November 18 th, 2014 ELA Review and Adoption Committee

Norms  Be fully present  Appreciate the importance of our work  Be honest & respectful  Honor differences  Lean into discomfort

GOALS  A Guaranteed Viable ELA Curriculum for NKSD students in NK! understand the standards determine the most important learnings at each grade level determine materials needs pilot materials select materials provide support with new materials

Roadmap 11/18/14: Introduction, learning shifts, text complexity 1/20/14: Essential outcomes from the standards 3/17/14: Materials selection rubrics 5/19/14: Discussion on fidelity and supports 6/22/15: Review/select pilot materials 6/23/15: Design support for pilot 11/17/15: Analyze pilot feedback 2/16/15: Final materials recommendations : Subcommittee work – supporting the implementation: assessments, pacing, coaching, intervention, enrichment etc…

Sharing  Be a resource at your school.  Share learning with colleagues in ways that are comfortable for you.  There may be formal feedback gathering

Text Complexity: English Language Arts Common Core State Standards Text Complexity Matters Referenced from Erik Iwersen, June, 2012

Questions to Explore Today  What is a grade level text complexity band?  What are the three measures for text complexity, and how do we use these measures to evaluate a text for its complexity?  How do we ensure the texts that we use are appropriately complex, and align to the correct grade level band? 7

(MetaMetrics,2001)

Use the Standards as a Roadmap Specifically, within reading standard #10: College and Career Readiness Anchor Standard: R.CCR.10Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. Example Grade-level Common Core Standard(6 th grade): RI By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. 9 (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010)

Video Overview of Text Complexity

Grade Bands K-1

Activity #1 My Grandmother’s Hair As a small group, read “My Grandmother’s Hair” and answer the three questions provided at the bottom of the page…

Discussion  On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the overall complexity of this text?  What features of this text support your rating of its complexity?  At what grade level might this text be appropriate for instruction? Why?

Text complexity is defined by three measures in the CCSS: Qualitative Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader. Quantitative Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software. Reader and Task Reader and Task considerations – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned often best made by educators employing their professional judgment. (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) 15

Step 1: Quantitative Measures (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) 16 Measures such as: Word length Word frequency Word difficulty Sentence length Text length Text cohesion

Text Complexity Grade Bands Suggested Lexile Range Suggested ATOS Book Level Range** K-1100L – 500L*1.0 – L – 790L2.0 – L – 980L3.0 – L – 1155L4.0 – L – 1305L4.6 – CCR1215L – 1355L4.8 – 12.0 Quantitative Measures Ranges for Text Complexity Grade Bands Kansas Common Core Standards * The K-1 suggested Lexile range was not identified by the Common Core State Standards and was added by Kansas. ** Taken from Accelerated Reader and the Common Core State Standards, available at the following URL:

 Finding a Lexile Measure for Text: / / Step 1: Quantitative Measures 18

19 Finding a ATOS Book Level for Text: Step 1: Quantitative Measures

Quantitative Measures: Limitations Sometimes, quantitative measures for text complexity can be limiting, or measure a text inappropriately. Why might this be the case? For example: John Steinbeck’s, The Grapes of Wrath This novel is given a Lexile rating of grades 2-3. Sometimes, quantitative measures for text complexity can be limiting, or measure a text inappropriately. Why might this be the case? For example: John Steinbeck’s, The Grapes of Wrath This novel is given a Lexile rating of grades 2-3.

Step 2: Qualitative Measures Measures such as: Structure Language Demands and Conventions Knowledge Demands Levels of Meaning/Purpose (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) 21

Qualitative Measures: Other Factors Word difficulty and language structure Dialect Text structure Discourse style (e.g., satire, humor) Genre and characteristic features of the text Background knowledge and/or degree of familiarity with the content (including historical, geographical or literary references) Level of reasoning required (e.g. difficulty of themes or ideas in the text, abstract concepts in the text) Format and layout of the text Length of the text (Hess and Biggam, 2004) 14

The Qualitative Measures Rubrics for Literary and Informational Text The rubric for literary text and the rubric for informational text allow educators to evaluate the important elements of text that are often missed by computer software. Literary Texts Informational Texts 15 (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010

Step 3: Reader and Task Considerations such as: Motivation Knowledge and experience Purpose for reading Complexity of task assigned regarding text Complexity of questions asked regarding text (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) 24

Reader, Task, and Motivation (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010)

Determining Text Complexity A Four-step Process: (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) ("Ar bookfinder," 2012) ("The lexile framework," 2012) 26 Quantitative Qualitative Reader and Task 4. Recommend placement in the appropriate text complexity band. 3.Reflect upon the reader and task considerations. 2.Analyze the qualitative measures of the text. 1.Determine the quantitative measures of the text.

Step 2: Qualitative Measures 27 Steps 1, 2 & 3 of the process compiled on one document. See Appendix A for more examples. (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) 6-8 Text Complexity Band