1. Text Complexity: What is it, Why Does It Matter, and How do I know I am Using Complex Text? Fall 2011 – Just Read, Florida!

2. Text complexity is the key to accelerating student achievement in reading.

3. Text Complexity - ACT Study
Purpose: Determine what distinguished the reading performance of students likely to succeed in college and not.
Process:
Set benchmark score on the reading test shown to be predictive of success in college (“21” on ACT composite score)
Looked at results from a half million students.
Divided texts into three levels of complexity: uncomplicated, more challenging, and complex.

4. Performance on the ACT Reading Test by Comprehension Level
(Averaged across Seven Forms)
Ask participants – what do you see in this data? Trends – surprising insights, expected results, etc….
In Reading: Between the Lines, ACT demonstrates that student performance cannot be differentiated in any meaningful way by question type. Students do not perform differently if they are answering literal recall items or inferential items.

5. Performance on the ACT Reading Test by Textual Element
(Averaged across Seven Forms)
Ask participants – what do you see in this data? Trends – surprising insights, expected results, etc….
ACT demonstrates that student performance cannot be differentiated in any meaningful way by question type. Students do not perform differently if they are answering vocabulary items or main idea.

6. Performance on the ACT Reading Test by Degree of Text Complexity
(Averaged across Seven Forms)
Ask participants – what do you see in this data? Trends – surprising insights, expected results, etc….
Test performance, according to ACT, is driven by text rather than questions. Thus, if students are asked to read a hard passage, they may only answer a few questions correctly, no matter what types of questions they may be. On the other hand, with an easy enough text, students may answer almost any questions right, again with no differences by question type.
In this figure, performance on questions associated with uncomplicated and more
challenging texts both above and below the ACT College Readiness Benchmark for
Reading follows a pattern similar to those in the previous analyses.
Improvement on each of the two kinds of questions is gradual and fairly uniform. 6 6

7. Text Complexity Matters
Performance on complex texts is the clearest differentiator in reading between students who are more likely to be ready for college and those who are less likely to be ready.
Texts used in the ACT Reading Test reflect three degrees of complexity: uncomplicated, more challenging, and complex.

8. Recap of ACT Findings
Question type and level (main idea, word meanings, details) is NOT the chief differentiator between student scoring above and below the benchmark. The degree of text complexity in the passages acted as the “sorters” within ACT. The findings held true for both males and females, all racial groups and was steady regardless of family income level. What students could read, in terms of its complexity--rather than what they could do with what they read—is greatest predictor of success. FCAT has complex passages and highly cognitive demanding questions.
The ACT report goes on to describe features that made some texts harder to understand, including the complexity of the relationships among characters and ideas, amount and sophistication of the information detailed in the text, how the information is organized, the author’s style and tone, the vocabulary, and the author purpose. ACT concluded that based on these data, “performance on complex texts is the clearest differentiator in reading between students who are likely to be ready for college and those who are not”
FCAT is made up of complex passages and high cognitive demand questions.

9. Why Can’t Students Negotiate Complex Text?
Students who arrive behind in reading or close to grade level are often taught through courses that don’t demand much reading.
Many students are engaged in shallow reading, skimming text for answers, focusing only on details and failing to make inferences in order to integrate different parts of the text. Years of reading in this superficial way will cause a student’s reading ability to deteriorate.
For many students the decline of text demands in the courses that they take has both an immediate and long term impact on student achievement.
Adults spend an average of 21 seconds per web page – our digital lives are leading to shallow reading.

10. The Crisis of Complexity
Complexity of texts students are expected to handle K-12 has eroded:
High school textbooks have declined in all subject areas over several decades.
Average length of sentences in K-8 textbooks have declined from 20 to 14 words.
Vocabulary demands have declined, e.g., 8th grade textbooks equivalent to former 5th grade texts; 12th grade anthologies equal to former 7th grade.
Complexity of college and careers texts have remained steady or increased:
Lexile scores of college textbooks have not decreased in any block of time since 1962 and in fact have increased.
Vocabulary difficulty of newspapers has remained stable.
Word difficulty of scientific journals and magazines 1930–1990 has
increased since 1930.

