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Text Complexity and Academic Vocabulary Tully 7-12. Catie Reeve Phyllis Litzenberger March 21, 2014. Common Core Literacy Shifts. Common Core Literacy Shifts. Current Understanding.
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Text Complexity and Academic VocabularyTully 7-12 Catie Reeve Phyllis Litzenberger March 21, 2014
Current Understanding In your grade level teams, discuss your current understanding of the Staircase of Complexity and Academic Vocabulary shifts.
On your tables… Common Core Learning Standards Appendix A Supplemental Information for Appendix A Why Complex Texts Matter- David Liben Selection of Authentic Texts for Common Core Instruction: Guidance and a List of Resources for Text Selection
Know/Need to Know What questions do you have? What are you wondering about the role of text complexity and academic vocabulary within a common core aligned curriculum ?
Common Understanding Create common grade-level definitions of the Staircase of Complexity and Academic Vocabulary shifts and record them on chart paper.
Why complex texts? Appendix A • Research indicates that: • … while the reading demands of college, workforce training programs, and citizenship have held steady or risen over the past fifty years or so, K-12 texts have, if anything, become less demanding. • Too many students reading at too low of a level. (Less than 50% of high school graduates can read sufficiently complex texts.) • What students can read, in terms of complexity, is greatest predictor of success in college (2006 ACT study)
Increasing the staircase of Complexity Standard 10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. Standard 1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it…
Quantitative measures • Readability formulas that measure… • Word frequency • Word length • Sentence length • Text length • Text cohesion ANYTHING THAT CAN BE COUNTED!
Quantitative Measures Remember, however, that the quantitative measure is only the first part of the text complexity triangle. Quantitative measures should never be used in isolation! The quantitative measure may be validated, influenced, or even over-ruled by our examination of qualitative measures and the reader and task considerations.
Qualitative Measures “…those aspects of text complexity best measured or only measurable by an attentive human reader…” CCSS, Appendix A, p. 4
Use qualitative values to identify specific grade levels and teaching points.
Group work • Get into groups of 3 or 4. Make sure your group contains at least one member from each discipline (ELA, Science and Social Studies). • Discuss the qualitative features of text (Purpose, Structure, Language, Knowledge Demands). What questions do you have? Attempt to answer them within your group. • What specific qualities make a text more complex within each feature?
Evaluating text • With a partner practice using the rubrics by analyzing at least one text from the selection in the folder at your table. • Discuss your results with your table group.
Importance of Vocabulary Up to 74% of a student’s reading comprehension depends his understanding of the vocabulary.
Academic Language • Knowledge of the language of a discipline is necessary for student success in a subject. • Words work differently in different disciplines (e.g., “function,”) • Each discipline has their own set of words to represent their valued concepts and literacy processes. EngageNY.org Antonacci& O’ Callaghan (2011) 27
How to Build Academic Language • Make It Intentional • Select high-leverage, meaningful vocabulary for explicit, student-centered, instruction. • Make It Transparent • Make vocabulary instruction explicit through effective questioning, modeling, and instruction that builds understanding of the word AND the text. • Make It Useable • Provide regular opportunities for students to practice with high-leverage vocabulary in writing tasks and in discussion about text. • Make It Personal • Provide a volume, and variety of independent reading that includes both fiction and non-fiction texts. EngageNY.org (adapted from Fisher, 2008) 31
Two Aspects of Vocabulary Context • Words students can figure out from content • Words for which the definition needs to be provided Amount of Instructional Time • Words that need more time: abstract, have multiple meanings, and/or are a part of a word family • Words that need less time: concrete or describe events/processes/ideas/concepts/experiences that are familiar to students EngageNY.org
Misconception Alert! EngageNY.org
Try This: Text Analysis • Vocabulary Analysis of an text. • Read the excerpt. • Annotate for vocabulary words potentially challenging to your students. • Share your list with a partner. • In pairs, prioritize your words by placing your annotated words on the blank Academic Vocabulary Quadrant Chart. EngageNY.org
Transparent Approaches • Effective questioning of the language in the text: • Open-ended • Text-dependent • Analyzes word relationships • Explicit modeling of textual analysis. Misconception Alerts: Questioning and modeling aren’t “transmitting.” Students must do the work of learning. (Marzano & Pickering 2005; Nagy, 1989; Nagy & Scott, 2000; Paribakht & Wesche, 1997) EngageNY.org
Useable Approaches • Using high-leverage vocabulary in writing tasks • Quick write prompts, collaborative writing tasks, assessments • Use high-leverage vocabulary in discussion tasks • Discuss language use Misconception Alerts: Writing and talking about vocabulary does not mean writing and reciting definitions. Use vocabulary to think, write, and talk about the text. EngageNY.org
In Action… • Teaching Academic and Scientific Vocabulary- Common Core Literacy
Vocabulary Strategies • Frayer Model • Semantic Mapping • Semantic Feature Analysis • Linear Arrays
Writing from Sources Writing needs to emphasize the use of evidence to inform or make an argument rather than personal narrative or decontextualized prompts.
Writing from Sources While narrative still has an important role, students develop skills through written arguments that respond to the ideas, events, facts, and arguments presented in the texts they read.
ELA/Literacy Shift 5: Writing from Sources Our Students Need to… So We Need to… Spend less time on personal narrative Present opportunities to write from multiple sources Give opportunities to analyze and synthesize ideas Develop student’ ability to argue a point with evidence Give students permission to reach their own conclusions about what they read and articulate those conclusions • Generate more informational text • Organize evidence to support a claim • Compare evidence from multiple sources • Make arguments using evidence
Writing Progressions EngageNY.org
