This article discusses how to teach children with mild disabilities to identify the five different types of expository text structures: main idea, list, order, compare/contrast, and classification. It then explains a strategy for each text structure type that can be taught to children to improve comprehension in content area classes. (Contains…

The study found that instructing 13 learning-disabled junior high students in the necessary prior knowledge (information and vocabulary concepts) led to superior reading comprehension performance. Textually explicit text structure also improved reading comprehension. (DB)

This teacher's manual is a resource to assist teachers in expanding and refining their repertoire of teaching strategies and to guide them in instructional planning and decision making when teaching reading in the content areas. The manual does not prescribe a particular style of teaching--it is of value to teachers as they consider their…

Most instructional efforts in literacy education are aimed at helping learners acquire literacy skills and strategies that will enable them to deal with any text. Readers learn to read by reading, however, so it is important that readers have successful experiences with reading. Success can be fostered by careful selection of reading materials.…

This inservice professional development module, part of the Alabama Reading Initiative, presents research summaries, notes for presenters, and activities. The Comprehension Strategies module explains the process of building comprehension in readers so that they read for meaning and understanding. There are six interferences to comprehension that…

This inservice professional development module, part of the Alabama Reading Initiative, presents research summaries, notes for presenters, and activities. The Comprehension Strategies module explains the process of building comprehension in readers so that they read for meaning and understanding. There are six interferences to comprehension that…

This article suggests ways that teachers can use videotape recordings to improve listening skills and enhance text structure instruction in the intermediate grades. Students develop story maps for narrative videos and texts and create organizational pattern guides for expository videos and texts. Lists of suggested videos and children's books are…

POSSE, an instructional procedure for a reading comprehension curriculum, structures classroom dialogue about text meaning. Students with mild handicaps predict what the story will be about, organize their knowledge, search for the text structure, summarize, and evaluate. POSSE's successful application is dependent upon effective lesson dialogue…

This article presents and illustrates four text structure maps to help poor readers in comprehension. These patterns are: (1) the descriptive or thematic map; (2) the sequential episodic map; (3) the comparative and contrastive map; and (4) the problem/solution map. Guidelines are offered for sequencing instruction in the text maps. (DB)

Provides an overview of curricular and instructional adaptations, modifications, and methods that have been used to provide science instruction to students with learning disabilities. Strategies are described within the context of a textbook-based unit on the solar system. (Author/DB)

Reflecting the concerns of researchers and practitioners about children's text comprehension, this book defines and provides examples of narrative and expository text and describes research-based strategies for helping children comprehend these two types of text. The book contains the following chapters: (1) "Research on Stories: Implications…

The eight units of work in this document are designed to complement existing literacy booster units. Each unit is based on teaching objectives from the National Literacy Strategy Framework. They have been produced with the help of Year 5 teachers and have been trialled with pupils in a range of schools. The units support teachers' work with Year 5…

The paper discusses (1) sources of difficulty in comprehending technical writing, (2) distinctions between content structure and text structure, (3) building blocks for expository writing and techniques of text design, (4) contrasts between American and Japanese science and social studies texts, and (5) suggestions for promoting comprehension.…

Drawing on stories from classrooms, examples of student writing, and illustrations, this book explains in practical terms the theoretical underpinnings of how elementary school students learn to write from their reading. Beginning with the concepts that underlie how writing teachers teach students to write by studying other writers, it goes on to…

Six instructional design principles are recommended to enable students with learning disabilities to comprehend and compose expository materials. The instructional principles are illustrated using the compare/contrast text structure. Charts provide examples and clarification of the strategies. (SW)