11. The Crisis of Complexity
“While reading demands in college, workforce training programs, and life in general have held steady or increased over the last half century, K–12 texts have actually declined in sophistication, and relatively little attention has been paid to students’ ability to read complex texts independently. These conditions have left a serious gap between many high school seniors’ reading ability and the reading requirements they will face after graduation. —Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects, Appendix A
National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects

12. Text Complexity and the Common Core State Standards
The Common Core State Standards Iniative places a strong emphasis on the role of text complexity in evaluating student readiness for college and careers.
“The Common Core
Standards hinge on students
encountering appropriately
complex texts at each grade level in order to develop the mature language skills and the conceptual knowledge they need for success in school and life” (p. 3).
Just as the Aorta carries blood from the heart, Common Core State Standard number 10 carries increasing levels of text complexity up from Grade 2 through Grade 12 and into College and Career Readiness. In many respects, text complexity is the hallmark of the CCSS as it reveals the depth of educators’ commitment to providing American students every opportunity to be prepared to meet future global challenges. Providing a specific Standard 10 presence in each grade level, including a place-holder in both Kindergarten and Grade 1 to allow foundations to be established, the Common Core’s text complexity standard provides a backward-mapped format to scaffold instruction. Notice the scaffolded expectations in the Staircase for Text Complexity within the following (Grades 11 – Career and College Readiness):
GRADES 11-CCR: By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature (informational texts) at the high end of the grade 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently. By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature (information texts) in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band proficiently, and with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
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13. Text Complexity in the Common Core State Standards
Standard 10 of the Common Core:
Expects students to read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently
Defines a grade-by-grade “staircase” of increasing text difficulty that rises from beginning reading to the college and career readiness level.
Texts for each grade should increase in complexity
Research makes clear that the complexity levels of the texts students are presently required to read are significantly below what is required to achieve college and career readiness.  Far too often, students who have fallen behind are given less complex texts rather than the support they need to read texts at the appropriate level of complexity. 
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14. Text Complexity in the Common Core State Standards
Specifically, within reading standard #10:
Anchor Standard:
R.CCR.10 Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Example Grade-level Standard (6th grade):
RI.6.10 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.
As stated in the Standards:
Note on range and content of student reading
To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students must read widely and deeply from among a broad range of high-quality, increasingly challenging literary and informational texts. Through extensive reading of stories, dramas, poems, and myths from diverse cultures and different time periods, students gain literary and cultural knowledge as well as familiarity with various text structures and elements. By reading texts in history/social studies, science, and other disciplines, students build a foundation of knowledge in these fields that will also give them the background to be better readers in all content areas. Students can only gain this foundation when the curriculum is intentionally and coherently structured to develop rich content knowledge within and across grades. Students also acquire the habits of reading independently and closely, which are essential to their future success.

15. Guiding Questions
What do the Common Core Learning Standards mean by text complexity? What is a text complexity band? and How do we ensure the texts our students are reading are in the appropriate text complexity band?
This presentation seeks to answer these questions.

16. The Common Core Standards' three equally important components of text complexity.
Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software.
Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader.
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.
Tri-part model
Qualitative dimensions of text complexity, such as levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands. Qualitative rubrics
Quantitative measures of text complexity, such as word frequency and sentence length, which are typically measured by computer software. Readability measures and other scores of text complexity; these have focused upon one system---the lexile system, and they are only part of the story. These are not necessary as precise as we believe.
LEXILES: average sentence length, and average word frequency
Sentence length predicts lexile to a greater degree than the vocabulary (word frequency measure).
Old Man and the Sea and Captain Underpants come out around the same range. Hemmingway uses a lot of short snippets of dialogue and Captain Underpants uses a unique word that artificially pushes the lexile up.
Some of the ways we measure text are not as complex as we need them to be.

17. Where do we find texts in the appropriate text complexity band?
We could….
Choose an excerpt of text from Appendix B as a starting place:
Use available resources to determine the text complexity of other materials on our own.
or…
(Even choosing excerpts from Appendix B is less effective because it removes the reader and task considerations from the equation.)

18. Determining Text Complexity
A Four-step Process:
Determine the quantitative measures of the text.
Qualitative
Quantitative
Analyze the qualitative measures of the text.
Reflect upon the reader and task considerations.
Reader and Task
Overview of the protocol
Recommend placement in the appropriate text complexity band.

