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Improving Reading Comprehension
Expository Text
Presentation by Sarah Gaines, Psy.S., NCSP
Goals and Outcomes
Understand expository text and why students struggle to comprehend it.
Learn how to begin the expository text discussion with your students.
Learn strategies to aid student comprehension of expository text.
What is Expository Text?
Expository Text
Nonfiction
Informational
Description
Comparison and Contrast
Cause and Effect
Sequence
Listing
Problem and Solution
Overwhelmed yet?
Guess what, so are many of our students.
Why is Expository Text Difficult?
New and challenging vocabulary Words are often outside the realm of a
student’s everyday knowledge Many students do not have personal
experience with the topics Text structures are numerous
“…before I could teach children how to use the features of nonfiction in
purposeful ways, I had to teach them what nonfiction was.” (p. 142)
~Debbie Miller
Begin with a Nonfiction Text Set
Providing many examples with diverse topics will help students understand the variety inherent in
nonfiction.
Progress to Text Features
Use a Venn diagram or other graphic organizer to discuss the features of fiction versus nonfiction.
Talk about what things fiction and nonfiction text have in common.
Knowing what distinguishes nonfiction from fiction helps readers know what to expect.
Start the conversation with fiction. It is the type of text which students are most familiar.
Text F
eatu
res
Fiction
Nonfictio
n
Setting Characters Problem Beginning, middle,
and an end
Events Resolution Pictures Story Theme
Main Ideas Specific Topics Facts Teach Something Information Photographs Captions,
Headings Diagrams Index Table of Contents
Big
Diff
ere
nces
Fiction
Nonfictio
n
The reader makes predictions about the kinds of things he or she expects will happen.
The reader must read from the front to the back.
The reader makes predictions about the kinds of things he or she expects to learn.
The reader may read in any order.
(Miller & Veatch, 2010)
Proficiency with Expository Text: Four Essential ElementsComponent Definition Relevance
Vocabulary Concepts and labels for concepts
Students need help with difficult language in content text.
Fluency Reading accurately, with expression, at an appropriate pace
If students can read fluently, they will be more able to focus on content.
Comprehension Using prior knowledge and the writer’s clues to construct meaning
Students need to be able to use reading strategies and adapt them to different subject areas.
Motivation Process by which a goal-directed activity is initiated and sustained
Students need to see themselves as good readers who value reading.
A Word on Strategy Instruction
Strategies must be explicitly taught over a long period of time.
Students should receive many examples and demonstration of each strategy.
Students need opportunities to practice the strategies using many texts.
Strategies should be presented one at a time.
(Dymock & Nicholson, 2010)
“High 5!” Strategies
Activating Background Knowledge Questioning Analyzing Text Structure Creating Mental Images Summarizing
Activating Background Knowledge
Readers comprehend better when they are able to activate prior knowledge and make connections to background knowledge.
Teachers can improve student comprehension through starting point activities. › Ex: The class is learning about Paris, France.
Pull out a map Talk about the language spoken in the country Discover facts about the population
Questioning
“Meaning arrives because we are purposefully engaged in thinking while we read.” ~ Cris Tovani (2004)
One way to improve comprehension of expository text, and purposefully engage in thinking while reading, is to teach students to generate and answer questions before and during reading.
Questioning
As a start, here are 3 types of questions you can teach your students to ask:› Right There: something factual
“What are the facts?”› Think and Search: something to figure out
“What does the writer want me to figure out?”
› Beyond the Text: something unsaid “What else should I know? Should I check
with background research?”
Analyzing Text Structure
Unlike narrative text, expository text has several structures.
Knowledge of one expository text structure does not transfer to another structure.
Students, especially those at the elementary school level most often encounter descriptive and sequential structures.
Analyzing Text Structure: Descriptive
List› The simplest descriptive pattern. › Order is not important.
Web› Attributes of an object are discussed.› There is a common link among the attributes.
Matrix› Describes more than one thing.› Compares and contrasts two or more topics.
Analyzing Text Structure: Sequential
String› Step by step description of events› Ex: a sequence for baking cookies
Cause-Effect› Two (or more) ideas/events interact › One is the cause, the other is an effect
Problem-Solution› The writer states a problem or poses a question› A solution or answer is in the text› Sequence is important: first a problem, then the
solutions
Text Structures and Common Clue Words
Sequence
• First• Then• Next• After• Later• Finally
Problem and Solution
• Because• In order to• So that• Trouble• If• Problem
Cause and Effect
• Because• Therefore• Cause• Effect• So
Compare and Contrast
• Both• Alike• Unalike• But• However• Than
Although it is not foolproof, knowing some key words and phrases can aid a student’s thinking as he or she considers the type of expository text.
(Miller, 2002, p. 149)
Text Structure: ConventionsConvention Purpose
Labels To identify a picture or photograph and/or its parts
Photographs To understand exactly what something looks like
Captions To understand a picture or photograph
Comparisons To understand the size of one thing by comparing it to the size of something familiar
Cutaways To understand something by looking at it from the inside
Maps To understand where things are in the world
Types of print By signaling, “Look at me! I’m important!”
Close-ups To see details in something small
Tables of contents To identify key topics in the book in the order they are presented
Index To list almost everything covered in the text, with page numbers
Glossary To define words contained in the text
Text Structure Conventions: What do you notice?
