The Challenge of Challenging Text: What Makes Text Complex?

Strategies for Use with Challenging Texts

After learning about text structure and comprehension strategies, you will read about challenging texts.
While reading the article The Challenge of Challenging Text, gather main points in the left column.
In the right column, share strategies and brief implementation plans for using these strategies to help students engage with challenging texts.
Note: The cells will expand while you work. Use the tab button to add additional cells and rows if necessary.
Vocabulary: How/Why would vocabulary make a text more complex? Strategies with implementation plan
Authors introduce their ideas through words and phrases, and if readers Word Analysis or Word Study
don't know what these mean, there's little chance that they will make sense Before Reading
of the text. ❖ Review strategies for approaching new words.
❖ List these strategies on the whiteboard and publish
them on the class wiki.
❖ Display links to various online resources.
❖ Explain how the resources can help students uncover
meaning.
During Reading
❖ Model word analysis strategies with an unfamiliar word
that will appear frequently in upcoming readings from
an archeology website.
❖ Elicit a list of words that sound similar and model how
you would use these words to find and define a
common root.
❖ Use an online resource to define a root.
❖ Display images illustrating the new word.
❖ Arrange students into groups and have them review
assigned sections of a social studies website.
After Reading
❖ Have students collect information, images, and key
vocabulary words.
❖ Have teams organize their information into three
categories: important facts, key details, and vocabulary
words.
❖ Have the class share what they have learned and add
content to the class wiki.
❖ Create a list of new vocabulary words.

Read Aloud
❖ Choose a read-aloud based on your unit theme.

Sentence Structure: How/Why would sentence structure make a text more complex?
If students are to interpret the meanings such complex sentence structures
convey, they need to learn how to make sense of the conventions of
text—phrasing, word order, punctuation, and language.
❖ Decide on a purpose for read aloud and choose five
vocabulary words.
❖ Develop open-ended prompts on a sticky note and
place them inside the book.
❖ Remember to help children use the new vocabulary
words in various daily activities.
❖ Scaffold the conversation to expand children’s
responses.
❖ Allow children to “think big,” which gives them time to
respond.
Strategies with implementation plan
Active Teaching
Direct Instruction
❖ During this stage, you directly instruct by actively
demonstrating how to write a sentence. To get all eyes
on you as you demonstrate, say, “My Turn! Watch me
write the sentence.” Explain the important concepts as
you write such as capitalization, spacing, and
punctuation. Then say, “Your Turn,” indicating it’s their
turn to imitate you in their workbook, worksheet, or
lined paper. This step ensures students are watching
and learning how to write correctly, which is a
foundation piece for good habits.
Guided Practice
❖ This requires that teachers guide students to their
workbook or worksheet where they copy sentences
from a model. While students write, teachers should
walk around and closely monitor and guide their
students. Resist the temptation to let workbook and
worksheet practice be independent work as they can
copy incorrectly and reinforce bad habits. Students
need direct instruction prior to and continued guidance
during this stage so they practice correctly.
Independent Practice
❖ This happens when children write sentences on their
own without a visual model, and it is an important part
of your lesson to help students develop independence
with writing sentences. Provide lined paper or journals
for this stage.
Match Game
❖ Once the basics have been covered, move on to other
teaching methods. A matching game focuses on the
four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex,
and compound-complex. For each type, show examples
to your students, pointing out the subjects, predicates,
verbs, and objects. Give as many examples as needed
until your class grasps the basics.
❖ Then, turn these terms into a matching game. Split your
class into teams. Complete rounds by displaying
sentences on the board. Teams that correctly identify
the type of each one earn points. Advanced students
can write their own sentences to challenge the other
teams. This is the perfect game to practice identifying
ways to build sentences.

Lost and Found

❖ Lost and found focuses on finding the missing
information in given sentences. Provide sentences that
are missing the subject, verb, or the entire predicate.
Then, show options of phrases to fill in the missing
spot. The students' job is to identify the type of
information missing and the correct filler to make the
sentence complete.
❖ Take this teaching method a step further to focus on
word order. In English, most sentences are in the order
of subject-verb-object. Use this concept when
identifying the lost information. Advanced students can
even write their own sentences in an incorrect order,
challenging other students to correct the errors.

