DETERMINING TEXT COMPLEXITY (6-12)
Mar 31, 2015
DETERMINING TEXT COMPLEXITY (6-12)
Small Group Discussion
How do you select grade level appropriate, sufficiently complex text that engages the reader?
• For instruction?
• For assessment?
ELA/Literacy Shifts at the Heart of PARCC Design:
Complexity
Evidence Knowledge
CCSS AND PASSAGES
• Complex, Rich Texts
• Passage Selection Guidelines
• Appendix B
Reading Standards include exemplar texts (stories and literature, poetry, and informational texts) that illustrate appropriate level of complexity by grade. Text complexity is defined by:
Qualita
tiv
e
1.Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands
Quan
titati
ve2.Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity
Reader and Task
3.Reader and Task – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned
Overview of Text Complexity
LITERARY CRITERIA
• Meaning• Text Structure• Language Features• Knowledge Demands
Optional:• Use of Graphics• Audio Stimulus• Visual/Video Stimulus
INFORMATIONAL CRITERIA
• Purpose• Text Structure• Language Features• Knowledge Demands
Optional:• Use of Graphics• Audio Stimulus• Visual/Video Stimulus
Text Complexity Worksheets
Let’s Explore…
Take a look at the Literary Complexity Analysis Worksheet (blue) and the Informational Complexity Analysis Worksheet (yellow).
• Note the differences between the two worksheets.
• Note the differences among the readily accessible, moderately complex, and very complex columns.
How to Use the Complexity Analysis Worksheets:• Record your quantitative measures:
• Lexile—www.lexile.com • 6-8 (925-1185)• 9-10 (1050-1335)• 11-12 (1185-1385)
• Source Rater--http://naeptba.ets.org/SourceRater3/ • 6-8 (5.85-10.87)• 9-10 (8.41-12.26)• 11-12 (9.62-13.47)
**Some passages/texts cannot be effectively quantified!!**
How to Use the Complexity Analysis Worksheets:
• Determine an initial grade placement based on the quantitative numbers (if applicable).
• Use the qualitative analysis rubric to determine text complexity.
• Record text complexity and evidence for rating
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Excerpt:
• Quantitative measures:• Lexile: 950• Source Rater: 13.6
• Qualitative measures:• Meaning: Moderately/Very Complex• Text Structure: Moderately Complex• Language Features: Moderately Complex• Knowledge Demand: Moderately/Very Complex
• Overall Rating: Moderately Complex• Multiple levels of meaning with subtle theme; two
or more story lines; some academic and archaic language and use of figurative language; text makes references/allusions that are only partially explained
Let’s Practice
Please read “Oh Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman (handout).
• The initial placement of this poem is at grade 9.
• Use the Literary Complexity Analysis Worksheet to determine the complexity level of the poem. (Poems can’t be quantified using current systems such as Lexile and Source Rater.)
• Be prepared to share your text complexity determination (use evidence from the rubric).
The results?
• Complexity Level:
• Reasons:
Other Considerations when choosing appropriate text:
• Does the passage/excerpt/book lend itself to the grade level Common Core Standards?
• Is the passage/excerpt/book engaging?
• Will the students gain knowledge through their interaction with the passage/excerpt/book?
Questions?
More Practice
• Science: “How Underground Rodent Wards Off Cancer: Second Mole Rat Species Has Different Mechanism for Resisting Cancer” (Lexile: 1430; Source Rater:11.1)