I asked my colleague, Stacy Eleczko, to catch up with Valerie Faulkner, the other co-author of our book, The Fire & Wire Way. My relationship with Valerie began long before we decided to tackle daily routines. She was, and still is, an integral part of my Structures of Equality story.

Their conversation was so rich, we decided to make it a three-part series. If you missed the first two articles, we discussed how it all began and then some of the key mathematical concepts students develop while using SoE.

In part 3, we focus on an essential idea: math comprehension is reading comprehension. Understanding word problems isn’t just about numbers. It’s about interpreting and structuring information, just like we do in reading.

Why math success is a reading comprehension issue

One of the biggest challenges students face in math is not the computation, it’s knowing where to start. Many students struggle with word problems because they don’t understand what the problem is asking them to do.

This is not just a math issue, it’s a reading issue. Think about what happens when students struggle with reading comprehension. They:

• Get lost in long, dense text
• Have trouble identifying the main idea
• Feel overwhelmed by too much information at once

The same thing happens in math when students face a word problem. They see a block of text filled with numbers and don’t know how to organize it. This is where Structures of Equality (SoE) comes in.

How SoE bridges the gap between language and math

Reading teachers often use graphic organizers to help students break down a text. Tools like:

• Story maps: Help students identify characters, setting, and plot
• Cause-and-effect charts: Help students recognize relationships between ideas
• Main idea/details organizers: Help students distinguish key information from supporting details

These reading strategies mirror what SoE does for math. While these reading strategies help organize information, they do not, by themselves, ensure understanding. That’s where SoE is different.

“Most elementary teachers say the real problem isn’t calculation, it’s that students don’t even know how to approach the problem.”

Unlike traditional graphic organizers that simply categorize information, SoE actively guides students in determining what mathematical action to take. Rather than just sorting given information, students must recognize relationships and explicitly identify where equality exists before solving.

Rather than jumping straight to calculations, students first analyze the relationships, making problem-solving more intuitive and meaningful.

This is a fundamental shift from other models because it embeds comprehension into the mathematical process itself. Students aren’t just understanding the words in a problem, they are engaging in structured reasoning that makes math accessible and actionable.

Why SoE is a stronger framework than other models

Many math frameworks—like bar models, numberless word problems, and CGI—support student thinking, but they don’t always provide enough structure to ensure students develop strong number sense. They can also be drawn without students having full comprehension of what’s happening in the number story.

Valerie Faulkner explained why SoE is different:

“If I want to teach them in a way that really helps them develop number sense and be competent in math throughout their life, we need to find something that can take every kid right where they are and make them competent word problem solvers.”

SoE stands out because it is both:

• A thinking tool: It helps students structure their ideas, just like reading organizers do.
• A problem-solving tool: It ensures students recognize mathematical relationships before solving.

Critically, SoE is not a linear scaffold (like moving from concrete to representational to abstract). Instead, it provides embedded scaffolding, meaning students build understanding at every level simultaneously. Rather than waiting until later grades to grasp equality in equations, students work with equality from the start, ensuring they develop deep conceptual knowledge that carries through all levels of math.

This structure not only makes SoE more effective, it also makes it more equitable.

How SoE creates a more inclusive learning environment

Traditional math instruction often results in tracking, where struggling students fall behind and never catch up. This happens because students who don’t grasp problem structures early on start relying on guesswork or memorization instead of reasoning.

SoE changes that by ensuring all students have the tools to make sense of math, engage in problem-solving, and build confidence.

“It’s designed with the idea in mind that all kids are going to be successful at this. It’s not a tool for separation. It’s a tool to engender community, language development, and reading comprehension.”

This is why SoE isn’t just for “advanced” students. It’s for everyone.

In addition to building math confidence, SoE fosters:

• Community building – Because all students use the same structured approach, they can learn from and support one another.
• Language development – By verbalizing their reasoning, students refine their math vocabulary and communication skills.
• Precision in thinking – SoE teaches students to be explicit about relationships, units, and equality, preventing common misconceptions later on.

And this is what makes math fun.

“What’s fun for first and second graders isn’t drawing a bunch of leaves—it’s being able to explain and understand the math being taught in the classroom.”

“When students can explain their thinking, they feel smart. When they can’t, they feel lost.” 

SoE ensures that all students can actively engage in math from day one.

The power of accountability in learning

One of the biggest shifts in SoE is that it requires students to take action.

In many traditional math models, students plug in numbers and move on. But with SoE, they must:

• Identify where equality exists in the problem
• Determine what’s missing
• Use visual structures to organize their thinking

By constantly reinforcing these ideas, SoE holds students accountable to high-level thinking from the beginning.

“Hold kids accountable to high-level thinking and language right from the start. Keep the numbers small. It’s not about the numbers, it’s about the mathematical thinking.”

When students engage with math in this way, they develop confidence in their ability to reason and solve problems. They no longer feel like math is about memorizing formulas, they see it as a tool for understanding the world around them.

Conclusion

SoE isn’t just a way to solve word problems. It’s a fundamentally different way of thinking about math instruction. By integrating reading comprehension strategies into math, students:

✅ Understand the structure of problems before attempting to solve them
✅ Develop number sense rather than relying on memorization
✅ Build confidence in their problem-solving abilities
✅ Engage deeply with math at all levels

SoE isn’t about making math easier; it’s about making it accessible, equitable, and meaningful for every student.