Christina Steinbacher-Reed
Literature
Informational
Reading
Language
K-12 ELA
Common
Core
Speaking
&
Listening
Foundational Skills
(K-5 only)
Writing
How do we meet the CC
demands for text complexity?

How does CC define text complexity?

What do we need to consider when
selecting texts?

How can we meet the rigorous demands
of Common Core while meeting
individual student needs?
What/So What?
What?
So What?
Now What?
As the presentation unfolds, list at least five new understandings that resonate
with you.
1
2
3
4
5
Seasonal Partners
Common Core vs. PA Common Core
Common Core

All inclusive, nationally
accepted literacy
standards
PA Common Core

Includes CC that are
included in eligible
content and state
assessments
Assessment Shifts
2013



Gr. 3-8 Reading PSSA
Gr. 5 and 8 Writing PSSA
Gr. 3-5 Writing Field Test
2014




Gr. 3-5 ELA (based on
CC and includes writing)
Gr. 6-8 Reading (eligible
content)
Gr. 8 Writing
Gr. 6-8 Writing Field Test
How do we begin the transition to
Common Core?
The knowns:
 Full implementation in 2014
The tentatively knowns:
 Common Core vs. PA Common
Core
 Assessments for Common Core
What are the ‘big shifts’?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Balance of literary and informational
texts
Knowledge in the disciplines
Staircase of text complexity
Text-based Answers
Writing from Sources
Academic Vocabulary
Fe
Share your reactions to this blog.
 Have you experienced this ailment?
 How does your perspective of CC align
with your district’s?

Common Core Documents

ELA Standard 10

Appendix A – Text Complexity
Guidelines

Appendix B – Text Exemplars

Revised Publishers’ Criteria
Standard 10 - Vertical
Progression
Appendix A - Text Complexity
Common Core
Appendix A - Page 2-9
Appendix B – Text Examples

Qualitative – levels of
meaning, structure, clarity,
knowledge demands

Quantitative – word length,
readability level

Reader and Task (motivation, background
knowledge, purpose and
complexity of task)
Qualitative Measures

Read pg. 5-6 of Appendix A and mark
the text. Underline phrases or words that
stand-out to you.

Share these phrases and new
understandings with a partner

Review the qualitative measures rubric
and share your reactions.
Quantitative Measures

Read pg. 7 of Appendix A and mark the
text. Underline phrases or words that
stand-out to you.

Share these phrases and new
understandings with a partner
Key Considerations

Read ‘Key Considerations…’ on pg. 8-9
of Appendix A

With a partner:
 What has been affirmed for you?
 What has surprised you?
 What are you still wrestling with?

How do you currently select texts
appropriate for your grade level? How does
this compare to Common Core’s criteria?

What types of shifts might you need to
consider in regards to text selection?
Realigned Levels- Adjusted
Upward
The Hunger Games
The boy from District 1 dies before he can pull out
the spear. My arrow drives deeply into the center of
his neck. He falls to his knees and halves the brief remainder of his
life by yanking out the arrow and drowning in his own blood. Rue
has rolled to her side, her body curved in and around the spear. I
shove the boy away from the net. One look at the wound and I
know it’s far beyond my capacity to heal. The spearhead is buried
up to the shaft in her stomach. “
Impulsively I lean forward and kiss him, stopping his words. This is
probably overdue anyway since he’s right, we are supposed to be
madly in love. It’s the first time I’ve ever kissed a boy. “Well,
there’s more swelling, but the pus is gone, “ I say in an unsteady
voice. “I know what blood poisoning is, Katniss,” says Peeta.
20
1st Step – The Quantitative

