Choosing a Text Worth Reading in Science and Social Studies

1. Choosing a Text Worth Reading in Science and Social Studies College and Career Readiness ConferenceSummer 2014

2. What makes a text complex?

3. Outcomes: • Identify the importance of text complexity in disciplinary literacy. • Compare the CCSS grade level expectations for text complexity. • Identify the three toolsused to evaluate text complexity. • Use complexity tools to determine an appropriate reading selection.

4. What evidence supports the importance of text complexity?

5. Changes in text complexity

6. Trends in Reading Scale Scores .

7. Lexile Readability Scores for Key CCR Texts There is a significant gap between the text complexity of high school texts and those required by many post-secondary pursuits.

8. Why Complex Text? • Huge gap between college and high school text. • What students can read, in terms of complexity is greatest predictor of success in college. • Too many students reading at too low a level.

9. “…what appears to differentiate those who are more likely to be ready from those who are less likely is their proficiency in understanding complex texts.” ACT – Reading Between the Lines

10. Literacy ShiftsA Shared Responsibility • Building knowledge through content-rich non-fiction • Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational • Regular practice with complex text and its academic language.

11. What are the expectations for text complexity in the Maryland College and Career- Readiness Standards?

12. Standard 10 and text complexity Lexile: 955-1155

13. How does Standard 10 define the grade by grade staircase of text complexity?

14. Implications for Instruction

15. How is text complexity determined?

16. Text complexity is determined by evaluating three instructional dimensions: • Qualitative • Quantitative • Reader and Task Considerations

17. Quantitative Measure: • includes readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software (Lexile, Flesh-Kincaid). • Is determined by: • word length, frequency, and • difficulty • sentence length • text length • text cohesion.

18. Qualitative Measure: • includes the levels of meaning or purpose, text structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands.

19. Reader and Task Considerations: • Teacher judgment based on knowledge of students. • Includes background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned . • Often best made by educators employing their professional judgment.

20. The four step process for determining text complexity • Determine the quantitative measure of the text. • Analyze the qualitative measure of the text. • Reflect on the reader and task considerations. • Review all data collected and recommend placement in the appropriate text complexity band.

21. How are the text complexity tools used to analyze text?

22. Materials needed: Text Complexity Qualitative Tool Text Complexity Reader and Task Considerations Text Complexity Diagnostic Tool Text: U.S. Wind Farms Can Kill Eagles

23. Flesh Kincaid Readability Score

24. Determine the Text Complexity Grade Band

25. Step 2:Qualitative Measure Analyze the qualitative dimensions of the text.

26. Standard 6 Standard 5 Content Demands Standard 7 Standard 4

27. U.S.extends wind power permits as green energy and conservation clash • Read the text. • As you read, note the qualitative features identified in the Standards with a partner or small group. • Purpose • Text structure • Text features • Knowledge demands • Inter-textuality • Language and vocabulary

28. Analysis of Purpose

29. Analysis of Text Structure

30. Analysis of Knowledge Demands

31. Analysis of Language

32. Qualitative Analysis

33. Students are likely to find the following characteristics challenging: • presentation of two points of view, references to other policies or environmental events • use of unfamiliar or mulit-meaning phrases and words (“free ride”, “stunningly bad move”, “taking”) • complex sentences with densely packed print contains multiple references or citations to a variety of ideas and policies. • timeline of events do not follow a chronological sequence in the text.

34. Step 3: Reflect on the Reader and Task Considerations Discuss each section with a partner or a table group. Why is this tool and information provided important to text selection decision process?

35. Step 4: Deciding on the grade placement • Considering all 3 measures of text complexity, what grade levels would be most appropriate for this text? • Like any holistic scoring system, there is not a single correct answer.

36. Why use the 3 Dimensions of Text Complexity to evaluate text? • If educators have a clear understanding of how complex the text is, why it is complex, and the knowledge and capacities the readers already have for the assigned tasks, then they will make more careful choices about support strategies.

37. Outcomes: • Identified the importance of text complexity in disciplinary literacy. • Compared the CCSS grade level expectations for text complexity. • Identified the three measures used to evaluate text complexity. • Examined and applied text complexity tools to determine an appropriate reading selection for a science classroom.

38. For more information, contact: JoAnn RobertsLiteracy SpecialistMSDEjroberts@msde.state.md.us