The Common Core State Standards emphasize the value of teaching students to engage with complex text. But what exactly makes a text complex, and how can teachers help students develop their ability to learn from such texts? The authors of this article discuss five factors that determine text complexity: vocabulary, sentence structure, coherence,…

Metadiscourse is a new and interesting field of inquiry which is believed to play a vital role in organizing and producing persuasive writing, based on the norms and expectations of people involved. Metadiscourse embodies the idea that writing and speaking are more than just the communication of ideas and presentation of ideational meaning. Rather…

Research shows that students who have a good understanding of narrative text structure have fewer problems comprehending stories. Research also suggests that many students require explicit instruction in how to comprehend this text type. While some children are able to figure out the more elaborate structure of narrative text on their own (i.e.,…

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between children's use of reading strategies and language cues while reading and their comprehension after reading two texts: "Cherries and Cherry Pits" (Williams, 1986) and "There's Something in My Attic" (Mayer, 1988). The data were drawn from a larger study of the…

Reports a study, using sixth graders' introspective self-reports, to determine the context in which students use knowledge about narrative text structure, how they use this knowledge, and why they do not always employ this knowledge. (RAE)