. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Apr 1.

Published in final edited form as: J Exp Child Psychol. 2012 Jan 3;111(4):607–628. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2011.12.001

Table 4.

Key Components of WP Intervention for Compare Problems

Two-level prevention: Whole class (30–45 min/session twice weekly) + tutoring (20–30 min/session 3 times/week)
Implementers: RA teachers and RA tutors
Content
	Unit 1: Foundational Skills
	Unit 2: Combine problems
	^*Unit 3: Compare problems
	Unit 4: Change problems
SBI Methods
	Instruction on RUN strategy (Read the problem, Underline the question, Name the problem type)
	Instruction on meaning of the compare problem type: Role playing situation with manipulatives; representing problem situation with a conceptual diagram and a mathematical expression; fading conceptual diagram to rely routinely on the mathematical expression as the semantic representation of the problem type
	Instruction on strategy for solving problem
		Name problem type: Recognize defining features of each problem type to categorize that target problem
		Match the problem type with representational mathematical expression for the selected problem type
		Use the representation mathematical expression to build a number sentence for the target problem
			Identify unknown and enter it in the number sentence in place letters in equation
			Enter givens and enter them in the number sentence in place of letters in equation
			Enter mathematical signs into the number sentence
			Solve for x
			Label numerical answer
^*Relational Terminology Instructional Methods
	Whole-Class Instruction
		^Instruction on meaning of more, less, and fewer*
		^*Instruction on covering difference number to decide which quantity is more/less (e.g., “Tom has 5 more than Sally” becomes “Tom has more than Sally”)
		^*Instruction on and practice writing alternative relational statements that preserve meaning
	Tutoring Activities
		^Review of more, less, and fewer*
		^*Review of which items are being compared in relational statements
		^*Instruction on meaning of greater than (>) and less than (<) symbols
		^*Application of < and > to relational terms to assist in determining bigger and smaller entities
		^*Practice pulling these lessons together in the Difference Game with relational statements, with
		^*Compare problems, using a greater variety of comparative terms
			^*Underline two entities being compared (e.g., Tom; Sally)
			^*Find relational term; write greater/less than symbol above it to decrease working memory demands
			^*Write B over name associated with bigger quantity; s over name associated with smaller quantity to further reduce working memory demands

Specific to compare problem type unit, which was the focus of the present study. Otherwise, instructional strategies were analogous across combine, compare, and change problem types.