Running head: WORD PROBLEM CODE BREAKER REFLECTION

Word Problem Code Breaker Reflection

Sarah Leach
EDU/742 Study Skill & Content Literacy Instruction
University of New England
February 21, 2016

WORD PROBLEM CODE BREAKER REFLECTION

Word Problem Code Breaker Reflection

I chose the Word Problem Code Breaker to use in my classroom. I chose this strategy
because I find that a majority of the students do not know what operation to use to solve a word
problem. I also found that reading during mathematics class is very limited. This allowed me to
encourage more reading during the day and improve a skill that I noticed the students needed.
Since my students range in reading ability I decided that the best teaching method was to have
the students work in predetermined groups which allowed me to control who was in the group to
ensure I had students from different reading levels and worked well together.
The Word Problem Code Breaker helps students learn how to evaluate their math
problems. The students learn how to turn words into symbols and symbols into words (Altieri,
2011). When students are able to read and understand word problems they are better able to
understand how math is an important part of our everyday life. With the use of the Word Problem
Code Breaker students are able to understand which operation they would use to solve a series of
situations.
The important part to reading is having students read all the time. Students need to read
more than just books, regardless if they are fiction or nonfiction. Students need the ability to read
math equations, science reports, data sheets, and lab results. By teaching students how to decode
a word problem I am increasing their ability to read like a mathematician. I am increasing their
knowledge of a variety of words and presenting some challenge to inspire them to think. As the
students progress in their ability they will become more proficient in reading and be able to take
the skills they learned from decoding the word problems to understanding other content.
I found that the best way to do this activity was to copy the Word Problem Code Breaker
Chart on a large poster board. This provided a resources for the whole class to refer to. However,

WORD PROBLEM CODE BREAKER REFLECTION

I recognized that not all students will be able to see the board or will think to refer to it.
Therefore, I decided that each student should also have their own copy to refer to.
Throughout this course we have discussed how to provide appropriate reading materials
to the students. We discussed the value of teaching students to read through all content areas. By
teaching students how to decode word problems they are learning to read in mathematics and
apply the new terms they used to other reading sources. Math can be found in many books and in
several situations. Since the students will better at understanding what the problems require for
operations they will better be able to understand the situation. This could be applied to the
difference in working wages from The Great Depression era to today. This could be understood
when a character in a book describes how much money he needs to earn to buy a new toy. This
can even be applied to science lessons, such as when we learn how far away the moon is.
This lesson helps students with learning disabilities, language barriers, or are exceptional
learners. The first step was to divide the students into predetermined groups. This ensured that
each group had at least one member that could successfully read and explain the word problems.
Since the Word Problem Code Breaker was made as a large poster it provided a clear visual for
all students to refer to. The students also made their own individual copies which permitted
students to have a closer look at the key words. English Language Learners and students with
disabilities are able to constantly refer to these key words to support them in their thinking. With
the combination of the Stoplight Strategy for Solving Word Problems it provided additional
support to how to stop and think about the word problem. This added to the thinking process and
helps struggling learners slow down their thinking and follow a specific guideline to solving the
word problem.

WORD PROBLEM CODE BREAKER REFLECTION

Exceptional learners are provided with the role of helping their group pull out key words.
They are also encouraged to actually solve the word problems and explain their thinking. This
allows the students to take the learning process a little further. This also can help them explain
their thinking to their peers in order to help them understand. The students are also asked to think
of additional key words that may not have been found in their word problems. This will
encourage the students to think critically and dig deep for knowledge that is not presented to
them.
By teaching the students using the Word Problem Code Breaker I was able to foster their
reading and help them build their math terms to better understand the variety of mathematical
operations. Through a carefully thought out lesson plan the students are guided through a series
of steps that will provide them with the power and guidance to become proficient readers in
math. These skills they learn will carry over to other content areas and help them improve in
their ability to understand authentic mathematical equations and the value math has in our
everyday lives. When carefully planned this lesson tailors to the needs of all students and is
geared toward their success.

WORD PROBLEM CODE BREAKER REFLECTION

References
Altieri, J. L. (2011). Content counts! Developing disciplinary literacy skills, k-6. Newark, DE:
International Reading Association.