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Features of
Text
Reading Instructional Handbook
FEATURES OF TEXT
As readers interact with printed material to construct meaning, their comprehension is significantly affected by the unique characteristics of each selection. Consider the following examples:
- If the author of a short story chronologically presents one day's events in the life of the main character, readers are more likely to understand the short story than if the events are presented in a non-sequential order.
- If a journal article on a scientific topic contains numerous, undefined technical words, readers will experience more difficulty than if those words are clearly defined and illustrated in context.
- If the written directions for assembling a toy model are accompanied by clear, explicit diagrams graphically representing the necessary procedures, successful completion of the tasks will be easier than if the diagrams are not provided.
These examples illustrate three different types of text features that are important for a teacher to consider every time a new reading lesson is planned. These types or groupings of text features are:
- Text structure--the way the ideas in a selection have been organized
- Vocabulary--the labels for ideas and concepts
- Reader's aids--the variety of pictorial, graphic, typographic and structural representations used to convey information
The remainder of this section of the Handbook examines each of these types of text features and suggests procedures for incorporating them into instruction.
TEXT STRUCTURE
When authors create, they do not just randomly list their ideas. They give
considerable thought to how those ideas are organized. AS readers interact with the text
to construct meaning, their comprehension is facilitated when they organize their
thinking- in a manner similar to that used by the author.
Obviously, all texts are different to a certain extent, but depending upon the author's purpose, the topic and the genre, reading selections tend to employ a few predominant structural patterns. These structural patterns can be used to teach students to comprehend more effectively. When readers know how to utilize the structure of text
identify the information necessary for constructing meaning, their comprehension will improve.
There are two general types of text--narrative and informational. Narratives tell a story that may be true or fictional, and informational materials present information.
Narrative Text
The common structure or basic plan of narrative text is known as the "story
grammar." Although there are numerous variations of the story grammar, the typical
elements are:
- Setting--when and where the story occurs.
- Characters--the most important people or players in the story.
- Initiating event--an action or occurrence that establishes a problem and/or goal.
- Conflict/goal--the focal point around which the whole story is organized.
- Events--one or more attempts by the main character(s) to achieve the goal or solve the problem.
- Resolution--the outcome of the attempts to achieve the goal or solve the problem.
- Theme--the main idea or moral of the story.
The graphic representation of these story grammar elements is called a story map. The exact form and complexity of a map depends, of course, upon the unique structure of each narrative and the personal preference of the teacher constructing the map. Figure 1 illustrates a sample of a story map at the elementary level. Figure 2 illustrates a story map at the secondary level.
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