Effects of text structure on children's comprehension of expository material

The relationship between text organization and childrens' reading comprehension of expository material was investigated. Text organization manipulations involved macrostructures as outlined in Peters (1975-1976) and Frayer, Fredrick, and Klausmeier (1969) and microstructures as described in Davison and Kantor (1982). Upgraded and downgraded versions of both macro- and microstructures were combined to produce four texts on the topic of insect-eating plants. Each of the 43 seventh-grade students attending a midwestern university-affiliated laboratory school were randomly assigned to one of the four text conditions. The results from a reading comprehension, prior knowledge, and an Anderson-Freebody vocabulary test (Anderson & Freebody, 1981) were used as pretest measures. The various posttest measures were designed to be sensitive to particular text structure manipulations. An analysis of covariance using a hierarchal regression technique suggests that students benefit from reading text that is written to highlight comparisons among concepts presented in the passage (i.e., upgraded Frayer-like manipulations). The results of other recent research relevant to this issue are compared with the present study. Finally, both implications and plans for future research are considered