ABSTRACT
Comprehension of expository text involves a complex set of processes. Recognizing many other factors that affect comprehension, Dickson, Simmons, and Kameenui (1998b) emphasized the importance of attending to text organization for students they called “diverse learners,” whom they defined as “students, who because of their instructional, experiential, sociolinguistic, linguistic, physiological, or cognitive backgrounds, differ in their instructional, and curricular requirements” (p. 241). Following their lead, this chapter focuses on teaching various aspects of expository text structure, including its strategic use by adolescents, as a productive direction for improving comprehension in struggling students. In an attempt to provide “considerate” text (see subsequent section for what this means), this introduction lists the questions that are addressed, along with the heading for that section of the chapter:
Why is expository text comprehension so important to olescents? (“Rationale”)
What components should intervention in expository text comprehension include? (“Direction for Intervention”)
What elements of text structure should be taught explicitly (“Teaching Text Structure Explicitly”)
How do practitioners teach adolescents to analyze text? (“Teaching Text Analysis”)
How do practitioners teach adolescents to use text analysis strategically? (“Teaching Strategic Use of Text Analysis”)
How should practitioners address differences in clarity of text presentation? (“Identifying and Structuring Inconsiderate Text” [Inconsiderate text is discourse that lacks organizational clarity.])
