Joanna Williams

Students with reading disabilities may demonstrate comprehension problems for a number of reasons, including a lack of skill in relevant cognitive strategies such as the use of text structure. Readers without knowledge of text structure often do not approach text with any plan of action. Research suggests that identifying and using text structure can be an important tool for organizing reading and writing.

In the early 2000s, research suggested that students' lack of exposure to and instruction in such expository texts slowed their progress in reading as they moved into fourth grade and beyond and that a lack of understanding of the structures of such texts frequently contributed to their difficulties. The researchers hoped that improved instructional practice would better prepare young students to comprehend expository text in the content textbooks they would encounter as they progressed thro...