Text_Structures.ppt
- 1. Text Structure An Overview Prepared By Karen Cochran Bonnie Hain
- 2. Cochran and Hain, Purpose This lesson will answer these questions: – What is text structure and how does it relate to reading comprehension? – How do expository and narrative text differ? – What aspects of text structure should be taught in order to increase student comprehension of text? – How can student understanding of text structure be facilitated to increase comprehension?
- 3. Cochran and Hain, What is text structure and how does it relate to reading comprehension? TEXT STRUCTURE refers to the characteristics of written material and the way ideas in a text are constructed and organized. There is a strong connection between reading comprehension and understanding text structures. Knowledge of text structure allows the reader to select and attend to the right details so comprehension can occur. Research shows that good readers determine structures based on their experiences with a variety of texts, and they apply this knowledge when they read new material.
- 4. Cochran and Hain, Text Structure Myths/Facts MYTHS: Once a student can decode the printed word, comprehension follows automatically. There are only two kinds of text structures – narrative and expository. The same reading skills are used to comprehend various kinds of text. FACTS: Readers who struggle with text comprehension often do so because they fail to recognize the organizational structure of what they’re reading, and/or they are not aware of cues that alert them to particular text structures. Text structures within narrative and expository texts vary significantly. There are several kinds of narrative and expository text structures. Each type of text structure requires the utilization of a unique set of skills for full comprehension to be realized.
- 5. Cochran and Hain, 1. Predict what is found inside each “box” below. 2. Did you use the outside of the box to make your prediction?
- 6. Cochran and Hain, By considering the shape, size, location, etc. of the boxes, you should have no problem determining which box would most likely contain chocolates, mail, or tools. Just as you did with the boxes, you can hypothesize about what’s in a text by examining the external and internal structures of text. You can usually distinguish a story from an informational selection by simply looking at the text. Words used such as “Once upon a time…,” the context of the document (i.e., a technical manual accompanying a PC), or the form of the document (i.e., headings, subheadings, bold type) provide readers with important clues about text type and structure.
- 7. Cochran and Hain, What aspects of text structure affect comprehension? There are three important aspects of text structure that affect reading comprehension: (1) the organizational pattern of the material itself and the clarity of its presentation, (2) students' awareness of that organization, and (3) students' strategic use of text organization. (Dickson, Simmons & Kameenui, 1998a) Each of these aspects will be discussed in the slides that follow.
- 8. Cochran and Hain, Organizational Patterns “Read” the texts below. Which is a narrative? Which is expository? How can you tell? XXXXXXX xx XXXXXX I. Xxxxx Initially, xxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxx xxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxx xx xxxx. Xxxxx xx xxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxx xxx. Xxxx, xxxxx, xxxx xxxxxx. II. Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxx, xxxx, xxx, xx: • Xxxx • Xxxxxxx xxx XXXXXXX xx XXXXXX As she lingered xxx xxxx xxxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxxx. Xxxx, xxxxx xxxx xxxx! Xxxx xxxx xxxx. Xxxx! Xxxx! Xxxxxxx xxxx xxxx, xxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxx. Xxxx xxxx, “Xxxxxx xxxxx. Xxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxx xx xxxxxxx xxxx?”
- 9. Cochran and Hain, Text has a recognizable organization that serves as a frame or pattern to guide readers Differences in the type of structure used to organize textual information significantly affect the amount of information learned and remembered. Certain types of structures facilitate recall more than others –narrative is usually more easily retained than expository. The purpose for reading also affects how the reader utilizes the text structure to facilitate recall. TEXT STRUCTURE BY GENRE Narrative: Expository: Prevalent in oral Prevalent in stories, novels, magazines, manuals, movies, drama, encyclopedias, poetry newspapers, etc. Based on familiar Unfamiliar or world knowledge. abstract content. Follows a structure Uses many organ- more aligned with izational structures. oral language. While narrative and expository are the primary categories of text genre, they are not the only ones. Many types of lyric poetry, for example, fit neither category.
- 10. Cochran and Hain, When teaching ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERNS OF TEXT, show students how to analyze the text’s • genre • signaling devices • text cohesion • sentence level factors
- 11. Cochran and Hain, What is Genre? Genre/Macrostructure/Text Grammar: the top-level organizational pattern involving the more global aspects of structure Narrative genres generally follow a standard story grammar that includes the following components: – Setting -- Mood -- Characters -- Conflict --Theme -- Plot (opening, problem, rising action, climax, falling action, solution) Some expository genres/macrostructures include: – descriptive texts - tell what something is – enumerative texts - give a list related to a topic – sequential/procedural texts - tell what happened or how to do something – comparison-contrast texts - show how two or more things are the same or different – problem-solution texts - state a problem and offer solutions – persuasive texts - take a position on some issue and justify it – cause-effect texts give reasons for why something happened
- 12. Cochran and Hain, Ideas for teaching the genre/macrostructure of text Teach the differences between narrative and expository text. Most secondary students know this. Begin teaching text structure analysis with easier narrative genres, then move to more difficult narrative and expository and combinations. Teach the structure directly and indirectly, pointing out as many patterns, cues, and connections as possible. Have students write in the genre(s) they’re learning.
- 13. Cochran and Hain, What are SIGNALING DEVICES? Signaling devices give the reader clues about the macrostructure and the relationships among specific ideas Among the visual signaling devices found in well-written expository text are the following: – Introductory statements outlining ideas to be presented – Topic statements that are easy to recognize – Headings and subheadings – Author’s statement(s) about the importance of ideas – Signal words (“first,” “then” – sequence; “because,” “so” – causal, etc.)
- 14. Cochran and Hain, What is TEXT COHESION? Text cohesion refers to linguistic devices that hold ideas together. Typically, these devices work to connect paragraphs, verses, sections, or scenes in a play to each other and to the main idea or message. Signal Words Reiteration – repetition of words/ideas Proximity – placing words, phrases, clauses near one another for clarity Reference – accurate use of pronouns Substitution – replacement of words with others that mean the same thing Ellipsis – omitting one or more presupposed words
- 15. Cochran and Hain, What are SENTENCE LEVEL FACTORS? Sentence level factors are writing style characteristics that may increase the complexity of the individual sentences within text. They allow authors to make more complex statements and readers to draw more and higher-level inferences, generalizations, and conclusions: – the number of ideas presented in a sentence – the syntactic forms used – the voice used (passive/active) – the use of negation – The use of clauses – embedded, various adverbial, etc.
- 16. Cochran and Hain, Some ways to facilitate student understanding of the organizational patterns and clarity of the text: Activate prior knowledge Compare to previously read,written texts Provide lists of words that are cues to text structures Build background/understanding Show a graphic representation – organizer Model development of an organizer that matches text Scaffold toward independence Provide note-taking/pre-writing structures Maintain a text structure bulletin board or notebook section Provide/Guide opportunities to write using genres Monitor independent comprehension strategies that students develop to understand and use text structures (e.g., choice of organizer/format for note taking during reading)