table.
Ask for the retell without the pictures, with a feeling or a reason added to each part.
Matching IEP goal
Given a picture or story prompt, Student will explain a topic with a main idea and supporting details in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one question prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Ten problems to write a solution paragraph about: the school hallway is too crowded; too much trash is left in the cafeteria; students are tired during first period; there is not enough space in the bike rack; the playground floods after every rain; phones are distracting during class. All of them are real and most are local, which matters — a student writing about a problem they have actually stood in produces better text than one writing about the ocean.
What to listen for
Listen for the causal link between the problem and the solution. A student who proposes a solution unconnected to the stated cause has produced two paragraphs stapled together. Watch for solutions that are wishes rather than actions — people should stop littering is not a solution, and asking who does what makes that visible without criticising the idea.
Carrying it home
Complaints are problem statements. When a student objects to something at home, asking what would fix it and what would happen then is the same structure, delivered at a moment when they care about the answer.
What's in this activity
- Problem: The school hallway is too crowded. Write a problem-solution paragraph.
- Problem: Too much trash is left in the cafeteria.
- Problem: Students are tired during first period.
- Problem: The library is too noisy to study in.
- Problem: There is not enough space in the bike rack.
- Problem: Plastic waste is ending up in the ocean.
- Problem: The city has too much traffic downtown.
- Problem: Younger students get left out at recess.
- Problem: The playground floods after every rain.
- Problem: Phones are distracting during class.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Fifth through eighth, where problem-solution is a standard expository structure in both reading and writing.
- Do I need to sign in?
- No, all ten prompts are free to use.
- How is this different from the descriptive board?
- That one builds a topic sentence with supporting details. This one requires an argument — a problem, a proposed action, and a predicted result — which is a harder and later structure.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.