Word Problems

My students struggle with word problems because they do not know what is important. So I think I am going to use this in my classes Monday.
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Mrs. Brown had finally reached the end of her tolerance for her husband’s Lazy Boy. The dog had chewed up the bottom as a puppy; the cats had sharpened their claws on the back; it smelled like something had crawled in it and died, but she suspected it was her teen-aged son’s socks. And the color no longer worked in the room since she purchased a new sofa.
So, she spent her Saturday traveling to furniture stores. One offered a new one for $299 with a 25% discount and a delivery charge of $25. Since this was in her home town, the tax rate was 6%. Another in the next county was $250 with a tax rate of 7% and a delivery charge of $15. The third was $300, no delivery charge and a tax rate of 5%.
So many decisions!! So she stopped by the grocery store on her way home and bought 4 cans of dog food and went home to decide which Lazy Boy to buy.

a) If the dog food was 59 cents a can and the store is in her home town, how much did she spend?
b) How many stars are on the current American flag?
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I am going to have them read the problem and then use a highlighter to highlight what is important.