Leveling Strategic Reading in the Content Areas January 27, 2012 Presented by Teresa Hardin, Curriculum Specialist Shanita Anderson, ELA Instructional Coach

Classroom Support: Six Reading Coaching Strategies

What is expected weekly? Non-fiction passage with 8-10 HOTS questions Weekly Skill from Power of 12 Castle Learning Documentation Vocabulary Strategies utilized Suggested: Formative Assessment i.e. quiz, exit ticket to check for objective mastery

Leveling the playing field When teaching difficult literature to adolescents, “Level the text” to help with comprehension.

Current Research - Because of our nation’s testing mania, students are suffering under “instruction that is overly thin and broad” (Pianta et al. 2007). Our edge – our creativity – is slipping away! While our competitors are making concerted efforts to expand the thinking of their students, American Educational Reform is mandating thinner and broader thinking. We are intentionally surrendering our “secret weapon,” and in doing so, we are killing readers along the way. ---Readicide, Kelly Gallagher, 2009

Playbook : Differentiated Instruction Whole group; Small group; One on one Scaffolding Leveled texts Multiple texts Student choice

Three Important Concepts Reading Ability The cognitive set students use to construct meaning from text as measured on tests Readability The difficulty of reading materials based on dimensions or characteristics of the text Reading Comprehension The construction of meaning from text Teacher and parent guidance needed; Allows educators to forecast the level of comprehension a reader is expected to experience with a particular text

Lexile Comprehension Model Classroom Application Reader Ability – Text Readability = Comprehension “Targeted” Comprehension = 75% Independent Reading 600L (reader) – 600L (text) = 0 (75% forecasted comprehension) Educators can adjust forecasted comprehension by changing the text options given to a reader Read slide: “Reader Ability” is a term you will see MetaMetrics use here and there, but we do not use the word “ability” in order to support the belief that ALL students are able to read, with few exceptions, given the appropriate instruction and time they need to develop their skills.

Leveled, Supported Independent Reading Provides all students with access to text at their independent reading levels Supports student learning through differentiated instruction Supports student learning through scaffolding of instruction Supports student motivation through content aligned topics

Pre-game Warm-up -- Prior to Lesson Assesses Readability Analyzes Teacher Text Pre-game Warm-up -- Prior to Lesson Assesses Readability Modifies text if necessary Identifies Key Vocabulary & Concepts Identifies Expository Text Structures Identifies Relation to Prior Knowledge

Teacher Text: Text Structures Science problem-solving classification experimental cause and effect definition/explanation Social Studies chronological events definition/ explanation cause and effect compare/contrast question & answer

Teacher Text: Text Structures Math key words graphic relationships evidence & reasoning symbolic relationships & operations Literature character development settings plot moral & message symbolism genre

The “sweet spot“ for Reading 100% Less Challenging 90% 80% 75 60% 50% Forecasted Comprehension Rate 40% 20% This chart graphically shows the relationship between the difference between reader and text and forecasted comprehension rate ON CHART PAPER: write equation L (reader) – L (text) = # that will help you predict comprehension. Using The “sweet spot” for Reading Chart & the Formula: L (reader) – L (text) = # If the solution is 250, the predicted comprehension is ________% If the solution is -250, the predicted comprehension is ________% Practice: workbook This would be a good chart to keep handy when searching for differentiated materials. More Challenging 0% -1000 -750 -500 -250 250 500 750 Reader - Text (in Lexiles)

Limitations of Lexile Measures What Lexile text measures don’t address Reader Characteristics Interest and Motivation Background Knowledge Reading Context and Purpose Text Characteristics Age-appropriateness of Content Text Support (pictures, pull-outs) Text Quality (Is it a good book?) It is important to point out that the Lexile scale does not offer information about age appropriateness, quality of the language, or what types of books a child might be motivated to read. A student who reads at a low level, but has background knowledge in cars and car racing, might have success reading a book above his Lexile reading ability, because he has previous experience and/or motivation to read the material. Therefore, the Lexile scale does not take the teachers, media specialists, or parents out of the formula. Lexile text measures only measure text readability. Therefore, input from readers, parents, teachers and librarians is necessary.

How can I use Lexiles to help my students? Just as shoes must fit correctly for comfortable walking, books must match student readability for effective comprehension.

In the Classroom Vary reading difficulty of material to the situation: Choose texts lower in the student’s Lexile range when factors make the reading situation more challenging, threatening or unfamiliar. Select texts at or above the student’s range to stimulate growth when a topic is of extreme interest to a student, or when you will be giving additional support such as background teaching or discussion.

Think Outside the Box I challenge you to “think outside the box” and bring back the rigor to teaching and learning!!

Literacy Matters These useful web sites are a great link to learning Literacy through the web…

Must register for the Lexile Analyzer to use it. UserName: arlene.westphal@azed.gov Password: arl3n3

Lexile Calculator

Lexiles—how does it work? Check the lexile score for almost any book. http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=5&tabid=67 Book Search http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=pa&tabindex=3&tabid=69 Vocabulary http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=pa&tabindex=2&tabid=26&tabpageid=190 Calculator: determine expected comprehension level http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=2&tabid=16&tabpageid=56 Series books http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=2&tabid=16&tabpageid=182 FAQ http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=6&tabid=18 Spanish: find books and lexile levels in Spanish http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=13&tabid=67&tabpageid=312

2012 – 2013 Grades 3-8 Math and ELA Still a paper and pencil test Based on Common Core Shorter tests (fewer questions) ELA is completely multiple choice Math grades 5-8 will have some gridded response questions Science 5th and 8th grades ONLY Online Assessment

What happens next? 2013-2014 Same assessments as in 2012-2013 EOCs in Biology, English II, and Math I MSLs in ALL other subjects 2014-2015 MSLs continue SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) common tests are scheduled to begin in 28 states including North Carolina ALL 11th graders tested on ELA and Math (cumulative high school exam)