Answer:
The Text Structure Strategy (TSS) stems from research showing that the content of most texts is organized using a hierarchical structure. The information presented higher in the content structure of a text is connected to better recall than information presented lower in the content structure (Meyer, 1975). Meyer and colleagues found that the hierarchical structure of texts fit into one or a combination of two or more of five specific text structures:
Comparison
Cause and effect
Problem and solution
Sequence
Description
These text structures are used to organize every text regardless of genre (e.g., expository, narrative) or content (e.g., science, social studies, current events, sports).
In expository texts such as history, events can be studied using a cause and effect structure nested within a sequence of events.
When reading a narrative text students are often asked about the moral of the story or the actions of the main characters. These ideas can be studied using a problem and solution and/or a cause and effect lens. Most novels, textbook passages, and short reading pieces may contain descriptions of events and sequences nested within the causes and effects of the event.
The Text Structure Strategy was designed, developed, and refined through many years of research. After the initial identification of the five text structures, Meyer and colleagues conducted additional research about what and how good readers remembered information (Meyer, Brandt, & Bluth, 1980). They found that good readers were able to take advantage of signals within the text to select important ideas and generate a gist. This gist helped them recollect more important information after reading.
Once this pattern was established, new interventions were developed to study whether children in elementary grades would benefit from being taught the strategy to identify signaling words, write a main idea scaffolded by the text structure, and remember more information (Meyer & Poon, 2001; Meyer et al., 2002; Meyer et al.., 2010; Williams et al., 2005).
