Teaching Text Structure to Enhance Comprehension Abilities in the Primary Grades

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Teaching Text Structure to Enhance Comprehension
Abilities in the Primary Grades

• Joanna P. Williams
• Teachers College, Columbia University
• May, 2005

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Introduction

• Children of all ages struggle to read and
  comprehend expository text. Two major hurdles
  must be overcome in order to achieve successful
  comprehension of expository text
• reading about new, unfamiliar content
• dealing with several different text structures
• With these difficulties, the successful
  integration of expository text into the classroom
  requires explicit instruction in both content and
  text structure.
• We have developed a second-grade curriculum that
  is designed to explicitly teach one particular
  type of text structure (compare/contrast) in
  conjunction with a particular content (animal
  classification).

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Purpose

• The purpose of this study is to test the
  effectiveness of an instructional program
  designed to teach text structure as a strategy
  for comprehending expository text that contain
  new, unfamiliar content.
• Second grade classrooms will be randomly
  assigned to one of three groups
• Text Structure Program an instructional
  program designed to teach text structure in
  conjunction with new, unfamiliar content
• Content Program a more traditional
  instructional program, which is content-oriented
• No Instruction classrooms receiving neither
  text structure or content instruction

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Program Objectives

• Comprehend compare/contrast expository text
• Master three text structure strategies
• Clue Words
• Graphic Organizer (Matrix)
• Compare/Contrast Strategy Questions
• Understand vocabulary concepts (content)
• Transfer strategies and knowledge of vocabulary
  concepts to compare/contrast expository texts
  containing new content related to instructed
  content
• Transfer strategies to compare/contrast
  expository texts containing new content unrelated
  to instructed content
• Transfer strategies to a new, uninstructed text
  structure (pro/con)

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Program OutlinesDescription of Lessons

• Both instructional programs consisted of nine
  lessons taught in fifteen forty-five minute
  sessions

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Characteristics of Participantsn of
classrooms
Free or reduced lunch 88 Special Education
Services 6.25 Hispanic 56.6 African American
40.9 Caucasian 1.5 Asian 1
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Design

• Ten 2nd grade classrooms were randomly assigned
  (blocked by school) to one of three groups.

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Program Content(Animal Classification)

• Animals Representing Each of the Five Classes of
  Animals
• Lions (Mammal)
• Eagles (Bird)
• Crocodiles (Reptile)
• Frogs (Amphibian)
• Sharks (Fish)
• Features of Each Class
• Warm-blooded v. Cold-blooded
• Body Covering (hair, scales, smooth skin,
  feathers)
• Bearing Young (having babies, laying eggs)
• Breathing Oxygen (oxygen from air, water or air
  and water)

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Text Structure StrategiesText Structure Program

• (1) Clue Words
• alike both and compare
• but however than cont
  rast
• (2) Graphic Organizer
• Animal Matrix
• Finding out how animals are the same or different

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Text Structure StrategiesText Structure
Program(Continued)

• (3) Compare/Contrast Questions
• (1) What two things is this paragraph about?
• (2) How are they the same?
• (3) How are they different?

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Sample Expository Text Paragraphs

• Eagles and Crocodiles
• Eagles and crocodiles are wild animals. Eagles
  are warm-blooded however, crocodiles are
  cold-blooded. Eagles and crocodiles both lay
  eggs.
• Lions and Sharks
• Lions and sharks are interesting animals.
  Lions have hair covering their bodies, but sharks
  have scales. Sharks have fins to help them swim.
  Lions are warm-blooded however, sharks are
  cold-blooded. Sharks get oxygen to breathe from
  the water, but lions get oxygen to breathe from
  the air. Lions live in groups called prides.
  Lions have babies however, sharks lay eggs.
  Lions and sharks both have sharp teeth to help
  them hunt for food.

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Results

• Text StructuregtContentNo Instruction
• Text Structure Strategies
• Clue Words
• Graphic Organizer Oral and Written (Matrix)
• Constructing Well-Structured Comparative
  Statements (Oral)
• Instructed Animals in Novel Combination
• Novel Animals (Near Transfer)
• Content Unrelated to Animal Classification (Far
  Transfer)
• Constructing Well-Structured Comparative
  Statements (Written)
• Instructed Animals in Instructed Combination

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Results (continued)

• Text StructuregtContentgtNo Instruction
• Vocabulary Concepts
• Text Structure Content No Instruction
• Text Structure Strategies
• Compare/Contrast Strategy Questions
• Content Strategy
• Information Web
• Detail Questions
• Structure Transfer (Pro/Con)
• _______________
• p.072

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Conclusion

• This study demonstrates that explicit
  instruction in both content and text structure
  improves second graders ability to comprehend
  compare/contrast expository text, without
  detracting from their ability to learn new
  content. Furthermore, second grade students who
  received this type of instruction were able to
  demonstrate transfer of the text structure
  strategies to paragraphs related to the
  instructed content.