Write Around
❖ A final teaching strategy takes writing sentences to the
next level. For this, have each student get out a sheet of
paper. Each student will begin a story that will be
completed by the other students. For round 1, have
each student write down a descriptive subject. Then,
perform a write around and have each paper passed to
the next student, who must complete the sentence

Coherence (the connection between words, sentences, ideas, etc.): How/Why would
coherence make a text more complex?
Younger students often have difficulty making such connections, especially if
the ideas are far apart or the referents don't get restated frequently. Distant
or complex cohesive links can also be challenging for second-language
learners or for older students reading about an unfamiliar topic.
with a predicate. Finally, they will start the next
sentence with another subject for the next round. The
rounds continue until each student gets their original
paper back with a creative story now complete.
❖ For advanced students, allow for variations in the
sentence structure. Students can choose to either
provide a subject or a predicate, or even give verbs that
need objects to make a complete sentence.
Strategies with implementation plan
Interactive Read-Aloud (high teacher support)
❖ In interactive read-aloud, you start by selecting a
high-quality, short picture book (or occasionally a
longer chapter book) so the students are listening to
the story or nonfiction book as you read it to them, not
decoding words and attending to punctuation. While
the students listen, they are engaging systems of
strategic actions for comprehending texts. Interactive
read-aloud is usually a whole-class “interactive” activity
intended to spark discussion. So, as you read, you can
stop at specific points in the text and encourage your
students to turn and talk to a partner or respond to the
whole group. “Interactive read-aloud is a way to engage
daily in comprehending and articulating their thinking
about age-appropriate material (the level is generally
beyond the instructional reading level of most of the
students),” (Fountas and Pinnell 2017).
Shared Reading (high to medium teacher support)
❖ In shared reading, you start by selecting an enlarged
text because, unlike read-aloud, you want the print and
other text features to be visually available to your
students. You can choose a wide variety of genres and
formats and offer high teacher support as you did in
interactive read-aloud. First, you read the text aloud to
the students while engaging them in a discussion about
it. Then, invite them to read along with you. After the
book has been read in unison several times, the
students can read it on their own or with a partner. “As

Organization & Text Structure: How/Why would vocabulary make a text more complex?
Students who are not aware of the patterns authors use to communicate
complex information may have difficulty in comprehension and making
sense of the text.
readers become more proficient, shared reading
continues to offer opportunities for more advanced
reading work that students can do independently,”
(Fountas and Pinnell 2017).
Guided Reading (medium to low teacher support)
❖ In guided reading, you do not read aloud to the
students. This allows them to have more control of the
reading process, as opposed to interactive read-aloud
and shared reading where they had high teacher
support. You choose a high-quality text that is new to
them, and in a small-group setting you provide a
carefully planned introduction, and they read it
individually. After they read, you can guide them in a
discussion about the meaning of the text using teaching
points based on your observations. Finally, if
appropriate, you can engage in work with words and
letters.
Independent Reading (low teacher support)
❖ Independent reading is all about choice. Your primary
role in independent reading is to provide students with
a rich, well-organized collection of books from which to
choose. The texts should be in a variety of genres and
levels of difficulty so all students will be able to find
something they want to read. “Independent reading is
placed within a strong instructional frame, through
minilessons to help students apply understandings to
their own reading and learn how to choose books they
can enjoy, reading conferences to support thinking, and
group share for further learning and assessment,”
(Fountas and Pinnell 2017).
Strategies with implementation plan
The following research-based teaching strategies can be
applied in teaching students to use text structure:
1. Discuss with students that writers use text structures to
organize information. Introduce the concept to them, and
reinforce it every time students read and write.
2. Introduce and work on text structures in this order:
description, sequence, problem and solution, cause and
effect, and compare and contrast.

3. Skim and scan to predict text structure(s). Make

predicting possible text structures a part of every
pre-reading activity.

4. Teach the signal words for each text structure. Prior to

reading, skim and scan passages and make predictions
about text structure. During reading, analyze text and
revise predictions about structure.

5. Teach and model the use of graphic organizers to go

with each text structure. Identify text structures in advance
and provide appropriate advanced organizers. For example,
the teacher models charting the structure of specific
paragraphs while reading and also provides practice in
using the graphic organizer to write different text types.

6. Scaffold instruction using the gradual release of

responsibility model. Spend quality instructional time in
each phase of the model when teaching text structure
strategies. For example, the teacher uses a think aloud to
model for demonstration. The teacher then invites students
to participate in a shared demonstration. Then students
practice with teacher support for guided practice. Finally,
students apply the skills and strategies they have learned
for independent practice.

7. Provide explicit instruction. For example, the teacher

shows students specifically how and when to use strategies
such as attending to signal words while reading different
content areas or using signal words when writing
expository text.

8. Model a think-aloud strategy. The teacher reads aloud a

paragraph, pausing at appropriate points to share her own
comprehension strategies and understanding of the text.
Next the teacher might move to a shared-reading strategy,
encouraging students to talk aloud as they engage in the
process with the teacher. For example, the teacher asks
students to talk about the clues they use to try to identify
the text structure.

9. Ask focusing questions targeting text structure. Teachers

can use focusing questions as a means of scaffolding the
use of strategies or assisting students in the think-aloud
process. For example, the teacher asks a student which
signal word might be best to show a particular relationship
among ideas in a text structure.

