Purpose: The ability to read materials that are primarily intended to convey information is key to success in school, in the workplace, and in the community. Research suggests that students' lack of exposure to and instruction in such expository texts slows their progress in reading as they progress through the fourth grade and beyond, and that a lack of understanding of the structures of such texts frequently contributes to their difficulties. The purpose of this project is to develop and evaluate instruction designed to improve students' knowledge and use of expository text structures before they reach fourth grade, so that they are better prepared to comprehend the expository text in the content textbooks they will encounter as they progress through school.

Research Design and Methods: The researcher is carrying out three studies designed to examine the effects of integrating explicit instruction about text structures into regular teaching, in classrooms of second grade students of mixed abilities in urban schools with large proportions of minority students. The first study focuses on compare/contrast text structures, using content drawn from the social studies. Classrooms of students are randomly assigned to receive instruction according to one of three different approaches: 1) instruction in which explicit instruction about the compare/contrast text structure is embedded into the social studies content; 2) instruction using the same reading materials as in the first approach, except without the emphasis on the compare/contrast text structure; or, 3) instruction unaltered from the teachers' normal educational practice. The second study uses the same design, except that it focuses on instruction in cause/effect text structures rather than compare/contrast structures. The third study also uses the same design, but incorporates instruction in both compare/contrast and cause/effect text structures. The researcher is comparing student performance from the various groups of students using a variety of measures designed to assess their learning of both the content and their understanding of the text structures, and then using the data to further revise and improve the most effective instructional approaches.

Project Publications:

Williams, Joanna P.; Hall, Kendra M.; Lauer, Kristen D. (2004). Teaching Expository Text Structure to Young At-Risk Learners: Building the Basics of Comprehension Instruction. Exceptionality, 12(3): 129-144.

Williams, Joanna P.; Nubla-Kung, Abigail M.; Pollini, Simonne; Stafford, K. Brooke; Garcia, Amaya; Snyder, Anne E. (2007). Teaching cause-effect text structure through social studies content to at-risk second graders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(2), 111-120.

Williams, J.P. (2007). Literacy in the curriculum: Integrating text structure and content area instruction. In D.S. McNamara (Ed.), Reading Comprehension strategies: Theories, interventions, & technologies. (pp. 199-219). Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum.