1. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Finding the Complexity Within a Work: Using Lexile by Chapter Guides to Inform Instruction Matt Copeland, Instructional Innovation and Support mcopeland@lexile.com

2. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Before we begin… 2

3. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. What Teachers Are Hearing… More Close Reading of Complex Text Incorporate more complex texts, particularly non- fiction Build student independent reading skill along a “staircase of complexity” Use short texts to practice close reading Practice close reading at least once every three weeks 3

4. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. What Teachers Are Asking… So, where does this leave the full-length, less-complex texts—often novels—which can take more than three weeks to teach? 4

5. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. An Example 5 Should I keep teaching this work or not?

6. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Quantitative Measure of Charlotte’s Web 6 Lexile Measure

7. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Discussion… Thinking about the text of the novel (or even the scenes of the film version)… During what portions of the story’s plot would you imagine the most complex text to occur? 7

8. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Because I Am a Nerd!… I decided to take Charlotte’s Web’s 22 chapters and run each one—individually— through the Lexile Analyzer and graphed the results. 8

9. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Lexile Measure Chapter The red line represents the Lexile measure of the novel as a whole: 680L. The green shaded region represents the suggested grades 4-5 text complexity band (740L-1010L). Charlotte’s Web – Lexile Measures by Chapter

10. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Lexile Measure Chapter The red line represents the Lexile measure of the novel as a whole: 680L. The green shaded region represents the suggested grades 4-5 text complexity band (740L-1010L). Charlotte’s Web – Lexile Measures by Chapter

11. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Lexile Measure Chapter The red line represents the Lexile measure of the novel as a whole: 680L. The green shaded region represents the suggested grades 4-5 text complexity band (740L-1010L). Charlotte’s Web – Lexile Measures by Chapter Ch 2: Wilbur Ch 6: Summer Days Ch 10: An ExplosionCh 11: The Miracle Ch 20: The Hour of Triumph Ch 3: Escape Ch 4: Loneliness

12. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Questions for Discussion… What insight can you glean from this graph? – Substantial range exists among Lexile measures for each of the novel’s chapters – Of the novel’s 22 chapters, 12 chapters fall above the entire work’s Lexile measure of 680L; 10 chapters fall below 680L – Seven chapters fall within the Grades 4-5 text complexity band – Five additional chapters come within 100L of the Grades 4-5 text complexity band 12

13. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. How does viewing this graph alter your impression/understanding of the quantitative complexity of Charlotte’s Web? How might you use the information from this graph in conversations with teachers? If a student were selecting Charlotte’s Web for independent or leisure reading, how might this graph help you to provide more guidance to that student? 13 Additional Questions for Librarians…

14. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Additional Questions for Teacher Discussion… What opportunities do you see for teaching complex text and close reading based upon this graph? How might such information impact your teaching (or planning for teaching) Charlotte’s Web? Would this information alter any student groupings used during instruction (i.e., whole class, small groups, individual)? 14

15. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Charlotte’s Web – Lexile Measures by Chapter

16. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Given this Data… And its potential impact on instruction, I started to wonder… If there is so much variation in Lexile measure among the chapters of a novel, how much variation must there be within a single chapter? 16

17. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. So, Because I Am a Complete Nerd!… I took Chapter 15 of Charlotte’s Web and ran each paragraph— individually—through the Lexile Analyzer and graphed the results. 17

18. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Charlotte’s Web – Ch. 15 – Lexile Measures by Paragraph 18 The red line represents the Lexile measure of the novel as a whole: 680L. The purple line represents the Lexile measure of Chapter 15 as a whole: 720L. The green shaded region represents the suggested grades 4-5 text complexity band (740L-1010L). Paragraph #13 (-170L): “Why?” asked Wilbur. Lexile Measure Paragraph # (Word Count) P02 (42): 1180L P05 (70): 1200L P09 (22): 1180L P16 (18): 980L P24 (11): 900L

19. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Questions for Discussion… What insight can you glean from this graph? – An even greater range of Lexile measures exists within this chapter than does among individual whole chapters – Obviously, some short paragraphs of dialogue [e.g., Paragraph #13 (-170L): “Why?” asked Wilbur.] are impacting the overall chapter and novel measures – Paragraphs #2-#9 appear to suggest a rich opportunity for close reading of complex text that fall within the Grades 4-5 text complexity band, even though the chapter and novel as a whole do not 19

20. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Paragraphs 6-9 of Chapter 15 of Charlotte’s Web Wilbur was now the center of attraction on the farm. Good food and regular hours were showing results: Wilbur was a pig any man would be proud of. One day more than a hundred people came to stand at his yard and admire him. Charlotte had written the word RADIANT, and Wilbur really looked radiant as he stood in the golden sunlight. Ever since the spider had befriended him, he had done his best to live up to his reputation. When Charlotte's web said SOME PIG, Wilbur had tried hard to look like some pig. When Charlotte's web said TERRIFIC, Wilbur had tried to look terrific. And now that the web said RADIANT, he did everything possible to make himself glow. It is not easy to look radiant, but Wilbur threw himself into it with a will. He would turn his head slightly and blink his long eye-lashes. Then he would breathe deeply. And when his audience grew bored, he would spring into the air and do a back flip with a half twist. At this the crowd would yell and cheer. "How's that for a pig?" Mr. Zuckerman would ask, well pleased with himself. "That pig is radiant." Some of Wilbur's friends in the barn worried for fear all this attention would go to his head and make him stuck up. But it never did. Wilbur was modest; fame did not spoil him. He still worried some about the future, as he could hardly believe that a mere spider would be able to save his life. Sometimes at night he would have a bad dream. He would dream that men were coming to get him with knives and guns. But that was only a dream. In the daytime, Wilbur usually felt happy and confident. No pig ever had truer friends, and he realized that friendship is one of the most satisfying things in the world. Even the song of the crickets did not make Wilbur too sad. He knew it was almost time for the County Fair, and he was looking forward to the trip. If he could distinguish himself at the Fair, and maybe win some prize money, he was sure Zuckerman would let him live. 20

21. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Paragraphs 6-9 of Chapter 15 of Charlotte’s Web Wilbur was now the center of attraction on the farm. Good food and regular hours were showing results: Wilbur was a pig any man would be proud of. One day more than a hundred people came to stand at his yard and admire him. Charlotte had written the word RADIANT, and Wilbur really looked radiant as he stood in the golden sunlight. Ever since the spider had befriended him, he had done his best to live up to his reputation. When Charlotte's web said SOME PIG, Wilbur had tried hard to look like some pig. When Charlotte's web said TERRIFIC, Wilbur had tried to look terrific. And now that the web said RADIANT, he did everything possible to make himself glow. It is not easy to look radiant, but Wilbur threw himself into it with a will. He would turn his head slightly and blink his long eye-lashes. Then he would breathe deeply. And when his audience grew bored, he would spring into the air and do a back flip with a half twist. At this the crowd would yell and cheer. "How's that for a pig?" Mr. Zuckerman would ask, well pleased with himself. "That pig is radiant." Some of Wilbur's friends in the barn worried for fear all this attention would go to his head and make him stuck up. But it never did. Wilbur was modest; fame did not spoil him. He still worried some about the future, as he could hardly believe that a mere spider would be able to save his life. Sometimes at night he would have a bad dream. He would dream that men were coming to get him with knives and guns. But that was only a dream. In the daytime, Wilbur usually felt happy and confident. No pig ever had truer friends, and he realized that friendship is one of the most satisfying things in the world. Even the song of the crickets did not make Wilbur too sad. He knew it was almost time for the County Fair, and he was looking forward to the trip. If he could distinguish himself at the Fair, and maybe win some prize money, he was sure Zuckerman would let him live. 21

22. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Lexile by Chapter Guides Currently Available 22 Elementary School: Bud, Not Buddy Charlotte's Web Hatchet Holes James and the Giant Peach Maniac Magee On the Banks of Plum Creek Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Sarah Plain and Tall The Black Stallion Watsons Go to Birmingham Tuck Everlasting Middle School: A Wrinkle in Time Hatchet Holes Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Speak The Giver The House of Scorpion The Outsiders The Pearl Watsons Go to Birmingham To Kill a Mockingbird Touching Spirit Bear High School: 1984 Brave New World The Grapes of Wrath The Great Gatsby Fahrenheit 451 Lord of the Flies Of Mice and Men Speak Huckleberry Finn The Awakening The Outsiders The Pearl The Scarlet Letter Things Fall Apart To Kill a Mockingbird Touching Spirit Bear www.Lexile.com/Lexile-by-chapter

23. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. James and the Giant Peach 23

24. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry 24

25. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. To Kill a Mockingbird 25

26. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. How You Can Explore Complexity Within a Work 26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NpwtFkjpUs

27. This presentation constitutes the confidential information of MetaMetrics, Inc. Copyright © 2016 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information about Lexile measures, visit www.Lexile.com.www.Lexile.com For more information about MetaMetrics, visit www.MetaMetricsInc.com.www.MetaMetricsInc.com MetaMetrics 1000 Park Forty Plaza Drive, Suite 120 Durham, North Carolina 27713 Phone: 919.547.3400 Toll Free: 1.888.LEXILES (539.4537) Email: feedback@Lexile.comfeedback@Lexile.com 27 Matt Copeland Associate for Instructional Innovation and Support E mcopeland@lexile.commcopeland@lexile.com T (785) 817-4403