Text Complexity and Close Reading District Learning Day Location goes here Session time goes here Date goes here

Do Now Underline the major points. Use a question mark ( ? ) for keywords or phrases that are confusing or unknown to you or questions that you have during the reading. Be sure to write your question(s). Use an exclamation mark ( ! ) for things that surprise you, and briefly note what it was that caught your attention. Draw an arrow when you make a connection to something inside the text, or to an idea or experience outside the text. Briefly note your connections. Circle specific words that are repeated several times. Annotate True Blue American

Norms Be present and engaged. Be respectful of differences in perspective while challenging each other productively and respectively. Monitor “air time.” Make the most of the time we have. Stay focused on students.

Objectives Participants will Know How to analyze text for complexity How to use the close reading strategy to build reading language comprehension and fluency skills Understand The knowledge, skills, and habits students need to be successful with grade level literacy tasks Do Measure text for complexity Conduct a close reading in their classroom

Common Core Text Difficulty Range for Grades 6 – 8 Lexile Scores SY *Only students tested in both September and May included here. Other students dropped from dataset.

A close reading exercise Delmore Schwartz, “The True-Blue American”

Text complexity exercise: introduction

Text complexity exercise: the sequence A recommended sequence for evaluating a text’s complexity (from the supplement to Appendix A): 1.Use quantitative measures (multiple, if possible) to place a text in a grade band using the text complexity grand bands table. 2.Use an analysis of qualitative measures (such as the rubric provided in the module) to place a text in a specific grade. 3.Be aware of exceptions to using quantitative measures to place texts in a band, especially with narrative fiction and mature themes. Educator judgment should always play a role in text placement.

Text complexity exercise: qualitative measures 1.Read aloud the selection from “Life at the Top” 2.Read over again silently, annotating for features that you feel might make this text complex for students (with a particular focus on tier II vocabulary) 3.Use the Informational Text Qualitative Measures Rubric to rate the text in all four categories (rows)

Text complexity exercise: quantitative measures and placement 4.Fill out the Text Placement Template and use it to place the article in an appropriate grade for Common Core instruction. The Lexile level of the article is 1310L. The ATOS level is 9.7 Be sure to refer to the text complexity grand bands table

Text complexity exercise: reader and task considerations 5.Use the Reader and Task Considerations guide to discuss how the following two scenarios might affect your grade placement or instructional strategies for teaching this text a) The article is taught to a group of students which includes struggling readers, students with disabilities in reading, and English Language Learners. You read the article with the students in class (including re-reading and questioning) and then have them write an argument essay about whether it is ethical for companies to hire humans to wash skyscraper windows, using details from the text for support.

Text complexity exercise: reader and task considerations 5. Use the Reader and Task Considerations guide to discuss how the following scenario might affect your grade placement or instructional strategies for teaching this text b) The article is taught to a construction design/engineering course. You ask the students to read the article independently for homework. In class, they must draw diagrams representing the Hearst and Empire State buildings and scaffolds/washing machines discussed in the article and create a formula for each tower to measure the speed of washing windows given X floors. You then break students into groups and give each group the blueprint for a new skyscraper; the groups must create the schematics for a window washing machine that is structurally sound for the given building and can wash windows in the fastest possible time (as measured by the formula).

Text complexity exercise: discussion 6.Discuss the following questions: Does the final placement of the text surprise you? Based on your knowledge of students at that grade level, how do you think they will find the reading experience? What tier II (academic) vocabulary words would you work on most extensively with your students? Why those words? What types of text-dependent questions or writing tasks might be paired with this text?

Text complexity exercise: final reflection Share promising practices/challenges/questions re: text complexity and academic vocabulary: Promising practices: 1.What have you already seen in your classrooms that aligns well with shift #3? 2.After reading the resources in module #4 and trying out a text complexity exercise, what can you take back to your teachers that constitutes an “easy win”? Challenges 1.What will your teachers find the most challenging about text complexity? 2.What will students in your district find the most challenging? 3.What are the obstacles/roadblocks that must be removed in order for classrooms in your district to achieve shift #3?

Title of section 1 goes here, for example, “Lesson Modeling” First section of presentation header goes here in the form of a question, for example, “What do we know about co-teaching in the inclusion setting?”

Airtight Activity: MODELING Have the facilitator MODEL the skill. Align the activity to the objective Check for participants’ understanding Give explicit instructions to your activity Have participants give feedback

Reflection: MODELING What resonated with you? What is similar to your current practice? What is different than your current practice? What are you going to change as a result?

Title of section 2 goes here, for example, “Application to your Classroom” First section of presentation header goes here in the form of a question, for example, “How do we measure successful co-teaching in the inclusion setting?”

Airtight Activity: Application (ie – apply to upcoming lesson) Align the activity to the objective Check for participants’ understanding Give explicit instructions to your activity Have participants give feedback

Reflection: Application What was easiest for you? What was most difficult? What else do you need to learn/do prior to applying to your classroom?

Closing

Revisit Objectives Place session objectives here in KUDOS format What will participants: Know Understand And Be Able to Do as a result of this presentation?

Next steps and activities for follow up Describe the next steps and activities for follow up

Reflection: One minute paper on post-it Jot down your “Take-Aways” Consider what you need to know and be able to do to successfully implement what you have learned in this session. – What is still unclear? – What professional development or additional resources do you need?

District Contacts Place district contacts and website information here