19. Step 1: Quantitative Measures
Measures such as:
Word length
Word frequency
Word difficulty
Sentence length
Text length
Text cohesion

20. Step 2: Qualitative Measures
Measures such as:
Structure
Language Demands and Conventions
Knowledge Demands
Levels of Meaning/Purpose

21. Common Core Standards Qualitative Features of Text Complexity
Language Demands: Conventionality and Clarity
Literal  Figurative or ironic
Clear  Ambiguous or purposefully misleading
Contemporary, familiar  Archaic or otherwise unfamiliar
Conversational  General Academic and domain specific
Light vocabulary load: few unfamiliar or academic words Many words unfamiliar and high academic vocabulary present
Sentence structure straightforward Complex and varied sentence structures
Though vocabulary can be measured by quantifiable means, it is still a feature for careful consideration when selecting texts
Though sentence length is measured by quantifiable means, sentence complexity is still a feature for careful consideration when selecting texts

22. Common Core Standards Qualitative Features of Text Complexity
Knowledge Demands: Life Experience
Simple theme  Complex or sophisticated themes
Single theme  Multiple themes
Common everyday experiences or clearly fantastical situations  Experiences distinctly different from one’s own
Single perspective  Multiple perspectives
Perspective(s) like one’s own  Perspective(s) unlike or in opposition to one’s own
Everyday knowledge  cultural and literary knowledge
Few allusions to other texts  many allusions to other texts
Low intertextuality (few or no references to other texts) 
high intertextuality (many references or citations to other texts)

23. Common Core Standards Qualitative Features of Text Complexity
Levels of Meaning (chiefly literary texts) or
purpose (chiefly informational texts)
Single level of meaning Multiple levels of meaning
Explicitly stated purpose  Implicit purpose, may be hidden or obscure

24. Common Core Standards Qualitative Features of Text Complexity Structure
Simple  Complex
Explicit  Implicit
Conventional Unconventional
Events related in chronological order  Events related out of chronological order (chiefly literary texts)
Traits of a common genre or subgenre  Traits specific to a particular discipline (chiefly informational texts)
Simple graphics  sophisticated graphics
Graphics unnecessary or merely supplemental to understanding the text  Graphics essential to understanding the text and may provide information not elsewhere provided

25. Step 2: Qualitative Measures
Because the factors for literary texts are different from information texts, the text type should be given consideration while using the rubric for rating. However, the formatting of each document is exactly the same.
And because these factors represent continua rather than discrete stages or levels, numeric values are not associated with these rubric. Instead, six points along each continuum is identified: not suited to the band, early-mid grade level, mid-end grade level, early-mid grade level, mid-end grade level, not suited to band.

26. 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

27. What Complex Text Demands of Readers
A Willingness to Pause and Probe
Students must be patient as they read complex texts and be willing to devote time to contemplation of the text
The Capacity for Uninterrupted Thinking
Time devoted to the text and thinking about the text exclusively - single-tasking rather than multi-tasking
A Receptivity to Deep Thinking
Contemplation of the meaning of the text and not a quick response voicing an opinion based on a shallow interpretation
(Mark Bauerlein, 2011)
Mark Bauerlein is a professor of English at Emory University in Atlanta. His article in Educational Leadership “Too Dumb for Complex Texts? emphasizes that students that are so used to multi-tasking and hopping from link to link have difficulty tackling complex texts and college level reading. We need to use print copies to help students develop the habits of reading they will need to negotiate texts they will use in college.
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28. Step 3: Reader and Task Ten Guiding Principles
Make close reading and rereading of texts central to lessons.
Provide scaffolding that does not preempt or replace text.
Ask text dependent questions from a range of question types.
Emphasize students supporting answers based upon evidence from the text.
Provide extensive research and writing opportunities (claims and evidence).

29. Step 3: Reader and Task Ten Guiding Principles
Offer regular opportunities for students to share ideas, evidence and research.
Offer systematic instruction in vocabulary.
Ensure wide reading from complex text that varies in length.
9. Provide explicit instruction in applied grammar and conventions.
10. Cultivate students’ independence.

