BRINGING THE COMMON CORE TO LIFE GETTING THE HELP YOU NEED FROM YOUR LIBRARIAN Lucrece Medlicott Media Coordinator Wrightsville Beach Elementary Fall 2011

HEY, I DIDN’T MAKE THE RULES SO DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER! Common Core Paradigm Shifts in ELA Literacy begins in the earliest grades, but needs more non-fiction focus Literacy is a K – 12 Road (not just elementary) Text Complexity matters Text-Dependent Questions (Questions that require students to pay attention to the text itself) The ability to write an argument based on evidence and complex information Focus on Vocabulary

BUILDING COMMON KNOWLEDGE … in kindergarten through 5 th grade, the general knowledge that you develop in those years plays a crucial predictive role in not only your performance in those other disciplines, like science and history, but your ability to read more complex text itself. That is, the elementary school’s a magnificent place for students to learn about the world through reading. Whoever thought otherwise. (Coleman, D., 2011)

WHY COMPLEXITY MATTERS

Reading scores have remained relatively flat.

According to ACT’s Reading Between the Lines, “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.” How do you know if a student is college - or career – ready?

Many students are underprepared for college and career literacy demands. There is a significant gap between the text complexity of high school texts and those required by many post-secondary pursuits. A continuum of text readability for the transition from high school to postsecondary experiences. The box and whiskers are constructed to display the 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentiles of the distributions of readability measures.

IMPLICATIONS FOR INSTRUCTION

We must systematically expose students to increasingly complex texts. The Common Core State Standards require students to meet more rigorous expectations regarding text complexity. For more information regarding Lexile Ranges, go to Lexile.comLexile.com

Text complexity is determined by more than a readability measure. Qualitative evaluation of the text Levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands Quantitative evaluation of the text Readability measures and other scores of text complexity Matching reader to text and task Reader variables (such as motivation, knowledge, and experiences) and task variables (such as purpose and the complexity generated by the task assigned and the questions posed)

1.Does our school’s curriculum provide multiple opportunities for students to read texts that meet the expectations of the Common Core Standards? 2.Do students reading below grade-level receive adequate support to grapple with challenging texts? 3.Is the library prepared to serve your students and meet your needs? Key Considerations

THE LEXILE FRAMEWORK

WHAT ARE LEXILES? Scientific approach to reading and text measurement Matches reader ability and text difficulty, allowing individualized monitoring of progress Research shows improves reading skills

HOW DO LEXILES WORK? Two parts to Lexiles: Lexile measure (the TEXT):  Reading ability or text difficulty score followed by an “L” (e.g. “450L”)  Measures how difficult a text is to comprehend o semantic difficulty (word frequency) o syntactic complexity (sentence length) Lexile scale (the READER):  Developmental scale for reading Range from below 200L (beginning-reader material) to above 1700L (advanced text).

HOW DOES LEXILE COMPARE TO GRADE LEVEL? Lexile scores in a range of numbers More accurate than grade level Compare to “shoe size”

WHAT LEXILE DOES NOT MEASURE: Content  complexity of plot  complexity of character(s) Quality  “good” books  books to “hook” reluctant readers Developmental suitability  Age-appropriateness  Prior knowledge required for comprehension

HOW DO WE MEASURE STUDENTS? Currently WBS students are only made aware of their Lexile score at the end of the school year when they take the NC EOG Test of Reading Comprehension. To insure growth throughout the school year more frequent assessments are needed.

What assessment tools are available? Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) a“research-based, computer-adaptive reading assessment … that measures students’ level of reading comprehension and reports it using the Lexile Framework® for Reading”. This program is currently being used at other NHCS.Scholastic Reading Inventory DIBELS ORF scores can be converted into corresponding Lexile® measures for grades To get started, download one of the conversion tables below:DIBELS Grade 1Grade 1 (PDF, 123KB) Grade 2Grade 2 (PDF, 124KB) Grade 3Grade 3 (PDF, 124KB

This six-minute animated video on the basic concepts and uses of the lexile framework for reading is the perfect resource for educators and parents who are new to lexile measures. Lexile Framework for Reading Overview

TOOLS YOU CAN USE NOW

Exemplar Texts and Sample Performance Tasks of the Common Core State Standards exemplify the level of complexity and quality that the Standards require all students in a given grade band to engage with suggestive of the breadth of texts that students should encounter serve as useful guideposts to help educators select texts of similar complexity, quality, and range do not represent a partial or complete reading list

WBS Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) Go to the WBS OPAC to find a book within a specific lexile range. OPAC Click on Reading Program Search button. Enter your Lexile number. (The search results will find books within a range of 100 points below and 50 points above your Lexile score.) Typing in a keyword or phrase narrows your search and may help you more easily find the right book for you. Be sure to spell correctly or your search will not work. Click on Search button to see how many books within your lexile range match your request. Underneath the book title and next to the author's name you will see the Lexile score of the book. Now you can choose the books that are available that you would like to check out..

contains full text for more than 60 popular, elementary school magazines all full text articles are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles) exciting and easy way for kids to experience online searching uses an animated interface with a dinosaur theme that encourages students to enhance and develop basic search methodologies Includes more than 50 full text student reference books including Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia and American Heritage® Children’s Dictionary, Full text for over 100 student pamphlets, Encyclopedia of Animal, Image Collection: 107,135 photos, maps and flags, The American Heritage, Children’s Dictionary by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries Primary Searching for Young Researchers

Find the Right Book for You! enter your Lexile measure select your interests find books you'd like to read! “Find-a-Book” feature at

Designed to help parents match their child's Lexile range with books by interest find or enter reading level select interest find books your child would like to read choose your favorite reading format (traditional or digital) Lexile Reading Level Wizard at

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

WHAT DOES GETTING READY INVOLVE? OPAC will be converted to reflect Lexile levels instead of AR MTAC will evaluate and choose a Lexile assessment tool to insure student growth throughout the year Students will be taught to find books in their lexile range Collaboration with the Media Coordinator will ensure success in your classrooms

CONCLUSIONS Don’t rely totally on lexile stickers (numbered or color-coded) placed on the books Teach students how to use OPAC or Find-a Book programs to search for books in lexile range. Respect confidentiality And remember that…

Lexile is a good measuring tool, but it is just one factor in great book selection! Mystery Interest “Boy” Books Awards Biography Quality Literature Picture Books Fantasy

REFERENCES & SUGGESTED READING: