USING

COMPLEX TEXT

Fostering Strategic and Extended ThinkingFor every student, every day!

Sara Overby, Coordinating Teacher for Secondary Literacy, soverby@wcpss.net

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

The knowledge and skills for high school graduates going directly into the workforce and those going directly to college are now about the same.America Diploma Project, 2004.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/11/

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57651996-78/women-walsh-alta-

cawp.html.csp

princegeorgescountymd.gov

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

In the past half-century, K-12 practices have lessened the accountability for students to learn to read complex text independently,

During the same time, post-secondary reading requirements for career, college, and citizenship have become more complex.

(Reading Between the Lines, 2006)

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while at the same time K-12 texts have become less difficult to read.

WHY DOES

IT MATTER

The greatest distinguisher of student performance on the ACT is not the difficulty of the question or the thinking skills required to answer the question.

The greatest differentiator of student performance is the ability of the student to read complex texts.

(Reading Between the Lines, 2006)

http://pando.com/2013/04/25/

?

WHY DOES

IT MATTER?

Students in 8TH

GRADE are more ON

TRACK

to be “COLLEGE

AND CAREER

READY”

by high school

graduation

than are students in

10TH GRADE. (Reading Between

the Lines, 2006)

are more likely to prompt critical thinking

…Reading and writing in combination

(Tierney et al., 1989, p. 134)

than when reading is separated from writing or when combined with answering questions.

Literacy Lifesaver, March 2014

INCORPORATE COMPLEX

READING MATERIALS INTO YOUR COURSE CONTENT.

What IS

Complex Text?

Number of words in sentences, sentences/100 words, letters/100 words, number of syllables, etc.

• Correlates to Grade Level• Lexile• Flesch Kincaid• Gunning Fog• SMOG• and others!

• A number• Based on a researched

algorithm

HOW CAN YOU DETERMINE TEXT COMPLEXITY?

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/05/12/do-we-want-to-be-supersize-humans 6 Authentic Texts

1. Our Hunter-Gatherer Bodies http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/05/12/do-we-want-to-be-supersize-humans/we-still-have-the-bodies-of-hunter-gatherers

2. We Won’t Become Giants http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/05/12/do-we-want-to-be-supersize-humans/we-wont-become-giants-2

3. Tradeoffs to Being Tall http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/05/12/do-we-want-to-be-supersize-humans/what-you-trade-off-for-height

4. A Tall World is a Better World http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/05/12/do-we-want-to-be-supersize-humans/a-tall-world-is-a-better-world-18

5. Favoring One Trait Over Another http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/05/12/do-we-want-to-be-supersize-humans/favoring-one-trait-over-others

6. More Calories and Allergies http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/05/12/do-we-want-to-be-supersize-humans/calories-allegies-and-bigger-bodies

HOW CAN YOU DETERMINE TEXT COMPLEXITY?

Based on features of text that can’t be measured by

a number

A range or continuum

• Correlates to Grade Level• Lexile• Flesch

Kincaid• Gunning

Fog• SMOG• and

others!Reviewer/

Teacher makes

judgments

• A number• Based on a researched

algorithm

HOW CAN YOU DETERMINE TEXT COMPLEXITY?

• Graphs/charts • Disciplinary structures • Prior knowledge

expected• “Interrupters”

QUALITATIVE MEASURES OF TEXT COMPLEXITY—

Easier

Harder

1 2 3 4 5

THE “OTHER STUFF” THAT MAKES READING HARD

QUALITATIVE MEASURES OF TEXT COMPLEXITY— THE “OTHER STUFF” THAT MAKES READING HARD

A continuum

• Correlates to Grade Level• Lexile• Flesch Kincaid• Gunning Fog• SMOG• and others!

Reviewer makes judgments

A balanced continuum between text, task,and reader readiness

• How hard is the text?• How difficult is the concept?• How complex is the learning

activity?• How ready is the student?

• A number• Based on a researched

algorithm

HOW CAN YOU DETERMINE TEXT COMPLEXITY?

