1. Describe in broad stokes the reading processes that take place during comprehension of informational text (p. 362, under Construction of Meaning and Concept Development with Informational Texts).
Number One: Accessing accurate, relevant knowledge: The teacher helps the student revert back to their own background knowledge of the subject.
Number Two: Managing mental processes during reading within the confines of a limited, working memory: Students need to read instructions to help them use their previous knowledge in making connections to what they are reading.
Number Three: Construction a coherent mental representation through organizational processes: When the teacher has discussions, the student can make meaningful mental pictures of what they are reading.
2. Specify the effect that background knowledge may have on constructing mental representations from informational text. Why should teachers be concerned about activating prior knowledge?
Background knowledge can help students make mental representations as they read. When participating in discussions, students can learn what parts of their background knowledge are correct and what parts are incorrect. Teachers should also be aware in these discussions to make sure that the students’ prior knowledge is correct and that they are learning material in the most efficient way possible.
3. What are the three instructional approaches that can be used to help primary-grade students comprehend informational text? Describe their common (p. 365) and distinctive features (p. 363-5).
The three instructional approaches are picture walk, know and want to learn, and directed reading. They all involve the student using their background knowledge to help them in their reading. In the picture walk, the students go through a book page-by-page without reading the story and look at the pictures to predict what will happen when they do read the story. In the KWL discussion, the students are encouraged to write down whatever they already know about the subject they are reading. Lastly, in the DRTA approach, students sit together and each one reads portions of the story, but are directed by the teacher to stop at certain points and ask questions about what has happened so far.
4. What is the purpose of the experimental study reported?
This study was used to show the positive/ negative effects that the PW, KWL, and DRTA approaches would have on students’ reading abilities.
5. Who were the subjects?
Thirty- one second graders in two different schools that are in the same school district in the Midwest.
6. Describe the reading materials used during the intervention.
The reading materials used in the experiment consisted of informational readings dealing with science topics that the second graders were learning in their science curriculum. Some information came from their first grade curriculum too. The topics included spiders, the moon, how water changes form, and insects. Each week different texts are given to the students that contain information on the same subjects.
7. How long did the experiment last?
The study lasted for 10 weeks, and there were interventions during two 4-week periods.
8. What were the experimental conditions?
The lessons with the students were recorded on tape. In School A, sessions took place at a table in one of the hallways, and in school B sessions were held in the school’s cafeteria or at tables that included teachers sitting with them.
9. Describe the procedures specific to the Picture Walk, KWL, DRTA, and the Control Group conditions.
Picture Walk: Students, along with the teacher, go through the book page- by- page and look at the pictures and ask questions and make predictions about what might happen in the book. This approach also introduces students to new vocabulary and teaches them how to use it in their reading.
KWL: The teacher and students make a chart together, with headings including what they know, want to know, and what they learned. In the know column, the students tell what they already know about the topic of the book prior to reading the book. In the want to know column, students listen as the teacher reads an overview of the book and the table of contents and list what they want to know. After reading the book and learning new things, the students write those new pieces of information down in the learned column.
DRTA: The students sit together with the teacher and each one takes a turn to read portions of the book. Directed by the teacher, the students are stopped at certain places in the book and they discuss what has happened so far and what will happen in the rest of the book.
Control Group Conditions: Two groups were set up. One involved using reading opportunities with informational texts and the other using social aspects of prior knowledge.
10. What measures were used to determine the relative effectiveness of the treatments? Describe the measures briefly.
Vocabulary Recognition Task: This is a yes/no task used to estimate vocabulary recognition and shows whether each group has a similar level of prior knowledge to the subject.
Maze: A timed task that was given in a group. It is multiple choice.
Free Recall: Students are asked to tell the teacher everything they remember about the book. They also tell what the book made them think of.
Cued Recall: Each child is asked to answer three implicit and explicit questions based on their text. Correct and partially correct answers were graded as being correct.
Post Intervention Interview: The researcher conducted interviews with the students. The interviews were recorded on tape.
11. Which treatment(s) were found to be more effective in increasing students’ vocabulary knowledge and maze performance (p. 381)?
The picture walk and DRTA seemed to be the most effective in the maze approach. Both of these introduce new vocabulary to the students efficiently.
12. Students’ comprehension of the texts was greater under the DRTA condition than KWL and the control conditions. What do you think explains DRTA’s advantage over the KWL condition (p. 382)?
DRTA kept students focused on the important points and vocabulary in the book. It requires a higher level of thinking than the KWL chart does in that students are asked to assess parts of the book they are reading. Although both approaches are teacher guided, the DRTA is more effective in teaching students new vocabulary and keeps them guided while reading the book.
13. It was found that the treatments did not differ in the quality and quantity of students’ retellings (p. 384). In other words, students were not differentially affected by the treatments in the way they integrated textual information with prior knowledge. What does this finding mean in terms of the different emphases employed by experience-based (KWL) vs. text-based (DRTA) treatments.
This means that teachers should assess his/her class separate from other classes in other studies to see which approach works best for that group of students. All students have individual learning styles and some learn in different ways than others.
Answer the following question AFTER you read the article.
14. In light of the findings from this study, what conclusions can you draw about the role of teacher support in children’s construction of mental representations from informational text?
Teachers play an important role in guiding their students with mental representations from texts that they read. Teachers need to be aware of stimulating childrens’ prior knowledge and helping them obtain new knowledge as well.
