READ 503 The Teaching of Reading

Professional Reading #2
TEACHING EXPOSITORY TEXT STRUCTURES
THROUGH INFORMATION TRADE BOOK RETELLINGS
Barbara Moss
Reference:
Moss, B. (2004). Teaching expository text structures through information trade book
retellings. Reading Teacher; May 2004, Vol. 57 Issue 8, p710.
Retrieved January 20, 2015 from http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/
20205422?
sid=21106164551073&uid=3738824&uid=374449781&uid=60&uid=3&uid=2

I. Key Words: Text Structure, Retelling, Information Trade Book

II. Summary:
According to the article, there are two factors that drive teachers to develop
students understanding of expository text. First is the demand of information age and
second is the pressure to improve student standardized test performance.
III. Questions:
A. Literal: What are retellings?
1. Retellings are oral or written post reading recalls during which children
relate what they remember from reading or listening to a particular text.
2. Retellings provide a holistic representation of student understanding
rather than the fragmented information provided by answering
comprehension questions (Bromley, 1998).
3. Retellings let teachers see how as well as how much information
children retain after reading or listening to a text (Irwin & Mitchell,
1993).
B. Inferential: Why teach expository text?
1. Require Literacy demands of todays technological society require that
students be able to read and write not only in the print world but also in
the digital world (Schmar-Dobler, 2003).
2. If todays students are to meet the literacy demands of the future, they
need to engage in authentic literacy tasks with expository texts.
C. Applied: How to teach text structures through trade books?
Sequence for teaching expository text structures (Tompkins, 2002).
1. Introduce the organizational pattern.
2. Explain the pattern and when writers use it.

3. Model ways students can determine text structures when signal words
are not used.
4. Introduce a graphic organizer for the pattern.
5. Read aloud a trade book or a section of a book illustrating the
appropriate text structure.
6. Using the overhead projector, involve the group in completing a
graphic organizer illustrating the text type.
7. Ask students to work in pairs to locate examples of structure in
information trade books.
8. Have students diagram these structures using a graphic organizer.
IV. Insights/Reflections
I agree with the writer/researcher that one factor that drives teachers to develop
students understanding of expository text the demand of information age. Todays
technological society requires that students be able to read and write not only in the
print world but also in the digital world. Thus, teaching them to read expository is really
a must and I have learned one strategy to do this, the information trade book retellings
or text retellings.
The writer states that, Information trade book retellings can acquaint students
with expository text patterns most commonly found in their reading. Through carefully
sequenced instruction involving introduction for each pattern; teacher modeling; and the
use of large group and small group retellings, teachers can ensure that students
increase their familiarity with and understanding of expository text. Also, careful
assessment of information trade book retellings can provide teacher with valuable
information about each students emerging abilities in comprehending nonnative text- an
essential literacy skill for success in our technological world.
Personally, I really had a hard time teaching my students to read expository text
especially those who belong to lower sections. The strategies discussed by the writer in
this article gave me the idea how to teach expository texts reading to my students. By
engaging my students in retellings, I can capitalize on my students enthusiasm for nonfiction literature while providing rich experiences for engagement with nonnarrative
texts.