10. Use and create non-linguistic representations. For

example, during reading the teacher models the drawing of
a series of pictures to represent a sequence described in
the passage.

11. Create and provide pattern guides and teacher-made

organizers that reflect that structure of the original text.
These tools help students focus on the key elements of the
reading selection.

12. Present students with a completed graphic organizer

as a pre-reading strategy. Have students write a probable
paragraph using a predicted text structure prior to reading.
After reading, compare students’ probable passages and
the original text.

13. Write using the text structures. While students watch,

the teacher models writing a paragraph using a particular
text structure and describes her actions as she is writing.
Then students write their own paragraphs using text
structure/ paragraph frames as templates.

14. Make the connection between reading and writing.

When students read an example of a particular text
structure, have them write using that same text structure.
Writing can be done as a pre-reading or post-reading
strategy.

Background Knowledge: How/Why would background knowledge make a text more
complex?
Students' background knowledge, including developmental, experiential,
and cognitive factors, influences their ability to understand the explicit and
inferential qualities of a text.
15. Rewrite a paragraph or passage using a different text
structure than the original. Compare the two and analyze
why the author might have chosen the original pattern.
16. Read and analyze a variety of text, both
single-structure passages and multi structure passages. Use
every opportunity that students read as an opportunity to
teach text structure.
17. Have a text structure treasure hunt with a newspaper,
classroom magazine, nonfiction book, textbook chapter, or
students’ independent reading material.
18. Use summary frame questions to guide students’
comprehension before, during, and after reading. Each
organizational structure suggests questions which readers
should consider as they are reading and be able to answer
once they've finished reading the passage.
19. Use text coding strategies – highlighters, Post-It Notes,
etc. – targeting text structures. Remember to model these
strategies in advance and be consistent in your procedures
(same color each time, etc.)
20. Use text structure sorts to compare different
paragraphs on a single topic. Begin by analyzing and
sorting only one text structure at a time, then add another
and so on.
Strategies with implementation plan
The AAA Method (Activate, Assess, Address)
❖ Activate prior knowledge. You first want to set kids up
in an activity that is comfortable, fun, not stressful. You
want to give them opportunities to show you what they
already know.
❖ Assess students’ grasp of essential understandings. Ask,
“What do they kinda need to have in place so that
they’ll comprehend the new learning? What would help
 “set the stage” for them? Who might need a little extra
explanation of things?
❖ Address the areas needing a bit of “foundation laying.”
This could be as simple as pulling a photo up on the
screen and sharing some important concepts. It could
be a read-aloud that touches on related themes. Playing
a song from a certain era. Throwing up a quick timeline.
Helping students make a connection to an aspect of
their culture. Let your teacher's intuition lead the way.

KWL Chart
❖ The KWL chart is like an old can opener in the back of
your kitchen drawer: It’s old, but you know how to use
it, and it works well to get the job done. KWL charts
have never lost their charm for me. Use this graphic
organizer to guide students in discussing what they
KNOW, WANT TO KNOW or WONDER, and later, what
they LEARNED. Don’t forget to give students some
low-stress time to chat with others about what they
know, before a blind ask.

Gallery Walk
❖ So. Fun. It’s great for English learners, because they can
get a lot of input and background on a topic, in a
comfortable environment. You will post an intriguing
photo or artifact somewhere in the room (you may also
choose to put out several and have students rotate).
The kids will spend some time with their group, posting
their comments and reflections: What do I
see/notice/wonder? By the time the whole group has
shared their thinking, all kinds of crazy background
building will have taken place! For the win!

Anticipation Guide
❖ This graphic organizer is a fun (and quick!) way to pique
students’ interest in a topic and show you what their
prior knowledge is like. Think of a handful of statements
related to your topic. Students will check “Agree” or
“Disagree” next to each statement. Try to phrase each
in such a way that the students have to do some
 thinking or opinion-making in order to decide if they
agree. (For example, a not great statement: “The moon
is round.” vs. a Better statement: “There are lakes on
the moon.”)

“Unique Ideas Only” Game

❖ This is fun. State the main topic or concept to the class.
Give each small group a big piece of paper. When you
say “go,” they have a few minutes to write down
everything they collectively know about the topic.
Then, you go group by group, and they each share one
item from their list. You add the ideas to your “master
list” at the front of the class. (They have to listen and
cross off items if another group shares the same
idea…they can’t repeat items!) The winning team is the
one with remaining items on the list after the others
have “used up” all of theirs!

Visual Aids
❖ This is probably the simplest strategy, but just as helpful
as you introduce a lesson or unit. Take five minutes on
Google Images or Pixabay, and print out images related
to the content. Discuss them, label them, refer to
them….or just tape ‘em up and leave them if that’s all
you have time for! It’ll help build a real-world context
for learning.