Opening your daily math lesson with a Math Word Problem of the Day is an excellent way to set the stage for learning. We all know that word problems are difficult for young learners to grasp, even when the mathematical operation portion of the problem is basic. Incorporate these second grade math word problems one day at a time at the start of your math block to build confidence, critical thinking skills, and a learning community!
Topics covered include addition, subtraction, multiplication, even/odd, three digit numbers, and time. All you need to do is post one of these second grade math word problems on your whiteboard or projector screen. Then let kids take it from there!
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50 Second Grade Math Word Problems
1. Trey has 5 squishy toys. He gets 4 more for his birthday. How many squishy toys does he have in all?
2. Stephanie brings donuts to give out to her classmates on her birthday. She brings in 8 powdered donuts, 8 glazed donuts, and 10 chocolate donuts. How many donuts did she bring in all?
3. Sara goes to the library. She is allowed to check out 10 books. She chooses 5 picture books and 3 chapter books. How many more books can she choose?
4. David plants 8 pineapple seeds, 5 strawberry seeds, and 2 blueberry seeds. How many seeds does he plant in all?
5. Paige has 10 crayons. Mike has 6 more crayons than Paige. Jon has 9 crayons. How many crayons do they have in all?
6. Jeff has 21 marbles in his collection. Eddie has 39 marbles in his collection. How many marbles do they have in all?
7. Vicki goes to the zoo and sees 8 flamingos. Next, she sees 15 ducks, before seeing 22 ibises. How many birds did she see in all?
8. Joshua sells 26 tickets to the school play. Nina sells 39 tickets to the school play. How many tickets did they sell in all?
9. The second grade goes on a field trip to the aquarium. There are 7 teachers, 62 girls, and 59 boys. How many people go on the field trip in all?
10. Some apples are in an apple orchard. 38 apples are picked. Now there are 52 left. How many apples were there to start?
11. Blake swam 18 laps on Monday. He swam 22 laps on Tuesday. He swam 27 laps on Wednesday. How many laps did he swim in all?
12. Enzio reads for 25 minutes on Monday. He reads for 33 minutes on Tuesday. He reads for 35 minutes on Wednesday. How many minutes does he read for in all?
13. Dana has 15 yummy cookies. He eats some of the cookies. Dana has 7 cookies left. How many cookies did Dana eat?
14. Eric had 12 toy cars. He gave 5 of the cars to his friend, Darren. How many toy cars does he have now?
15. Carolyn saw 15 beautiful birds in a tree. Some birds flew away. Now there are 4 birds in the tree. How many birds flew away?
16. Christina sold 32 boxes of girl scout cookies. Lea sold 44 boxes of girl scout cookies. How many more boxes did Lea sell than Christina?
17. Mimi has 23 more crayons than markers. She has 15 markers. How many crayons does she have?
18. Carrie has 36 pieces of candy. She gives 13 pieces to Tommy. How many pieces of candy does Carrie have left?
19. Dahlia has 28 dolls on a shelf. She moves some to her dollhouse. Now 15 dolls are on the shelf. How many did she move to the bed?
20. Jerry has 12 soccer balls. Bob had 17 soccer balls, but gave 8 of them to Phil. How many tennis balls do Jerry and Bob have now?
21. John has 54 pieces of candy. He eats 7 pieces on Monday. On Tuesday, he eats 11 pieces. On Wednesday, he gives 17 pieces away to friends. How many pieces of candy does he have left?
22. Maria has 29 marbles. Sam has 56 marbles. Rachel has 67 marbles. How many more marbles does Rachel have than Ella?
23. Steven buys 52 strawberries. He eats 12 of them for a snack. He eats 15 of them later that evening for dessert. How many strawberries are left?
24. Diana collects stickers. She has 48 stickers in an album. She buys 27 more stickers. She then gives 18 stickers to her friend Judy. How many stickers does she have now?
25. Hunter has 47 baseball cards in his collection. Ryan has 39 cards in his collection. How many more cards does Hunter have?
