Helping Students Read Complex Texts Edutopia

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Oct 31, 2025, 3:49 AM

helping students read complex texts edutopia

By cultivating metacognitive reading habits, you can help students remain focused as they persist through challenging material. We’ve all had the experience. We’re reading along and suddenly realize that although our eyes are scanning the words on the page, nothing is actually registering. Minutes pass before we take our bearings and see that we’ve lost the plot entirely—pun intended. In classrooms, students tend to experience this drift in attention while reading texts that are challenging or highly technical—the sorts of jargon-rich passages middle schoolers and high schoolers might encounter in science, math, or... In many ways, the mind-wandering itself is unavoidable: Not everything we put in front of students will captivate them.

In a 2024 study of “mindless reading,” researchers from the University of Würzburg tracked the reading speed and attention of undergrads poring over a complex science text. At multiple points during the exercise, prompts appeared asking students “Was your mind wandering when you read the last sentence?” Students confirmed multiple instances of loss of attention. Researchers found that changes in reading speed, lingering on the same passage for long periods, and skipping words were signals that students were struggling to remain focused or to understand the material, and also... EduTopia contributor Andrew Boryga has published an article on helping students read complex texts. He says, “We’ve all had the experience. We’re reading along and suddenly realize that although our eyes are scanning the words on the page, nothing is actually registering.

Minutes pass before we take our bearings and see that we’ve lost the plot entirely—pun intended. In classrooms, students tend to experience this drift in attention while reading texts that are challenging or highly technical—the sorts of jargon-rich passages middle schoolers and high schoolers might encounter in science, math, or... In many ways, the mind-wandering itself is unavoidable: Not everything we put in front of students will captivate them. In a 2024 study of “mindless reading,” researchers from the University of Würzburg tracked the reading speed and attention of undergrads poring over a complex science text. At multiple points during the exercise, prompts appeared asking students “Was your mind wandering when you read the last sentence?” Students confirmed multiple instances of loss of attention.” Research shows strategies like re-reading, annotating, and summarizing can help kids find their footing in difficult texts *and* improve comprehension.

📚 Here are 8 ways to build students’ skills: Freelance Copy Editor & Proofreader | Health Content & Patient Education | Plain Language & Health Literacy Advocate | Former Dementia Caregiver I love the idea of classroom stations with photos, videos, and other materials to provide context for the reading and having the students reflect on what they want to know more about. For K-12 educators seeking actionable strategies: Our recent article introduces Questioning the Author (QtA), a structured discussion-based technique to enhance students' comprehension of complex texts. Gain practical insights and explore a sample lesson plan to implement this in your learning environment. Read more: https://loom.ly/_OzbR30

Author of The Desk Was Already Here | Empowering Learners, Inspiring Change | Visionary Educator | Centering Joy, Hope, and Community Scholars from the Scientific Advisory Committee share freely-accessible articles on knowledge-building and comprehension. The Knowledge Matters Campaign promotes excellent instructional practices in schools and raises awareness of the importance of content knowledge to reading comprehension and critical thinking. The Campaign receives guidance from a distinguished group of 14 education researchers who constitute the Scientific Advisory Committee. While this group is not formally associated with the Campaign and does not directly endorse—as a group or as individuals—its work, they are committed to advancing educators' understanding of how children learn to read... Marilyn Jager AdamsVisiting Scholar, Brown University

Ana Taboada BarberProfessor and Associate Dean, Research, Innovation and Partnerships, College of Education, University of Maryland Sonia CabellAssociate Professor of Education, Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University When was the last time you had to read something you couldn’t understand? Stumped? That’s probably because you’re an excellent reader. I’m an excellent reader, too, so I asked my sister if I could review an article she was writing in support of her doctoral dissertation.

“Maybe I can give you some constructive feedback?” I said, confident that my ELA teaching experience would pay off. Text complexity isn’t something I often worry about. Two paragraphs in, and I was lost. So I buckled down and reread a few key sentences: “Over the past 50 years, a picture has been developing of the brain’s unique waste removal system. […] Here, we review the relevant literature with a focus on transport processes, especially the potential role of diffusion and advective flows. […] Communication relies on molecular transport, where transport rates determine the range-of-action for neurotransmitters and transport effects cell-to-cell communication (Ray and Heys, 2019).”

Nope. Still clueless. Time to admit my own hubris. I just don’t have the background knowledge or the discipline-specific vocabulary in chemical engineering I need to understand an article titled, “Fluid flow and mass transport in brain tissue.” Humbled as I was after attempting to read my sister’s article, it dawned on me that I have asked students to do a similar kind of reading, and I have expected better results. The problem isn’t that students shouldn’t be reading complex, grade-level texts.