Based on features of text that can’t be measured by a

number

DO THE STUDENTS IN YOUR CLASS READ AND

WRITE AT DIFFERENT

LEVELS?

http://www.americanindianreport.com/wordpress/2010/11

Versatile

Developi

ng

Limited

TEX

TS

* TA

SK

S * R

EA

DER

S

More Task Complexity Less

Less Text Complexity More

Reader

TEX

T R

EN

DER

ING

RO

UTIN

E

This is a very easy routine that all students can do with any level of text.

On subsequent uses of this routine, students may be trained in small-group discussion protocols to make meaning of the text.

Gallery walks, written products, and discussions of many types are logical next steps to student ideas.

Text Rendering

Find out more at http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/doc/text_rendering.pdf

Significant Word

Significant

Phrase

Significant

Sentence

4 A

’S R

EA

DIN

G R

OU

TIN

E

Students write a note in each box as they read the text.

Students are trained over time to provide reasoning, and then later text evidence or text support.

Student comments may be used as the basis for class debate, fishbowl discussions, or written product.

4-A’s Reading Routine

Find out more at http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/doc/4_a_text.pdf

AGREE ARGUE

Author ASSUMES ASPIRE TO

3-L

EV

EL R

EA

DIN

G G

UID

E

3-Level Reading Guide

Find out more at http://my.ilstu.edu/~jabraun/socialstudies/coalmining/studyguide.html

Text

Right There

Text and You

Beyond the Text

Teachers create statements that students Agree/Disagree with, based on the reading of the text. The statements correspond to 3 levels.

Level 1-- statements that are literally in the text and have a right/wrong answer.

Level 2 – statements that require students to put together information in order to answer.

Level 3: statements that start with the text and end in real life.

TEX

T D

EP

EN

DEN

T Q

UES

TIO

NS

Text Dependent Questions

Find out more at http://achievethecore.org/page/710/text-dependent-question-resources

Students Show

Evidence in Text

Explain Key

Ideas

Academic

Vocabulary

Connect to CC

Standard

Difficult Structur

e

Tricky Passage

s

Teachers create questions that can be answered only by finding passages in the text that support their answers. Students must answer the question in their own words, and then provide the text evidence to support their answer.

Later, students can be trained to create Text-Dependent Questions for their peers, to facilitate a fishbowl discussion, or for a make-your-own test.

MA

KE-Y

OU

R-O

WN

QU

ES

TIO

NS

R

OU

TIN

E

Make Your Own HOTS Questions

Find out more at https://tpri.wikispaces.com/file/view/05-2Bloom-16-17+Stems+for+Instruction.pdf

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4

Students must ASK a question about the text, 1 question per level of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy.

They do not answer these questions.

Later, students answer other students’ questions, either in Brief Answer Format, in a small-group protocol, or in a seminar discussion.

QU

ES

TIO

N T

HE A

UTH

OR

R

OU

TIN

E

Students treat the author as a real person making choices as s/he writes.

Students ask the author questions about the intended meaning or the choices of words or the decisions about what information to reveal or conceal.

After Questioning the Author, students respond to their peers’ questions, hypothesizing about the author’s likely answers.

Question the Author

Find out more at http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/question-author-30761.html

Decide on several

stopping points

Choose places that

invite confusio

nModel

the strategy

first

Ask questions of the

author

Why did the

author choose to…?

What do you

think the author

believes about…?

Why did the

author use…?

WILL ALL OF THIS HELP MY STUDENTS

COMPLEX TEXT AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

COMPLEX TEXT AND CRITICAL THINKING

COMPLEX TEXT AND DEEP LEARNING

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN YOUR CLASS?

Have students discuss and write about the texts they read.

• Summarizing

• Interpreting the text

• Analyzing concepts• Cause-effect • Comparison/ contrast• Classify, categorize, divide• Author’s choices of details or

structure• Definition and re-definition• Parts to the whole

• Strategic, purposeful note-taking and annotating

• Creating/answering higher-order questions requiring text evidence

• Writing collaboratively

Incorporate complex reading materials into your course content.

• Use complex text 2x/week

• Foster a text-based collaborative learning environment

• Design inquiry activities to drive student learning

It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies. They are not here to

worship what is known, but to question it.

~Jacob Bronowskihttp://www2.artsmia.org/blogs/ofrenda-2012/page/2/

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