30. Shorter, Challenging Texts
The study of short texts is useful to enable students at a wide range of reading levels to participate in the close analysis of more demanding text. 
Place a high priority on the close, sustained reading of complex text. Such reading emphasizes the particular over the general and strives to focus on what lies within the four corners of the text.
Close reading often requires compact, short, self-contained texts that students can read and re-read deliberately and slowly to probe and ponder the meanings of individual words, the order in which sentences unfold, and the development of ideas over the course of the text.  
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31. An Example of Complex Text: The Gettysburg Address
Work with the audience assessing the complexity of the Gettysburg Address and have them record it on the Qualitative Dimensions Text Complexity Chart.
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32. Using a Short, Complex Text
As I read aloud the text, please follow along, and highlight each “here”. Why did Lincoln repeat this word so many times? What are the two meanings that he used for this word?
Step 1:
This immediately intrigues the audience. Afterwards, help them relate these “heres” to the Structure and Language portion of the Qualitative Dimension of Text Complexity Chart:
TEACHER READS ALOUD
Listening to the Gettysburg Address is an excellent way to initially acquaint students with Lincoln’s powerful and stirring words.
After students have an opportunity to silently read the text, the teacher should read aloud the speech slowly and methodically, allowing students to follow the twists and turns in Lincoln’s argument. Instructors should not attempt to “deliver” Lincoln’s text as if they were giving the speech themselves but rather carefully speak Lincoln’s words clearly to their class, being sure to follow his punctuation and rhetorical clues.
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33. Earth “shall not perish from the earth”
The cemetery at Gettysburg is a place where the earth receives the dead. The earth, and all the references to it (field, resting place, ground), forms a continuous web of meaning.
Highlight all the references to a place – ie, nation, world, etc.
Discuss why President Lincoln is giving such prominence to the geographical place.
At the very end of the Address, where Lincoln specificies the earth as the place where the principle of the living nation will continue its life, he abruptly – with his last word – in an instant, transforms the resting place of the dead to the habitation of a vital principle,….the unity of the dead with the living is consummated in Mr. Lincoln’s last word, the common home of all.
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34. Verbs What verb did Mr. Lincoln use the most, six times in fact?
In your group, discuss the meaning of this verb the first two times Lincoln uses it. What other verb is closely linked to it those first two times it appears?
How is this verb used the next two times and how does it relate to consecrate?
How is this verb used the last two times and how does it relate to devoted.
Give the audience time to puzzle with the first question. If they need support, ask them to highlight all the “dedicate/dedicated”
The audience should come to understand that the first two instances of “dedicated” are closely linked to “conceived” and discuss how the latter shades the meaning of “dedicated” when applied to the proposition being defended (“all men are created equal”). So, here dedicated expresses how the country is founded or based on an idea or ideal…a principle. End with this question:
Who is now doing the dedicating?
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35. Questions to Discuss When was “four score and seven years ago?”
What important thing happened?
Who are our fathers?
What does conceived mean?
What does proposition mean?
What is new about America? Is he saying no one has been free or equal before? So what is new?
Score means twenty years; the date of Lincoln’s speech – 1863.
= 1776
Declaration of Independence was issued in 1776.
Fathers – the people who brought forth a new nation; founding fathers
Conceived – to bring forth something new; This is one way in which the nation is new; it did not exist before; conceive also means to think,….Lincoln used this words in two ways.
Proposition- What kind of statement is “all men are created equal?” it is an assertion, a claim, a principle, an idea
What is new: Lincoln says the country was conceived in liberty, that is, the people who founded it freely chose to dedicate themselves to a principle—it was not forced upon them. They were able to think freely. During the making of the country our fathers were free to structure it however they wanted and they chose to dedicate it to what? Dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. What does it mean to be dedicated to an idea or principle? What if the nation were dedicated to the proposition that some people are better than others?
National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects

36. In the beginning, the nation is brought forth, and at the end the nation has a new birth of freedom.
The issue, finally, is not the life and death of the fallen, but the life and death and resurrection of the nation.
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37. Text Dependent Questions- Scaffolding Students to Read Complex Text
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38. High Quality Text Dependent Questions
High-quality sequences of text-dependent questions elicit sustained attention to the specifics of the text and their impact. The sequence of questions should cultivate student mastery of the specific ideas and illuminate particulars of the text.
High-quality text-dependent questions will often move beyond what is directly stated to require students to make non-trivial inferences based on evidence in the text. Questions aligned with Common Core State Standards should demand close attention to the text to answer fully.
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39. High Quality Text Dependent Questions
An effective set of questions might begin with relatively simple questions requiring attention to specific words, details, and arguments and then move on to explore the impact of those specifics on the text as a whole.
Good questions will often linger over specific phrases and sentences to ensure careful comprehension. Effective question sequences will build on each other to ensure that students learn to stay focused on the text so they can learn fully from it.
Note examples we have used with the Gettysburg Address.
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40. Scaffolding for Independence
      Rather than emphasizing more general strategies and questions, text specific questions and tasks reinforce focus on the text and cultivate independence.  
Have student spend time reading the text closely rather than engaging in extensive pre-reading activities and instruction in reading strategies. 
Be sure students are doing the work! Allow them the intellectual experience of encountering the way an author sets the agenda and unfolds ideas as well as details. 
Recommended reading strategies as well as broader questions and themes should be embedded in the actual reading of the text rather than being taught as a separate body of material. 
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41. Just Read, Florida The Comprehension Instructional Sequence