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Study 2Replication and Extension

• (1) We simplified the graphic organizer, used
  only 6 clue words, and otherwise refined the
  program.
• (2) The students were taught to write their
  summaries without the aid of prompts.
• (3) We incorporated a limited amount of
  instruction on a second text structure (pro/con)
  into the program.
• (4) We introduced mixed structure paragraphs
  (compare/contrast and pro/con) into the program.
• (5) We also evaluated performance on natural,
  authentic text (from a trade-book).

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Study 2Design

• Fifteen classrooms were randomly assigned to one
  of three conditions (treatment, comparison, no
  instruction).
• A total of 215 students participated.

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Study 2Results

• This study replicated our findings that explicit
  instruction in both content and text structure
  can improve second graders ability to comprehend
  compare/contrast expository text, without
  detracting from their ability to learn new
  content.
• Second grade students who received this type of
  instruction were able to demonstrated transfer of
  the text structure strategies to
  similarly-structured paragraphs containing
  instructed content, non-instructed related
  content and unrelated content.

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Study 2Results (continued)

• New findings
• Students demonstrated transfer of the text
  structure strategies to authentic text presenting
  compare/contrast information
• The limited amount of instruction incorporated
  into the program on a related text structure,
  pro/con, led to limited improvement (including
  transfer) in comprehending pro/con expository
  text.

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Study 3Incorporating Text Structure Instruction
into the Second-grade Social Studies Curriculum

• The instructional program for this study
  involved the identification of Key Words to be
  used when the text does not include clue words.
  Our purpose here was to move the instructional
  texts, gradually, to the form in which they
  generally appear in natural text.

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Study 3Program Objectives

• Acquire three text structure strategies
• Clue words
• Compare/Contrast Questions
• In the absence of clue words, use key words to
  determine the comparisons and contrasts within
  the paragraph
• Acquire a content strategy
• Graphic Organizer
• Comprehend Compare/Contrast expository text
• Learn content (features of six United States
  cities, map skills, and vocabulary)
• Transfer to text containing content
• Related to the instructed content
• Unrelated to the instructed content

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Study 3Program Content(Cities of the United
States)

• Six Cities in The United States
• New York City
• Washington D.C.
• New Orleans
• Chicago
• Seattle
• San Francisco

• Three Features of These Cities
• The body of water that the city is near
• Atlantic Ocean
• Pacific Ocean
• Mississippi River
• Great Lakes
• The most commonly occurring natural disaster in
  the city
• Blizzard
• Hurricane
• Earthquake
• The region in which the city is found
• East
• West
• Midwest
• South

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Study 3Key Words

• East Atlantic Ocean Blizzard
• West Pacific Ocean Hurricane
• Midwest Mississippi River Earthquake
• South Great Lakes
• Students are taught to identify the key words
  when the Compare/Contrast paragraph or passage
  does not include clue words. Students identify
  the key words, and then the feature that each key
  word exemplifies (region, body of water, or
  natural disaster,) then they determine whether
  the two focus cities are being compared or
  contrasted on each feature.

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Study 3Characteristics of Participantsn of
classrooms
Free or reduced lunch 94 Special Education
Services 7 Hispanic 64 African American 32
Caucasian 2 Asian 2
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Proportion Correct
---------------------------TEXT
STRUCTURE---------------------
--CONTENT--
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OUTCOME WELL-STRUCTURED COMPARATIVE STATEMENTS
EXPLICIT TEACHING, WRITTEN RESPONSE
Proportion Correct
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OUTCOME WELL-STRUCTURED COMPARATIVE
STATEMENTS TRANSFER, ORAL RESPONSE
Proportion Correct
--------PARAGRAPH WITH CLUE WORDS---------
PASSAGE WITHOUT CLUE WORDS
AUTHENTIC TEXT
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Proportion Correct
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OUTCOME WELL-STRUCTURED COMPARATIVE STATEMENTS
TRANSFER, ORAL RESPONSEPARAGRAPHS WITH CLUE
WORDS
Proportion Correct
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Study 3Conclusion

• There is consensus today that primary-grade
  students need exposure to expository text. Most
  researchers recommend read-alouds by the
  teachers, followed by discussion. The assumption
  is that these children are too young for formal
  instruction in reading comprehension.
• While the studies reported here incorporate
  read-alouds and class discussion, their main
  focus is on explicit instruction. They
  demonstrate clearly that second-grade struggling
  readers are able to profit from such instruction.