Deconstructing Text Structures: Part 2

In my opinion, one of the most rewarding and exciting aspects of being an educator is the fact that I am learning right alongside my students. I have always loved learning and my school experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. But there is one memory that still haunts me. As a child, I remember reading in the comment section of one of my report cards that I had "difficulty with comprehension." Those three words have stuck with me to this day. Not because they weren't true, but because they were so true. Struggling with comprehension has been a two-edged sword in my academic life. On the plus side, it has propelled me to brazenly seek comprehension strategies that could arm my students with tools that would make them better comprehenders--not just readers.

This search for useful comprehension strategies is where my passion for deconstructing text structures began taking shape, but before trying to instruct my students on the basic five structures of Compare & Contrast, Problem & Solution, Cause & Effect, Description, and Chronology, I had to ensure that I had a deep knowledge of them. I spent quite a bit of time just reading up on the structures. I also wanted to pair them with Thinking Maps to highlight the thought processes. Next, I posted them on a bulletin board so that I could reference them whenever applicable.

Although I am definitely not an expert, I am slowly and deliberately adding to my expertise of text structures through research and hands-on experience, but it is a commitment that takes time and effort. Comprehension is multi-faceted and there is much more to it than identifying the overall text structure of a writing piece, as well as mini text structures embedded within that larger piece, but it is definitely a piece of the bigger puzzle worth spending precious class time on.

Piecing It All Together,

Lola Jollie