42. Comprehension Instructional Sequence (CIS)
Step One
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 2 (1 minute) Modeling will start with Step One of the sequence
Re-orient participants to Handout 1 - the CIS Flowchart

43. Topic Question To achieve happiness do we have to take risks?
Before reading:
To achieve happiness do we have to take risks?
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 3 (10 minutes) Task: Set the purpose for reading. Teach from an essential questions to bring world relevance to text reading:
Hook Question (Before reading): Based on your perspective, in social revolutions, how often do the ends justify the means?
ALWAYS
SOMETIMES
ALMOST NEVER
Teacher (facilitator) asks the question on the slide and leads a whole class discussion based on the question. Provide an example such as during the American Revolution, American Patriots confiscated property from and even hung some British Loyalists. Was this okay?
Purpose: To bring world relevance to text reading.
Briefly review Handout 2 – the CIS plan with participants.

44. Predictive Writing
Before text reading: Use the Essential Question Handout to record your answer to this question:
To achieve happiness do we have to take risks?
Base your response on your current background knowledge.
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 4 (10 minutes) Facilitator directs participants to the Handout 4 – the essential question handout in the Participant’s Handbook and participants write in response to the predictive essential question statement.
If participants do not quickly respond, you may note that a written response of, “I have no idea,” may be appropriate at this point in instruction.
As participants complete this activity, point them toward Handout 3 - “The Revolutionary War – Military Affairs, from: History of the United States” by Charles A. Beard and Mary R. Beard (1921) and explain that this is the text that will be used for multiple activities in this session.

45. Vocabulary Front Loading
Words for Vocabulary Word Wall:
Words introduced in this section: proverb, jest
Word introduced previously in text-reading: inscription
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 5 (15 minutes) Introduce the words encampment (paragraph 1) and pretensions (paragraph 9) from Handout 3. Note that the word “camp” appears in encampment, that “en” means “in” and “ment” means that an action was taken. Knowing this helps us to ascertain that the word encampment has to do with troops being camped in an area. The word pretensions is very similar to the word “pretend”. Connecting this to the context of the sentence leads us to believe that the word means some kind of a claim, which is probably false.
Direct the students to the words privateers (paragraph 3), guerrilla (paragraph 4), and reluctance (paragraph11). The phrase containing privateers reads, “…falling prey to daring privateers and fleet American war vessels.” This along with the connection to the word “private” would lead us to believe that privateer has to do with a privately owned war vessel. The phase containing guerrilla reads, “…they were harassed and worried by the guerrilla warriors…”. The context would insinuate that guerrilla is a particularly fierce type of warrior since they were worried by them. The phrase containing the word reluctance reads, “…expressed a reluctance at fighting against their own kin; but they obeyed orders.” This would indicate that they were ordered to fight against their own kin, and they did, but they didn’t want to. The term reluctance would seem related with not wanting to do something. More precise meanings would be determined for these terms using a student-friendly dictionary or by providing a student-friendly definition.
Direct the students to the word sallies (paragraph 7). While context can be used to infer this might be troops of some kind, this is an archaic word. Tell the students it means to set out suddenly from a defensive position to attack an enemy.

