1. Readability Levels by Ashley Kistler

2. Have you ever found a passage that you wanted to use within your daily instruction but were unsure if the passage was at your student’s level because a grade was not specified? Well Microsoft Word has a wonderful component that you can use to help you determine if the passage can be read by your students. You will never have to worry about having age appropriate reading materials again!

3. Objective:  The student will be able to determine the reading level of any selected passage using Microsoft Word.

4. Follow these simple steps to determine the readability of any passage you choose: First you must locate a passage from the Internet that you are interested in using. One which may not state the age with which it was intended for or one which you would like to verify that the grade level is accurate. You must copy a section of the passage, it does not have to be the whole passage, but it can be if you would like.

5. You then need to paste that section into a Microsoft Word document. I have chosen to use a section from my scaffold reading project regarding Dr. Seuss. The website which this selection was taken from identified the passage as a 5 th grade reading passage. Improving reading comprehension using metacognitive strategies: Fifth grade reading passages. (n.d.) Unpublished manuscript, University of Education, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, Norrth Carolina. Retrieved September 27, 2009, from http://ced.ncsu.edu/ircms/fifth.htm While many children and adults have enjoyed books by Dr. Seuss, very few actually know anything about Dr. Seuss himself. Dr. Seuss was born in 1904 and was given the name Theodor Seuss Geisel. He grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts and left town as a young man to attend Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. In college, he wrote for the school newspaper.

6. You will then :  For Microsoft Word 2007, you will select the review tab and click on spelling and grammar. Your passage will be checked for grammar and you will see in the bottom left hand corner you will select options. See next slide for a screen shot image!

8. You will then check the box which says readability statistics. See next slide for a screen shot image!

10. Last you will re-click on grammar and spelling. After checking for errors, you will now have a box which looks like the one below. In this box you will now see the readability level of the selected text. This box may appear on its own after you have changed the settings.  See next slide for a screen shot image!

11. As you can see, although this passage was listed as a 5th grade selection, it is clearly a higher level reading passage. This component of Microsoft Word would have been very beneficial to check the accuracy of this passage.

12. Your Assignment: I would like you to demonstrate your understanding of how to determine a reading level for a passage of your choice.  To do this, please follow the directions provided within this lesson.  Once you have completed the assessment, please reply to the initial post with a Microsoft Word Document containing a copy of the passage as well as a screen shot image of the readability level.  I will provide feedback on your performance in the form of a response to your post.  If you have additional comments or questions pertaining to the lesson or the assignment, please feel free to email me through Blackboard. Good Luck!!