The effects of expository text structure instruction on the reading outcomes of 4th and 5th graders experiencing reading difficulties

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a standard protocol supplemental expository text structure intervention (i.e., Structures) on 45 4th and 5th graders experiencing reading difficulties. Students were enrolled in six K-8 parochial schools located in a Midwestern suburban city. Within classrooms, students were randomly assigned to Structures intervention or a business-as-usual control condition. Students in the Structures condition were taught to identify and discriminate among the five text structures used by authors of expository text (Meyer, 1975, 1985): description, sequence, cause/effect, compare/contrast, and problem/solution. Students in the business-as-usual control condition participated in the same activities or instruction provided by their respective classroom teachers. At post-test, experimental students (n = 24) in the experimental condition significantly outperformed control students (n = 21) on a proximal (i.e., linked directly with the instructional focus of the intervention) researcher-created measure assessing the ability of students to identify text structures (d = 0.94). Experimental students did not significantly outperform controls on a distal (i.e., not linked directly with the instructional focus of the intervention) researcher-created measure assessing expository reading comprehension (d = 0.14) or on a delayed distal norm-referenced measure of expository reading comprehension (d = -0.11). The results, practical implications, and limitations are discussed