46. Text Marking Listen as the facilitator reads the following text:
“The Two Brothers” by Leo Tolstoy
Mark the text with the following codes:
A – This is an argument posed by one of the brothers.
L – This is logical support for one of the brother’s arguments.
I – This is illogical support for one of the brother’s arguments.
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 6 (15 minutes) - Text Marking
A. Teacher points students to the question: Which factors affecting the American Patriots were pivotal to the outcome of the American Revolution? and notes the coding system on the slide. Teacher reads aloud the first two paragraphs on page 1 in The Revolutionary War – Military Affairs and models the text marking process through a think aloud. The teacher may continue reading aloud in the text. Reading the passage aloud may bridge any decoding issues students scoring at Level 1 or Level 2 to help provide access to complex text. It would not always be necessary to read aloud the entire passage; the teacher would make this determination based upon the needs of the class.
B. As students listen and follow along in their text, students mark/code their text.
Question: Which factors affecting the American Patriots were pivotal to the outcome of the American Revolution?
T – Threat to the American Patriots
H – Hopeful for the American Patriots
N – Neutral
[Teachers may consider dividing students into two groups and having the second group code the text as follows:
•T – Threat to the British Monarchy
•H – Hopeful for the British Monarchy
•N – Neutral]
NOTE TO FACILITATOR REGARDING HOW TO HANDLE READING ALOUD TEXT:
It is important for the participants to understand the value of reading aloud text to support ALL students. Reading aloud bypasses the decoding barriers for students with difficulties in text reading efficiency.
At facilitator’s discretion, the facilitator continues to read aloud the rest of the article, or read another section of the article, or have participants read silently. Participants continue marking text.

47. Text Marking After text marking:
In small groups, compare and discuss differences in text coding.
Support your suggested answers from the text.
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 7 (7 minutes) After reading the text aloud, invite participants to ask questions they had about the text while listening and discuss differences in text coding.

48. Directed Note-taking Risk Safety Reward
Guiding Question: How do the two brothers see the same situation completely differently?
Risk
Safety
Reward
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 9 (15 minutes) Students read the same text, The Revolutionary War – Military Affairs, and engage in directed note-taking using Handout 5 - Directed Note-Taking Handout:
Before reading, present a guiding question to direct students’ thinking while they read and take notes. Guiding Question: Which of the following caused a significant impact on the outcome of the American Revolution?
Geography/Sea/Supply Lines
Military Personnel
Women/Domestic Industry
Public Morale
Have students read independently, in pairs, or in small groups. Throughout this time, the teacher can scaffold a small group of students who may have difficulty reading the text effortlessly to support their text reading and note-taking.
Oftentimes, text features such as charts, graphs, photographs, and illustrations are “invisible text” to students. Students should be guided to use these resources in a text to help facilitate comprehension.
NOTE: The Directed Note-taking handout (and all other Graphic Organizers used in NGCAR-PD) should facilitate discussion and are not designed to be used as individual student worksheets.

49. After Directed Note-taking
Compare notes in pairs or small groups
Place a star next to the most significant note in each category:
Risk
Safety
Reward
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 10 (8 minutes)
After participants finish their note-taking:
Have participants compare notes (in pairs or in small I)
Compare notes in pairs or small groups.
Place a star next to the most significant note in each category:
Geography/Sea/Supply Lines
Military Personnel
Women/Domestic Industry
Public Morale

50. After Directed Note-taking
Take positions and discuss which of the following factors has the biggest impact on the outcome of the story. Use text to justify all positions.
Risk
Safety
Reward
Group
Individual 1
Individual 2
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 11 (15 minutes) Engage in the discussion delineated on the slide. The facilitator/teacher remains neutral and truly is a facilitator of the discussion. The facilitator should constantly direct students/participants to the text to justify their answers. Ask for page, paragraph and line for the justification. Encourage student responses one to another. The more diverse the answers and reasoning, the better.

51. Comprehension Instructional Sequence (CIS)
Step Two
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Step Two (45 minutes)
Tasks: Teacher models the generation of a complex question based on a section of text, relating to a broad perspective or issue. Students record the questions, and then students re-read the text to generate their own questions.
Purpose: To provide students with a demonstration of question generation and the opportunity for them to interact with the text by generating questions to further deepen their comprehension.

52. Question Generation Who placed the rock next to the brothers and why?
Who wrote on the rock and why?
Generate questions unanswered from your first text reading. Record your questions on your Student Question Generation paper as you work in pairs or small groups.
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 13 (20 minutes) Teacher models the generation of a complex question based on a section of text, relating to a broad perspective or issue. Students record the questions, and then students re-read the text to generate their own questions.
Model re-reading a portion of the text (paragraph four on pages 1 and 2 of The American Revolution – Military Affairs, from: History of the United States) and generate a high-level question that relates to the growing discontent of France’s Third Estate.
During the time of the American Revolution, why did only a small portion of the American people live in towns?
Display the question. Students/participants copy the questions on the Questions section of their Directed Note-taking paper to generate questions yet unanswered from their first text reading. Students record their questions on page two of Handout 5 - their Student Question Generation paper as they work in pairs or small groups.

