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Today: 1. What do we mean by text complexity? 2. How can we teach students to comprehend complex text?

Moving Up the Staircase: Teaching for Text Complexity to meet the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) February 14, 2011 Mayerson Academy for Human Resource Development Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 Presenter: Amy Benjamin Please feel free to access today’s visuals at www.amybenjamin.com.

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Today: 1. What do we mean by text complexity? 2. How can we teach students to comprehend complex text?

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  1. Moving Up the Staircase: Teaching for Text Complexity to meet the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) February 14, 2011 Mayerson Academy for Human Resource Development Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 Presenter: Amy Benjamin Please feel free to access today’s visuals at www.amybenjamin.com Today: 1. What do we mean by text complexity? 2. How can we teach students to comprehend complex text?

  2. The Text Complexity Triad Qualitative: Not Measurable: Subtle qualities of text Underlying themes Symbolism Obscurity (rareness) of vocabulary Pre-20C writing style Figurative language Intentional ambiguity; intentionally misleading information Allusions: Literary, Biblical, etc. Long paragraphs Small print; lack of visuals in text Mixing of time frames Having multiple narrators Quantitative/Measurable: Sentence length Word length Background Knowledge of Reader

  3. 3 Types of Reading Problems: • Lack of cognitive abilities: comprehension, vocabulary, • word recognition, fluency II. Negative attitudes toward reading III. Lack of flexibility to read different kinds of text; read all texts with the same strategies: pacing, focus, sequence

  4. What are the behaviors and thought processes of strategic readers? Behaviors: Thought Processes:

  5. Top Step: Test prep: Developing familiarity with the kinds of text and questions Step 3: Specific practice in identifying features of text complexity: metaphor, tone, subtleties, allusion, rare vocab, figurative language, pre 20C, long sentences, long paragraphs Step 2: Vocabulary instruction: implicit (immersion) explicit (analytical) Step 1: Lots of free reading time Teaching students to comprehend complex text:

  6. Five Gears of Reading: Skim it: Scan it: Sample it: Read it: (optional) Study it: Go back, as necessary, getting a more useful and permanent understanding. This may involve working with a partner, taking notes, creating graphic organizers, and other meaning-making activities. Now that you’ve let the text wash over you, read it thoroughly: every word, every sentence, every graphic. Glance over it; (30 secs per page); get the gist; be able to state what it is about in a complete sentence Look it over with an eagle’s eye, scanning for specific information, such as information that has key words to answer questions Find a segment that is most interesting to you and read it carefully. www.amybenjamin.com

  7. Of Limited Value… Lists alone Context alone Definitions alone Dictionaries and Glossaries alone Of Durable Value… Words in clusters Multiple exposures in various contexts Chances to speak, hear, write the words Manipulation of forms of words Classify and categorize word lists Word games

  8. Rule of Thumb New learners need SIX (meaningful) exposures to a new word during the initial lesson and at least THIRTY additional exposures during the ensuing month.

  9. Tier 3: glossary word: Multisyllabic Specific to a subject area Latin or Greek-based topography, photosynthesis, isoceles triangle, sedimentary, oxygenated, cartographer Tier 2: Words of education, business, government, religion: Components: Prefix, root, suffix Latin-based elevation, formation, protrude, expansive, isolated, remote Tier 1: Basic conversational words: Friends & family 1 or 2 syllables Learned naturally, through exposure hills, grass, rocks, land, sky, clouds, fly, climb, green, high…

  10. vexed sagacity waning veracity Academic Vocabulary: inversion causal fluctuate offset Literary Vocabulary:

  11. Academic Vocabulary • Today’s Agenda: • How do words get learned and • stay learned? • What do we mean by “academic • vocabulary”? • 3. Implicit and explicit vocabulary • instruction • 4. Classroom practices that grow • vocabulary Presenter: Amy Benjamin You may access any of today’s visuals at: www.amybenjamin.com

  12. Implicit: Natural language acquisition through immersion • Aggressive • Purposeful • Pervasive • Persistent Explicit: Planned instruction on targeted words: Etymology (word histories) Morphology (word parts Estimation: 3% to 20% of instructional time spent on vocabulary

  13. absorption superhydrophilicity superhydrophobicity

  14. “Lotus Effect” Learning: Study Guide: Chapter 2 of The Pearl Vocabulary Words: Algae—seaweed Bulwark—a wall built for defense Estuary– wide mouth of a river where it empties into the sea Incandescence—brightness given off by a hot object Mangrove—a tropical tree Poultice—herbal medicines applied to a wound or sore Undulating—waving, swinging

  15. “Rose Effect” Learning: Study Guide: Chapter 2 of The Pearl Mangrove: a tropical tree that grows in clusters very close to a body of water What do we notice about mangrove trees? (other than “mangrove”) What might I google to get a picture of a mangrove tree? Did you ever see mangrove trees? where?

  16. “Rose Effect” Learning: Study Guide: Chapter 2 of The Pearl Poultice: a mix of herbs or other plants, crushed and placed inside cloth, to be applied to a wound as a home remedy Poultices can be made of herbs, garlic, carrots, potatoes, ginger, lemon, etc.

  17. incandescence: glow example non- example “ Watering Can Effect” Learning: Study Guide: Chapter 2 of The Pearl adj: incandescent eyes Synonyms and Near Synonyms: illumination radiance gleam glistening glittering glint brilliance Related words: candle candidate kindle Sentence:Under an incandescent sliver of the moon, the trees appeared life-like..

  18. apprentice: (n) one bound by legal agreement to work for another for a specified time in return for his training in a trade, an art, or a business scheme: (n, v) a systematic plan of action Definition contains unfamiliar language Definition can be too simplistic and therefore misleading Limited information Usually, no context Not all of the information about a word is captured in a definition

  19. “Charlotte, are you thirsty? Would you like some juice? What kind of juice do you want? Do you want apple juice? That’s the yellow juice that you liked at Nana’s. No? Do you want the purple juice? The grape juice? OK. Do you want your juice in the sippy cup or the Big Girl juice box? OK, now hold it carefully. Two hands. Don’t squeeze it! It’ll spill all over the place. Very carefully.Sip it through the straw.

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