Investigating a Text Structure Intervention for Reading and Writing in Grades 4 and 5

Abstract

The purpose of this mixed‐methods experimental study was to investigate the effects and social validity of a text structure intervention for reading and writing in upper elementary grades. Fourth‐ and fifth‐grade teachers (N = 11) in three elementary schools were randomly assigned to implement the text structure intervention or a comprehension strategies intervention. The student sample (N = 351) comprised 160 students who received the text structure intervention and 191 students who received the comprehension strategies intervention, across grades 4 and 5. Quantitative measures of text structure awareness, reading comprehension, and writing quality were analyzed using three‐level hierarchical linear modeling. Qualitative interviews were analyzed typologically to assess upper elementary teachers’ perceptions of the social validity of each intervention. Quantitative results indicated that students who received the text structure intervention outperformed the students who received the comprehension strategies intervention on a measure of text structure awareness, a graphic organizer task, and use of ideas and details in informational writing. Qualitative findings indicated that teachers found the goals, procedures, and effects of the text structure intervention to be socially valid for upper elementary grades.

Developing Writing across and in School Subjects: Introduction to Special Issue

“…For example, recent research on elementary level informational writing shows that pupils often need support to produce relevant text structures (Hebert et. al., 2018;Strong, 2020;Williams, 2018). Although we can identify various uses of writing in subjects in general, students' learning in disciplines seems to benefit from instruction that also pays attention to genre features.…”

Emphasizing Text Structure Strategy Instruction to Scaffold 11th Grade Students’ Reading Comprehension

“…Text Structure Strategy has been proven as effective instruction to scaffolds as well as develops reading comprehension for students in various educational levels. Although, text structure strategy is used majorly as an effective strategy to scaffold struggling reader with learning disabilities (e.g., dyslexia) for comprehending and recalling information from the informational text (Bogaerds-Hazenberg et al, 2020;Strong, 2020;Zimmermann & Reed, 2020), the utilization of text structure strategy also can be seen in formal educational, such in primary and middle-grade level Wijekumar et al, 2018;Williams, 2005Williams, , 2018. Meanwhile, in the EFL context, the utilization of Text Structure Strategy for informational text mostly occurred at the university level (Aghasafari, P.;Malayeri, 2015;Ghorbani Shemshadsara et al, 2019;Rohman, 2017;Wu & Alrabah, 2020).…”

“No More Strategy of the Week”: Considerations for Connecting Comprehension Instruction Back to the Book

“…Although recent discourse has (rightly) brought the importance of background knowledge to the forefront (Kaefer, 2020; Smith et al., 2021), we hardly see this as a rationale for abandoning other comprehension instruction research. We have decades of research suggesting the benefits of explicit instruction in both strategies (Elleman, 2017) and text structures (Bogaerds‐Hazenberg et al., 2021; Strong, 2020), alongside research highlighting the benefit of routines that foster metacognition and summarization (Baker & Beall, 2014).…”