Coaching Teachers to Understand “Text Complexity”

1. Coaching Teachers to Understand “Text Complexity” Amy Walker, Ph.D. IU4 PIIC Mentor amy.walker@miu4.org

2. Essential Question What is text complexity and why is it important for coaches to understand? How are we helping teachers integrating quantitative with qualitative and individual reader variables to make informed decisions as they select text for instruction? How are we helping teachers support all students as they grapple with complex text.

3. Please Do Now Choose one of the illustrations on your table. Decide how that picture might relate to the concept of Text Complexity. Share your ideas with someone else at your table.

4. Reading Anchor Standard 10 “Students will read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.”

5. An Educator’s Lament 2013 Sometimes my life is so full of shift!

6. College and Career Readiness Through the Lens of Lexiles

8. Misconceptions Text complexity = difficulty

9. Three part model for determining Text complexity e Qualitative Quantitative Reader & Task

10. Quantitative Measures • word length • Word frequency • Word difficulty • Sentence length • Text length • Text cohesion

11. So What is a lexile? Based on word frequency and sentence length. Word frequency is calculated based on words in a lexile data bank (almost one billion)

12. Wind in the Willows activity--A

13. Wind in the Willows—B

14. Wind in the Willows

15. Bugs! When I saw the bug, I screamed for help! When I saw the bug, I remembered my first car. When I saw the bug, I wondered who was spying on me.

16. Qualitative Measures Layers of meaning Levels of purpose Structure Organization Language conventionality Language clarity Prior knowledge demands Cultural demands vocabulary

17. Staircase of Complexity

18. How it really works

19. Reader and Task Considerations Reader variables (such as motivation, knowledge and experiences) and task variables (such as purpose and the complexity generated by the task assigned and the questions posed.)

20. 3 Factors to consider with respect to reader and task • What aspects of the text will likely pose the most challenge for my students? (reader) • Content or theme concerns or challenges? • Text structure challenges? • Language feature challenges? • Knowledge and experience demands? • Motivation for and interest in the text?

21. 2. What PA Core standards should I focus on when teaching this text?(task) What are the natural areas of focus for this text? With what standards do my students need the most practice?

22. 3. What Supports do I need to provide so that all of my students( even struggling readers) can access the text?

23. Experiment with Complex text Read the text. As you read, pay attention to the strategies you are using to make sense of the text. Also, note your emotional responses as you grapple with this piece.

24. 5 techniques for scaffolding(Hogan and Pressley, 1997) Modeling Offering explanations Inviting student participation Verifying and clarifying student understandings Inviting students to contribute clues

25. A Model of Scaffolding Debrief: What techniques did we use to scaffold your work with the text? How did those techniques affect your learning?

26. Please fill in the following information 3 things you will share with teachers about scaffolding complex text 2 things you would like more information about regarding complex text One suggestion for improving this presentation.