53. Question Generation
Share questions with the whole group to identify which are common, and which questions are most relevant to the topic and/or significant to learning
Record/post common and relevant/significant questions on the Question Generation Poster for future use in:
*extended text discussion
*seeking answers in text-reading throughout the remainder of the chapter/unit
* focusing on unanswered questions in collaborative inquiry.
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 14 (25 minutes) NOTE TO FACILIATORS:
“Question generation is different from question answering in that the emphasis is on students producing the questions they need (or want) to answer from reading a passage. To teach this strategy, “good” question generation needs to be modeled for students and students need to be actively involved in the process of activating prior knowledge, comparing it to what might be expected from the passage, and generating questions to fill the gaps. Question generation is an extremely potent technique, showing larger effects than other comprehension strategy instruction techniques.” from Elements of Successful Reading Instruction, Center on Innovation and Improvement, Michael Kamil (2008)
To conclude question generation, the teacher:
has students share their questions with the whole class to identify which questions they have in common, and which questions are most relevant or significant to their learning
records/posts common and relevant/significant questions on Handout 6 - the Question Generation Poster for future use in:
extended text discussion
seeking answers in text-reading throughout the remainder of the chapter/unit
focusing on unanswered questions in collaborative inquiry.
The teacher or the students themselves can post student questions and classify them by categories established during the discussion to reinforce the Social Studies skills of sourcing and corroboration as students search, locate, and validate answers to some of the questions throughout the remainder of the unit.

54. Comprehension Instructional Sequence (CIS)
Step Three
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
(45 minutes)

55. Text Based Essential Questions
Using information from the text to support your answer, to achieve happiness do we have to take risks?
Use information from notes to help write final response on the Essential Question Handout.
Share answers in small groups.  
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 16 (30 minutes) Develop an essential question aligned to FCAT Item Specifications. Questions from the textbook may be adapted to align with the specifications. Point participants to the following essential question for the example lesson: [This question aligns with Language Arts Benchmark LA (2007) - The student will identify cause-and-effect relationships in text.]
According to the text, which factor most significantly impacted the outcome of the American Revolution?
Direct students to use information from their completed graphic organizer/notes to help write their final response to the essential question on the Essential Question Handout. Direct students to Handout 5 - their completed Directed Note-Taking Handout as a tool for responding to the essential question.
Students share their answers with a partner or in small groups. Students who have difficulty reading the text effortlessly may need to partner with another student within their small group to complete this task.
As part of whole class discussion, record student responses to the essential question in multiple choice format. (See Sample Responses in box below) Teachers record responses below the essential question, using:
The most relevant word, phrase, or sentence for the correct answer
A variety of plausible words, phrases, or sentences as distracters
SAMPLE RESPONSES
A. Geography/Sea/Supply Lines
B. Military Personnel
C. Women/Domestic Industry
D. Public Morale

56. The Comprehension Instructional Sequence Facilitates Students:
Using background knowledge, i.e., predicting, inferring
Identifying key ideas from text
Learning and using text structures
Monitoring comprehension and employing fix-up strategies
Using a variety of reading strategies effectively
Paraphrasing, explaining, and summarizing information to construct conclusions
Engaging in question generation
Extended text discussion and writing
Unit 1, Session 2 – Comprehension Instructional Sequence
Slide 17 (7 minutes) Indicate to participants that additional writing and research activities can be incorporated into the sequence. Ask the participants, now with their “teacher hats” on to discuss the value of what they just experienced. What aspects of the sequence are especially powerful in this type of teaching? Point out the strategies on the slide that were used in the CIS and ask groups to share out others.
Share and discuss with participants the other sample CIS Units provided as Handouts There are two short stories The Interlopers and The Two Brothers (language arts) and a science article, Stranglers of the Tropics.

57. Contact Information
For additional information: Kevin Smith Deputy Director, Florida Department of Education Just Read, Florida! Office
Just Read, Florida!