In fact, they should be reading more of them, since we know students’ ability to comprehend complex texts is a key determiner of their college and career readiness. But learning from complex texts requires what literacy expert Tim Shanahan calls “accommodative and supportive instruction.” In essence, if we want students to grapple with complex texts, we need to plan for their success. In today’s schools, students face more complex texts than ever. Teachers are key to helping them understand these texts. They use proven methods to teach students how to tackle difficult reading material. These methods help students better grasp complex ideas.

They also improve critical thinking and academic success. Teachers make a big difference in how students learn and develop. A serene classroom filled with diverse students deeply engaged in reading complex books, with multiple pages and colorful diagrams spread across tables, soft sunlight streaming through large windows, and a globe in the corner... Reading complex texts can be difficult for many students. They need special text analysis techniques and close reading skills to get the most out of them. It’s important for teachers to know how to help students overcome these challenges.

Text complexity can greatly affect student understanding. Struggling with complex texts can lead to: These practical supports can go a long way towards making students successful with challenging texts. Blast from the Past: This entry first appeared September 6, 2016, was reissued June 27, 2020, and now again in January 2025. I’ve updated it a bit — based on my new book (which is currently in production and should be out soon). Avoiding teaching students with grade-level texts, holds most kids back rather than propelling them forward.

This blog entry provides practical advice as to how to teach successfully with such books. My district is currently “grappling” with the idea of asking students to read complex text if they are significantly below the grade level. As an example, within one fourth grade class, a teacher identified that more than half her class is 1-2 grade levels below the expectation for reading (using multiple measures). Her response is to change the level of the text and try to move the students forward. The common theme in our schools is that growth is what matters, not proficiency. However, our new reading series expects students to perform in more complex texts.

Even the “approaching” level books are above what we typically would ask struggling students to read. Could you give some specific examples of how to scaffold, when students are unable to read half the words on a page? First, if students are reading like first graders — that is, they are struggling with decoding then you should be trying to teach them out of easier books, with lots of word repetition and... The complex text prescription is not for them. You indicate that they can’t read half the words on the page which sounds a lot lower than one or two grade levels off. If they are that low, you will need to do a lot more than just placing them in much easier books.

They also should be receiving substantial amounts of phonics and fluency training (30 minutes per day of each), and some may even need more of those in Tier 2 interventions. However, if these fourth graders are reading at a second or third grade level, then, place them in the grade-level texts. Doing that not only means that they’ll be taught what your state requires, but you’ll be exposing them to content or ideas more appropriate to their maturity, intellectual functioning, and interests. Blast from the Past: This entry first appeared September 6, 2016, was reissued June 27, 2020, and January 25, 2025. I’ve updated it a bit – based on my new book (which is currently in production and should be out soon). Avoiding teaching students with grade level texts, holds most kids back rather than propelling them forward.

This blog entry provides practical advice as to how to teach successfully with such books. My district is currently "grappling" with the idea of asking students to read complex text if they are significantly below the grade level. As an example, within one fourth grade class, a teacher identified that more than half her class is 1-2 grade levels below the expectation for reading (using multiple measures). Her response is to change the level of the text and try to move the students forward. The common theme in our schools is that growth is what matters, not proficiency. However, our new reading series expects students to perform in more complex texts.

Even the "approaching" level books are above what we typically would ask struggling students to read. Could you give some specific examples of how to scaffold, when students are unable to read half the words on a page? RELATED: Are We Getting the Right Information When It Comes to the Science of Reading? First, if students are reading like first graders—that is, they are struggling with decoding then you should be trying to teach them out of easier books, with lots of word repetition and high decodability. The complex text prescription is not for them. You indicate that they can’t read half the words on the page which sounds a lot lower than one or two grade levels off.

If they are that low, you will need to do a lot more than just placing them in much easier books. They also should be receiving substantial amounts of phonics and fluency training (30 minutes per day of each), and some may even need more of those in Tier 2 interventions. However, if these fourth graders are reading at a second or third grade level, then, place them in the grade level texts. Doing that not only means that they’ll be taught what your state requires, but you’ll be exposing them to content or ideas more appropriate to their maturity, intellectual functioning, and interests. Second, vary the reading demands on these students so that they are not always working with challenging text. You should do what athletic trainers dp, varying the degree of difficulty of the training.

Helping Students Read Complex Texts Edutopia

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