Cognitive organizers (COs) are text aids which represent objects, concepts, and their relations by the use of symbols and spatial arrangements without adding to semantic content. The present study examines language learners' text comprehension through outlines, a popular CO, compared with text-only condition, and further investigates the effect of…

There has been no research reported about if or how well primary grade teachers can identify information text structures in children's authentic informational texts. The ability to do so accurately and reliably is a prerequisite for teachers to be able to teach students how to recognize and use text structures to assist them in comprehending…

The objective of this research is to determine the competences of students of Basic Spanish Language II (Let. 012) in the comprehension of the superstructure and macrostructure of expository texts, in two college Campuses; the UASD San Francisco de Macorís Campus, and the UASD Bonao Campus for the semester 2015-2. The theory is based on the…

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represent an increasing number of learners in general education classrooms. While reading comprehension instruction has received growing attention, learners with ASD continue to experience poor academic outcomes. This article describes a research-based approach to teaching students with ASD to…

This investigation applies two approaches for representing and comparing text structures as undirected network graphs to describe the influence of narrative and expository lesson texts on readers' knowledge structure elicited as free recall. Narrative and expository lesson texts and undergraduate participants' free recall essays (n = 90)…

Teachers can use expository texts to teach academic vocabulary, content knowledge, text structure, and text features. National associations' recommended book lists are often used to identify books for classrooms. Previously we identified expository texts on these lists from 2001-2002 and 2011-2012. The current study explored instructional…

This investigation focused on elementary-aged (first and fourth grade) children's individual preferences for narrative and expository text and perceptions of what their same-aged peers would like to read. Preferences and perceptions of text were examined through the lenses of social constructivist and engaged reading theories. The overall purpose…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between text structure and two levels of reading comprehension, namely literal and inferential, in Iranian EFL learners. Studies have generally found that learners perform differently after they have read different text structures (Amiri et al. in "Proc Soc Behav Sci"…

This article describes the complex cognitive and linguistic challenges of summarizing expository text at vocabulary, syntactic, and rhetorical levels. It then outlines activities to help ABE/ESL learners develop corresponding skills.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Common Core State Standards require students, starting in elementary school, to read an increasing amount of informational text (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). Students with learning disabilities, however, typically struggle with expository text and require even more direct instruction…

Text signals include a wide variety of writing devices that emphasize specific content within a text, the organization of a text, or both (Lorch, 1989; Meyer, 1975). Signals presumably evolved as a means for an author to guide readers' processing of a text by making the text structure and important content more salient to the reader. Although…

In this meta-analysis of 45 studies involving students in grades 2-12, the authors present evidence on the effects of text structure instruction on the expository reading comprehension of students. The meta-analysis was deigned to answer two sets of questions. The first set of questions examined the effectiveness of text structure instruction on…

In this meta-analysis of 45 studies involving students in Grades 2-12, the authors present evidence on the effects of text structure instruction on the expository reading comprehension of students. The meta-analysis was deigned to answer 2 sets of questions. The first set of questions examined the effectiveness of text structure instruction on…

Introduction: In contemporary information societies, reading digital text has become pervasive. One of the most distinctive features of digital texts is their internal connections via hyperlinks, resulting in non-linear hypertexts. Hypertext structure and previous knowledge affect navigation and comprehension of digital expository texts. From the…

Reading and comprehending content area texts require learners to effectively select and encode with hierarchically strategic memory structures in order to combine new information with prior knowledge. Unfortunately, evidence from state and national tests shows that children fail to successfully navigate the reading comprehension challenges they…