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.
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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.
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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”
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.
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.
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