Conquering the Dreaded Story Problem

I think technology is making us all a little short on attention and patience too! Lately, what I've been seeing are students who 'don't do' story problems. Whether these story problems are in their math homework or even on the ACT. Are story problems more difficult than regular problems? Maybe a little bit, but after all, math problems in real life are actually story problems, right?! What I recommend is to work with a lack of patience or short attention span and just plow right through those story problems. That's right! Read as quickly as you can through the problem without pausing at all. Even read quickly through the multiple parts a, b, c, and d too all in one go. If you feel yourself getting weak, light headed, or bogged down, go even faster. Get yourself over the initial hurdle...then go back and find out what the question is asking you to solve for(hint: it's usually asked in the last sentence). Then, draw a diagram if applicable, identify your variables, write an equation, then solve. Done!