Heading
Bold text
Numbered items
Special, separated
text
What do you notice?
Caption
Figure, Picture
Creating Mental Images
Readers comprehend better if they can create and use a mental structure while they process the text.
This strategy goes hand in hand with the previous strategy, analyzing text structure.
Knowing the text structure can help students visualize a diagram specific to that text structure to organize their thinking.
A creative analogy to use with students: think of yourself as an architect, you need to see all the little ribs and bones!
Creating Mental Images
Example for a descriptive, compare and contrast text:
Topic: Sharks Type Length Diet Teeth
Great White 12-16 feet Sea lions, seals, small toothed whales, otters, sea turtles
3,000 at any one time
Great Hammerhead
Up to 11.5 feet
Fish, squid, small sharks, octopuses, crustaceans
About 200
Summarizing
The ability to summarize a text enhances comprehension.
Summarizing means the ability to sift through irrelevant details, combine similar ideas, condense main ideas, and connect major themes in a concise manner.
Again, knowing the text structure strategy helps students here as well.
(Dymock & Nicholson, 2010)
Summarizing in 5 Steps
1. Read the text.2. Identify the text structure the writer
has used.3. Make a diagram of the structure.4. Discard redundant information. Leave
only the key ideas.5. Circle only the critical ideas that you
need for the summary.
(Fang, 2008)
Linguistic ChallengesChallenge What it means
Technicality Terminology is specific to the field (e.g., genes, genome, DNA).
Abstraction Nominalization: the vocabulary includes verbs and adjectives turned into nouns (e.g., The adjective significant tuned into the noun significance).
Density The average number of content words (e.g., nouns, verbs, adjectives) per sentence is much higher.
Authoritativeness Vocabulary and syntax is distanced, impersonal, and unlike everyday dialogue. This includes the use of declarative sentences and a passive voice.
(Fang, 2008)
Helping Students Face the Linguistic Challenges
Exposure: Allow for authentic experiences with expository language by having a variety of texts in the classroom including trade books, magazines, newspapers, journals, textbooks.
(Fang, 2008)
Helping Students Face the Linguistic Challenges
Noun Deconstruction: Teach students how to analyze lengthy phrases into functional pieces.
› Ex: “A seven-week murder trial that focused new attention on the suspect’s dealings…”
Noun Expansion: Teach students how to expand simple nouns into lengthy noun phrases.› Ex: This student likes reading. This bright student likes
reading. This remarkably bright student likes reading.
How many?
How long?
Which one?
(Fang, 2008)
Helping Students Face the Linguistic Challenges
Sentence Transformation: Teach students how to transform their own sentences into expository structures in their own writing or speaking. › Ex: “When the rainforest are destroyed…” becomes
“The destruction of the rain forests…”
Paraphrase: Teach students how to translate the text into everyday language.› Ex: “A time span of 50 years is insignificant compared
to the billions of years that life has existed on earth.” becomes “Fifty years is a small amount of time when you think about how long life has been on earth.”
(Fang, 2008)
Helping Students Face the Linguistic Challenges
Syntactic Autonomy: Teach students how to recognize the multiple layers of semantic links and dependency relationships. You can delve into complex linguistic features or address it more simply depending on the students’ level.
› Ex: “It had already been known that DNA was the
molecule of which genes are made when two young scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, took on the challenge of figuring out its structure.”
EX: The words that and when indicate the start of two subordinate clauses.
In other words, this clause means they knew
genes were made of DNA.
Summing It Up
Expository text can be difficult for students.
Knowing the text structure can aid in the reader’s understanding of the material.
While there are many strategies to choose from, keep in mind that strategy instruction is best when explained, modeled, practiced, and introduced one at a time.
ReferencesDymock, S. (2005). Teaching expository text structure awareness.
The Reading Teacher, 59(2), 177-181. doi:10.1598/RT.59.2.7Dymock, S., & Nicholson, T. (2010). “High 5!” strategies to enhance
comprehension of expository text. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), 166-178. doi:10.1598/RT.64.3.2
Fang, Z. (2008). Going beyond the fab five: Helping students cope with the unique linguistic challenges of expository reading in intermediate grades. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(6), 476-487. doi:10.1598/JAAL.51.6.4
Jitendra, A. K., Burgess, C., & Gajria, M. (2011). Cognitive strategy instruction for improving expository text comprehension of students with learning disabilities: The quality of the evidence. Council for Exceptional Children, 77(2), 135-159.
McLaughlin, M. (2012). Reading comprehension: What every teacher needs to know. The Reading Teacher, 66(7), 432-440. doi:10.1002/TRTR.01064
ReferencesMiller, M., & Veatch, N. (2010). Teaching literacy in context: Choosing
and using instructional strategies. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), 154-165. doi:10.1598/RT.64.3.1
Shanahan, T., Callison, K., Carriere, C., Duke, N. K., Pearson, P. D., Schatschneider, C., & Torgesen, J. (2010). Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade: A practice guide (NCEE 2010-4038). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from whatworks.ed.gov/publications/practiceguides.
Tovani, C. (2004). Do I really have to teach reading? Content comprehension, grades 6-12. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.