Close ReadingRichmond CountyOctober 16, 2015

Opening Reflection

Think back to one of your positive classes this week.

Imagine you were a student in that class.

Write two things you (the student) learned in that class period.

Explain how you (the student) demonstrated your understanding or new skill.

Today’s I Can Statements

I can understand how Lexile levels will help grow student readers.

I can understand and plan for obstacles that make reading difficult for students.

I can understand several types of close reading strategies.

Lexile Stretch Bands

5

Typical Text Measures: Grades (6-8)

Grade Text Demand Study 200925th percentile to 75th percentile (IQR)

2012 GSE/CCSS Text Measures

6 860L to 920L 925L to 1070L

7 880L to 960L 970L to 1120L

8 900L to 1010L 1010L to 1185L

Cognitive Reading Strategy: Making Inferences

* Source of National Test Data: MetaMetrics

600

800

1000

1400

1600

1200

Tex

t L

exile

Me

asu

re (

L)

HighSchool

Literature

CollegeLiterature

HighSchool

Textbooks

CollegeTextbooks

Military PersonalUse

Entry-LevelOccupations

SAT 1,ACT,AP*

Interquartile Ranges Shown (25% - 75%)

Text Characteristics that Influence Complexity

Diction

Repetition

Familiarity

Number of syllables

Multiple meanings

Literalness

Text Characteristics that Influence Complexity

Syntax

Number of words per sentence

Complexity of the sentence (e.g., subject at the end of the sentence)o (Longer sentences are more complex and require

more short-term memory.)

Number of sentences per paragraph

Text Characteristics that Influence Complexity

Figurative Language

In the sentence below, find the figures of speech.

I asked the grease monkey in the garage how to fix my old clunker. With a straight face he recommended putting a stake in its heart to put it out of its misery. I wasn't amused by his off the cuff humor, and I set him straight. I love my truck better than life itself, and it would be snowing in July before I put it out to pasture.

It isn’t about the name of the device, it’s about understanding how the device impacts the text and anticipating where a student might have difficulty understanding the text.

Text Characteristics that Influence Complexity

Figurative Language

In the sentence below, find the figures of speech.

I asked the grease monkey in the garage how to fix my old clunker. With a straight face he recommended putting a stake in its heart to put it out of its misery. I wasn't amused by his off the cuff humor, and I set him straight. I love my truck better than life itself, and it would be snowing in July before I put it out to pasture.

It isn’t about the name of the device, it’s about understanding how the device impacts the text and anticipating where a student might have difficulty understanding the text.

11

Other Characteristics that Influence Reading Difficulty

“Cultural” Issues

English as a second language

Lack of reading in the home

Less interaction in the home

Cognitive capabilities of the student

Reading skills of the student

Motivation and engagement with task to text

Prior knowledge and background

Managing Comprehension

Readers can experience frustration when..

Text readability is 100L+ above their Lexile level

Readers can experience ease when…

Text readability is 50-100 below their Lexile level

Readers can experience growth when…

Text readability is within their Lexile range.

Thoughts for the Classroom

When addressing a complicated standard, use articles with various Lexiles for group work.

Newsela.comReadWorks.org

Group according to reading levels. Have a series of three articles with one article below the average Lexile level of the group, one on approximate level, and one 50L above.

Cognitive Reading Strategies Making Connections

Visualizing

Questioning

Inferring

Predicting

Synthesizing and Summarizing

Monitoring

40 Ways to Support Struggling Readers in the Content Classrooms, Grades 6-12. Elaine K. McEwan, 2007.

Cognitive Reading Strategy: Questioning

Historical Text: “Bones of ‘Four of the First Leaders of America’ Found at Jamestown Site”

Cognitive Reading Strategy: Predicting

Technology and Engineering: “The Influence of the Arch”

Structures of Expository Texts

Description or List (includes a listing of details and attributes)

Sequence (includes chronological, historical, and even how-to texts)

Compare and Contrast (requires juggling information about several things concurrently)

Cause and Effect (presents specific events and their impact)

Problem and Solution (sometimes presents a series of problems)

Structures of Expository Texts

Key: If students learn to predict how the text will work, they will better understand and assimilate the information.

In the beginning, teachers can help students determine the type of text before they read, then, gradually let them determine text types on their own (gradual release).

Teaching students the “signal words” will help them understand the structure. However, the information in the text is more important than the signal words.

Organizational AidsThese features are within the printed text:

Headings

Boldface

Bulleted lists

Titles

Captions

Labels

Sidebars

These aids particularly help the struggling reader; however, children must be taught that these features are important.

Cognitive Reading Strategy: Making Connections

Examining Organizational Aids

Directions for Painting

Draw a circle around everything on this page.

Underline the title. Read it.

Number the paragraphs / blocks of written information and read them.

Study the painting.

Think about the question being asked about the painting.

Enter into the discussion.

Write your response to the question.

Visuals Matter!

Research shows that people remember pictures better than they remember text. This phenomenon is called picture superiority effect (97). When people attend to the picture, they remember the text better .

Teaching Students to Read Like Detectives: Comprehending, Analyzing, and Discussing Text. Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Diane

Lapp, 2012.

Graphic Aids

Diagrams

Graphs

Charts

Figures

Maps

Tables

Timelines

Possibly the most significant category of text features.

The information found in these features is valuable and often not mentioned in the text itself.

Again, students must be taught that these features are important.

Clo

se R

ead

a C

art

oon

Write one

DOK 1DOK 2DOK 3

question using this cartoon.

Possible prompts for the cartoon

Who are the three women in the picture? DOK 1

What time of year might this be? What are clues? DOK 1

Why might the women be surprised? DOK 2

How might these objects in the women’s hands suggest a theme? What might the theme be? DOK 2+

Who or what is missing from the picture? What evidence might you give that someone/thing is missing? DOK 2

An allusion is one piece of literature (or other genres of writing) making a reference to another piece of literature (of genre of writing). What might the allusion in the cartoon be? Explain. DOK 3

What comment might this cartoon be making on our society today? DOK 3

Close Reading Strategies:Gradual Release

Reading Photographs

Gradual Release / Collaboration: “Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, 1911”

Reading History through Photographs: “Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Photos”