Enhancing Text Structure Instruction with Video for Improved Reading Comprehension

In considering the intersection of digital texts and reading comprehension, teachers now need strategies and instructional tools that promote deep, critical thinking of multimedia text. One area of literacy instruction that can increase students' reading comprehension of multimedia texts comes with understanding, analyzing, and evaluating text structures. As a first step to understanding what research says about integrating text structures with digital literacies, the researchers conducted a systematic literature review of articles published between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2017. While new literacies, visual literacies, and other digital media show increased prominence in education, the researchers identified only eight studies focusing on how text structures are unique to digital content. In the present chapter, the researchers analyze benefits and new language demands presented by these studies. Additionally, the researchers discuss implications for teacher practice and pedagogy when intersecting text structure instruction with digital literacies.

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What textbooks offer and what teachers teach: an analysis of the Dutch reading comprehension curriculum

Reading and Writing ◽

10.1007/s11145-021-10244-4 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Suzanne T. M. Bogaerds-Hazenberg ◽

Jacqueline Evers-Vermeul ◽

Huub van den Bergh

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Mixed Method ◽

Reading Skills ◽

Text Structure ◽

Reading Curriculum ◽

Teacher Interviews ◽

Strong Focus ◽

Reading Comprehension Instruction ◽

Structure Instruction

AbstractIn the Netherlands, the quality of the reading curriculum is currently under debate because of disappointing results on national and international assessments of students’ reading skills and motivation. In a mixed-method study, we analyzed the content of Dutch textbooks for reading comprehension instruction (i.e., the implemented curriculum) and teachers’ evaluation and use of these books (i.e., the enacted curriculum). A materials analysis of reading comprehension lessons (N = 80) in eight textbooks for grades 4 and 5 was complemented with semi-structured teacher interviews (N = 29) and lesson observations (N = 11), with a focus on the quality of reading strategy and text structure instruction in the curriculum. Main findings are (1) a lack of alignment between lesson goals, theory, and assignments, (2) a strong focus on practicing strategies, (3) limited declarative knowledge about strategies and text structure, (4) little opportunities for self-regulated strategy application. The teachers that were interviewed mention similar problems, but still hardly deviate from the textbook’s content and pedagogical guidelines. We make recommendations to improve the quality of the curriculum.

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The effects of text structure instruction on expository reading comprehension: A meta-analysis.

Journal of Educational Psychology ◽

10.1037/edu0000082 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 108 (5) ◽

pp. 609-629 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Michael Hebert ◽

Janet J. Bohaty ◽

J. Ron Nelson ◽

Jessica Brown

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Text Structure ◽

Structure Instruction

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Increasing Secondary Students’ Comprehension Through Explicit Attention to Narrative Text Structure

Teaching Exceptional Children ◽

10.1177/00400599211025548 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 004005992110255

Author(s):

Whitney Sommers Butler ◽

Casey Hord ◽

Susan Watts-Taffe

Keyword(s):

Learning Disabilities ◽

Reading Comprehension ◽

High School Students ◽

Reading Instruction ◽

Secondary Students ◽

Text Structure ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Students With Learning Disabilities ◽

Narrative Texts ◽

School Students

In spite of the prevailing assumption that formal reading instruction is no longer needed once adolescents reach high school, students at the secondary level still benefit from explicit reading instruction to continue developing advanced literacy skills enabling them to access complex narrative texts. This article argues for the importance of teachers to scrutinize the texts they plan to teach to determine what instruction and supports are needed to promote reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities. Specifically, this article examines how nonlinear text structures can challenge adolescent reading comprehension and illustrates explicit text structure instruction with three exemplar texts which use unconventional narrative patterns. The article emphasizes the importance of considering the qualitative features of texts to inform instruction to support reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities.

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Teaching Text Structure to Improve Reading Comprehension

Intervention in School and Clinic ◽

10.1177/105345120203700406 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 229-233 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Joyce Anderson Downing ◽

Jeffrey P. Bakken ◽

Craig K. Whedon

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Text Structure ◽

Teaching Text

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Reading Comprehension and the Use of Text Structure Across the Adult Life Span

Recent Research in Psychology - Reading Across the Life Span ◽

10.1007/978-1-4612-4376-2_8 ◽

1993 ◽

pp. 165-191 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Bonnie J. F. Meyer ◽

Carole J. Young ◽

Brendan J. Bartlett

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Life Span ◽

Adult Life ◽

Text Structure ◽

Adult Life Span

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Linguistic Feature Development Across Grades and Genre in Elementary Writing

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/2015_lshss-14-0043 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 242-255 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Shannon Hall-Mills ◽

Kenn Apel

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Grade Level ◽

Writing Development ◽

Text Structure ◽

Receptive Vocabulary ◽

Future Research ◽

Expository Writing ◽

Linguistic Feature ◽

Grammatical Complexity ◽

Lexical Density

Purpose As children develop skills in writing across academic contexts, clinicians and educators need to have a fundamental understanding of typical writing development as well as valid and reliable assessment methods. The purpose of this study was to examine the progression of linguistic elements in school-age children's narrative and expository writing development. Method Narrative and expository writing samples produced by 89 children in Grades 2 through 4 were analyzed at the microstructure and macrostructure levels. Measures of receptive vocabulary, word-level reading, and reading comprehension were obtained. Results Exploratory factor analyses revealed 4 microstructure factors (e.g., productivity, grammatical complexity, grammatical accuracy, and lexical density) and 1 macrostructure factor (e.g., a combination of organization, text structure, and cohesion). Multivariate analyses of covariance with reading comprehension as a covariate showed that productivity and macrostructure were sensitive to grade-level and genre differences and that expository grammatical complexity was sensitive to grade-level differences. Conclusions Findings are discussed in light of grade-level standards for narrative and expository writing and current practices in writing assessment. Multiple suggestions are offered for clinical and educational implications, and specific directions are provided for future research.

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