Promise and feasibility of teaching expository text structure: a primary grade pilot study.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Promise and feasibility of teaching expository text structure: a primary grade pilot study.
Authors:	Al Otaiba, Stephanie¹ salotaiba@smu.edu, Connor, Carol McDonald², Crowe, Elizabeth³
Source:	Reading & Writing. Nov2018, Vol. 31 Issue 9, p1997-2015. 19p.
Subject Terms:	Exposition (Rhetoric), Reading comprehension ability testing, Primary school teaching, Educational intervention, Oral communication education, Feasibility studies, Pilot projects
Abstract:	Research to guide text structure interventions for the primary grades is very limited, yet as early as in kindergarten, many state standards increasingly emphasize exposure to challenging expository texts. The purpose of the present study was to provide preliminary evidence of the feasibility and promise (or the effects) of three brief text structure interventions for kindergarten, first, and second graders who had average to low-average comprehension and relatively weak vocabulary skills. A total of 172 students participated (with 52, 62, and 58 in kindergarten, first and second grades, respectively). Students were randomly assigned within classrooms to one of three conditions: sequencing, compare and contrast, or cause and effect. Interventionists provided the interventions for four weeks to small groups of students. The findings demonstrated significant growth for all conditions on the taught text structure items of a researcher-made measure; significant growth was also reported on standardized measures of comprehension and oral language measures in the compare and contrast and cause and effect conditions, but not for sequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	Research to guide text structure interventions for the primary grades is very limited, yet as early as in kindergarten, many state standards increasingly emphasize exposure to challenging expository texts. The purpose of the present study was to provide preliminary evidence of the feasibility and promise (or the effects) of three brief text structure interventions for kindergarten, first, and second graders who had average to low-average comprehension and relatively weak vocabulary skills. A total of 172 students participated (with 52, 62, and 58 in kindergarten, first and second grades, respectively). Students were randomly assigned within classrooms to one of three conditions: sequencing, compare and contrast, or cause and effect. Interventionists provided the interventions for four weeks to small groups of students. The findings demonstrated significant growth for all conditions on the taught text structure items of a researcher-made measure; significant growth was also reported on standardized measures of comprehension and oral language measures in the compare and contrast and cause and effect conditions, but not for sequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	09224777
DOI:	10.1007/s11145-017-9769-6