text complexity the inherent difficulty of reading and comprehending a text combined with...

Text Complexity

The inherent difficulty of reading and comprehending a text combined with

consideration of reader and task variables

(Common Core State Standards for ELA)

WCPSS Elementary Principals

December 1, 2011

Remember the Six Shifts?Increase reading of informational text

Literacy instruction in all content areas

Text complexityText-based answersIncreased writing from sources

Academic vocabulary

Desired OutcomesAn understanding of the three

features of text complexity

An understanding of why text complexity matters

Knowledge of resources to support consideration of text complexity

Why Focus on It?

As the complexity of K-12 texts decreased

The complexity of reading demands in college/career increased

Best “Sorter” within the ACT?Not cognitive level of question…

Not questions focusing on textual elements…

Text Complexity

Not natural…“We were never bornto read. Human beingsinvented reading only afew thousand years ago.And with this invention,we rearranged thevery organization of ourbrain, which in turnexpanded the ways we are able to think, which altered the intellectualevolution of our species.”

Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain

Not an inoculation…

Students with Disabilities

and

English Language Learners

Not “if,”

but “how”

Literacy is a right, not a privilege.

Rank the titles at your table from least to most “complex”

Table Talk: What did you notice?

Text Complexity

Common Core State Standards

Three-legged Stool

Quantitative

Qualitative

Reader and Text

Quantitative Analysis of Text

What is a Lexile measure?

How are Lexile measures determined?

How can you find out a student’s Lexile reader measure?

How can you find out the Lexile measure of a text?

Readability Measures

A way of quantifying text difficulty…

2000 +

Unique: Matching Readers to Texts

↔

Forecasted Comprehension of Text

1500L 25%

1250L 50%

1000L 1000L 75%

750L 85%

500L 95%

What does a Lexile measure include?

Sentence Length

Word Frequency

How are Lexile measures determined?

Most people stay away from snakes. But not Jesus Rivas. He likes to follow them. He follows a snake called the anaconda. It is one of the biggest snakes in the world. Rivas takes the anaconda from the water. He studies it. Then Rivas puts the snake back. His job makes him a snake stalker. (280L)

Everyone should stay focused at work, but if Jesus Rivas gets distracted for even a moment, he could be strangled by a 500-pount snake. Rivas, a biologist, is leading the first-ever study of anacondas in the wild. (1120L)

Staircase of Text Complexity

Grade Band

Current Lexile Band “Stretch” Lexile Band

K-1 N/A N/A

2-3 450L-725L 450L-790L

4-5 645L-845L 770L-980L

6-8 860L-1010L 955L-1155L

9-10 960L-1115L 1080L-1305L

11-CR 1070L-1220L 1215L-1355L

At the lowest grade in each band, (for example, 4th grade), students focus on reading texts within the current Lexile band. At the next grade within the band (for example, 5th grade), students must “stretch” to read some texts from the next band.

Building + Challenging

Student: 50 above

and100 below

How can you find out a student’s Lexile measure?

NC EOG

How can you find out the Lexile measure of a text? http://www.lexile.com

Book Search

Lexile Analyzer

Lexile Codes

AD: Adult Directed

NC: Non-Conforming

HL: High-Low

IG: Illustrated Guide

GN: Graphic Novel

BR: Beginning Reading

NP: Non-Prose

Where are we going?

Grade Band Current Lexile “Stretch” Lexile

K-1 N/A N/A

2-3 450L-725L 450L-790L

4-5 645L-845L 770L-980L

6-8 860L-1010L 955L-1155L

9-10 960L-1115L 1080L-1305L

11-CCR 1070L-1220L 1215L-1355L

What a Lexile Measure Cannot Do

Replace professional judgment of teachers

Determine whether or not a student can read a text

Measure content or quality of a text

Qualitative Analysis of Text

Qualitative Analysis

Comparing Three Titles

Sample Science Texts

730L

1020L

1000L

Reader and TaskVariables specific to particular

readers (such as motivation, knowledge, and experiences)

Variables specific to particular tasks (such as purpose and the complexity of the task assigned and the questions posed)

Keep in mind…1. A student’s ability to read complex

text does not always develop in a linear fashion.

2. Students reading well above and well below grade-band level need additional support.

3. Even many students on course for college and career readiness are likely to need scaffolding as they master higher levels of text complexity.

Students need opportunities to stretch their reading abilities but also to experience the satisfaction and pleasure of easy, fluent reading…, both of which the Standards allow for. As noted above, such factors as students’ motivation, knowledge, and experiences must also come into play in text selection.

Common Core State Standards

Key Word: “GRAPPLE”

Additional Resources Common Core State Standards

for ELA Appendix A and Appendix B

DPI Exemplar Document (contains ordering information for texts listed in CCSS and indicates which are in the public domain)

Implications for Your School?

Questions?

Sherri Merritt, Ph.D.Director of K-12 LiteracyWake County Public School System

smerritt2@wcpss.net919.431.7484