RICA RICA Background Knowledge and Text Structures 2

Question 1

What does research by E.D. Hirsch and others suggest about the relationship between knowledge and reading comprehension skills?

Accepted Answer

Comprehension is heavily knowledge-dependent; domain-specific content knowledge often predicts reading comprehension better than generic comprehension skills, highlighting the importance of content-rich curriculum

Answer

Comprehension is a purely skill-based process that is independent of what the reader knows about a topic

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Generic comprehension strategies such as summarizing can fully compensate for gaps in background knowledge

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Knowledge only matters for comprehension in the primary grades and becomes less important in middle school

Question 2

Which signal words or phrases indicate a problem-solution text structure?

Accepted Answer

'The challenge was,' 'one response to this issue,' 'a solution was found,' and 'this approach resolved'

Answer

'First,' 'next,' 'then,' and 'finally'

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'Similarly,' 'on the other hand,' 'however,' and 'in contrast'

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'As a result,' 'consequently,' and 'this led to'

Question 3

How can teachers explicitly teach text structure to improve students' reading comprehension of nonfiction?

Accepted Answer

Teach the major nonfiction text structures with their signal words and graphic organizers, model identifying them in texts, and have students use this knowledge to organize information from their reading

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Assign students to read more nonfiction texts without any instruction on how those texts are organized

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Focus exclusively on narrative text structures since they are the same as nonfiction structures

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Teach text structures only through writing assignments, not during reading instruction

Question 4

How does a descriptive text structure differ from a chronological/sequence text structure?

Accepted Answer

Descriptive text explains attributes, features, or characteristics of a topic with no time order; chronological text presents events or steps in a specific time sequence

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Descriptive text always uses compare-and-contrast language; chronological text uses cause-and-effect signal words

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Chronological text describes physical characteristics; descriptive text tells the order of historical events

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Both structures are identical in purpose and use the same signal words

Question 5

What is 'text-to-world' connection, and how does it support reading comprehension?

Accepted Answer

A strategy where readers connect text content to larger real-world events, issues, or knowledge beyond their personal experience, deepening interpretation and engagement

Answer

Connecting a text only to other texts written by the same author

Answer

Linking a reading passage to facts memorized for standardized tests

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Using the internet to research every unfamiliar word in a text before reading

Question 6

Why might students from backgrounds with limited formal schooling have more difficulty with expository nonfiction texts than with narrative texts?

Accepted Answer

Narrative structure is universal across cultures and acquired naturally through oral tradition, while expository text structures and academic conventions are school-dependent and must be explicitly taught

Answer

Narrative texts are shorter and therefore easier for all students regardless of background

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Expository texts use more difficult vocabulary than narrative texts across all reading levels

Answer

Students with limited formal schooling have phonological awareness deficits that affect nonfiction reading more than fiction