Word problems of the type "Fidgets" as a tool for connecting pupil's mathematical and life experiences in the 3rd grade of primary school

The diploma thesis explores the use of word problems of the type "Fidgets" as a tool for connecting mathematical knowledge with the everyday life experiences of third-grade elementary school students. The aim of the thesis was to identify the problem-solving strategies that students employ when working with these problems, and to analyze whether and how they draw on personal experiences from real life in the process. The theoretical part of the thesis defines the concept of a word problem, describes the phases of its solution, and characterizes the most common difficulties students encounter when solving word problems. It also addresses the interdisciplinary approach in mathematics, the role of realistic problems, and the presence of word problems in selected textbook series. The practical part employs a qualitative research design. Ten word problems of the type "Fidgets" were created (and one word problem was taken from a textbook), all with contexts closely related to the students' interests. The problems were presented to 16 groups of students over 34 sessions. The groups' solution processes were recorded and subsequently analyzed. The results indicate that the most frequently used strategy was drawing on personal experience, supplemented by reasoning based on the mathematical and linguistic...