26. There are 95 people on a train. 19 people get off at the first stop. 24 people get off at the second stop. How many people are still on the train?
27. Daryl loves to collect comic books with superheroes. He has 5 comic books on his desk. He has 3 comic books in his backpack. Does Daryl have an even number or odd number of comic books?
28. Kim collects special seashells at the beach. She puts 8 shells in a pail. She puts 7 more shells in a jar. Does Kim have an even or odd number of seashells?
29. Leslie plants red peppers in her garden. Her garden has 6 rows with 5 peppers in each row. How many tomatoes are in her garden?
30. Marc puts 16 photos in an album. If there are 4 cards in each column, how many columns are there?
31. Ms. Sanders wanted to treat her class to a pizza party. There are 8 slices of pizza in each pizza pie. If she has 29 students, how many pizza pies does she need to order?
32. Four friends want to share a pumpkin pie. How could they cut the pie so each friend gets an equal share? Draw a picture to help you show your thinking.
33. Choose a three-digit number. Draw models to show the hundreds, tens, and ones to explain your thinking.
34. Liam is thinking of a number with three digits. It has 7 hundreds, 4 tens, and 6 ones. What is his number? Draw a model to explain your thinking.
35. Juliana has 257 stickers in her collection. She wants to explore this number further. First, she draws a model of the number by drawing base ten blocks. Then she writes it out in expanded form. Last, she writes it out in word form. Show how she does all three of these ways to explain 257.
36. Caleb is skip counting. He writes 160, 165, and 170 on a whiteboard. What are the next 5 numbers in his pattern?
37. The Florida Gators Football Team won their last 4 football games. They scored 25 points in the first game, 58 points in the second game, 33 points in the third game, and 77 points in the fourth game. How many points did they score in all?
38. Nolan collects Pokemon cards. He has 402 cards in his collection. He gives 25 cards to his friend Charlotte. He then gives 32 cards to his friend Maria. How many cards does he have left?
39. A school is having a bake sale. Dhomini’s mom brings 82 cupcakes. Amelia’s dad brings 75 cookies. Lorenzo’s mom brings 100 brownies. How many items are at the bake sale in all?
40. Kristella is reading a Magic Treehouse Book for her book report. She reads 24 pages on Monday. She reads 39 pages on Tuesday. She reads 37 pages on Wednesday. How many pages does she read in all?
41. Erica is reading James and the Giant Peach. The book has 144 pages. She reads 30 pages on Monday. She reads 42 pages on Tuesday. How many pages does she have left in the book?
42. Alana and her family are going to Disney World for her birthday. It is a 425 mile drive from her house. Her dad drives 127 miles before they stop for a snack. He drives another 233 miles before they stop for lunch. How many more miles do they have left until they arrive at Disney World?
43. The high school band is having a holiday concert. Peggy sells 75 tickets. Diana sells 101 tickets. Judy sells 135 tickets. How many tickets do they sell in all?
44. Mr. Axelrod’s class is tracking how many picture books they read each month. They read 329 books in March. They read 471 books in April. They read 450 books in May. How many books did they read in all?
45. The museum has 792 visitors over the weekend. 382 people visited the museum on Saturday. How many people visited the museum on Sunday?
46. Luna sells copies of the school newspaper. There are 500 copies. On Monday, she sold 122 copies. On Tuesday, she sold 198 copies. How many copies are left?
47. The second grade classes are going on a field trip to a play. Ms. Anastasio’s class has 29 students. Mr. Gordon’s class has 31 students. Mr. Fishman’s class has 33 students. Ms. McConnell’s class has 30 students. How many students go on the field trip in all?
48. Carlos is going to New York City on vacation. His plane leaves the airport at 2:30 p.m. The flight is 3 hours and 30 minutes long. What time does he land in New York City?
49. Juanita is watching the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. She starts the movie at 5 p.m. The movie is 2 hours and 32 minutes long. What time does the movie end?
50. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on their way to Hogwarts. The train leaves the station in London at 9 a.m. It takes 7 hours to get to Hogwarts. What time do they arrive at Hogwarts?
