Abstract
Before they are able to solve mathematical word problems, students must be able to read and comprehend the problems. Although challenging for all students, struggling readers face additional cognitive demands when solving word problems that proficient readers do not. In this action research study, four focal students, including two English learners and two native English speakers, were given a multiplicative comparison problem and prompted to retell it in their own words, solve the problem using a selected strategy, and then retell the problem again. A retell rubric was used to analyze students’ comprehension by measuring the completeness of the retell, while a drawing and writing rubric measured students’ visual representations and metacognitive strategies involved in comprehension. Results suggest discussion provided opportunities for students to learn from one another and drawings especially helped English Learners’ who communicated their understanding through symbols and visuals. Writing supported students’ metacognitive skills leading to greater comprehension, but may be problematic for students at the beginning stages of English acquisition. It is imperative for teachers to provide opportunities for struggling readers to discuss, draw, and write about word problems to support their comprehension and to extend these skills to math in the real world.