Find the Lexile level – lexile.com

Or use another formula such as Fry’s
Fry’s Readability Formula
22
Pennsylvania Common Core
Standards
Quantitative Measures Ranges for
Text Complexity Grade Bands
Text Complexity
Grade Bands
Suggested
Lexile Range
Suggested ATOS
Book Level Range**
K-1
100L – 500L*
1.0 – 2.5
2-3
450L – 790L
2.0 – 4.0
4-5
770L – 980L
3.0 – 5.7
6-8
955L – 1155L
4.0 – 8.0
9-10
1080L – 1305L
4.6 – 10.0
11-CCR
1215L – 1355L
4.8 – 12.0
* The K-1 suggested Lexile range was not identified by the Common Core State Standards and was added by Kansas.
** Taken from Accelerated Reader and the Common Core State Standards, available at the following URL:
http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R004572117GKC46B.pdf
23
Quantitative Level of Hunger
Games

Lexile (810) – Gr. 4-5

ATOS Book Level – 6.2

Scholatic’s Book Wizard Level – 5.3
Pennsylvania Common Core
Standards
Quantitative Measures Ranges for
Text Complexity Grade Bands
Text Complexity
Grade Bands
Suggested
Lexile Range
Suggested ATOS
Book Level Range**
K-1
100L – 500L*
1.0 – 2.5
2-3
450L – 790L
2.0 – 4.0
4-5
770L – 980L
3.0 – 5.7
6-8
955L – 1155L
4.0 – 8.0
9-10
1080L – 1305L
4.6 – 10.0
11-CCR
1215L – 1355L
4.8 – 12.0
* The K-1 suggested Lexile range was not identified by the Common Core State Standards and was added by Kansas.
** Taken from Accelerated Reader and the Common Core State Standards, available at the following URL:
http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R004572117GKC46B.pdf
25
Remember, however, that the quantitative measures
is only the first of three “legs” of the text complexity
triangle.
Our final recommendation
may be validated,
influenced, or even overruled by our examination
of qualitative measures
and the reader and task
considerations.
26
“The use of qualitative and quantitative
measures to assess text complexity is
balanced in the Standards’ model by
the expectation that educators will
employ professional judgment to match
texts to particular students and tasks.”
Appendix A
Step 2: Qualitative Measures
Measures such as:
• Layers of meaning
• Levels of purpose
• Structure
• Organization
• Language conventionality
• Language clarity
• Prior knowledge demands
• Cultural demands
• Vocabulary
28
Assessing Text
Where on the continuum?
29
Qualitative Measures Rubric for
Literary Text
http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4605
• Allow educators to evaluate the important elements of text that are often missed by
30
Qualitative Measures Rubric for
Informational Text
http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4605
• Allow educators to evaluate the important elements of text that are often missed by
31
Qualitative Measures Rubrics
Because the factors for literary texts are different
from information texts, these two rubrics contain
different content. 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 rubrics. Instead, four
points along each continuum are identified: high,
middle high, middle low, and low.
32
What are your conclusions?

Work with a partner to use the literary
rubric to level the Hunger Games.
Step 2: Qualitative
Measures
34
Remember . . .
Qualitative aspects are “best
measured or only measurable by
an attentive human reader, such as
levels of meaning or purpose;
structure; language conventionality
and clarity; and knowledge
demands.”
35
Step 2: Qualitative Measures
Our initial placement of The Hunger Games into a
text complexity band has changed when we
examined the qualitative measures.
Remember, however, that we
have completed only the first
two legs of the text
complexity triangle.
The reader and task
considerations still remain.
Reader and Task
36
Step 3: The 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
37
Reader and Task Considerations
The questions included
here are largely openended questions without
single, correct answers,
but help educators to
think through the
implications of using a
particular text in the
classroom.
38
Step 4: Recommended
Placement
Reflect back on all three ‘legs’ of text complexity. With your
partner or team, make a final judgment
39
Hunger Games Recommended
Placement
40
Describe the four step process we used to
determine text complexity. What resources
were used at each step?
 With which points or parts of this process do
you agree? Disagree?
 What are you still wondering about?

Determining Text Complexity
Four Step Process
1. Determine the quantitative
measures of the text.
2. Analyze the qualitative
measures of the text.
3. Reflect upon the reader and
task considerations.
4. Recommend placement in the
appropriate text complexity
band.
42
What/So What?
What?
So What?
Now What?
As the presentation unfolds, list at least five new understandings that resonate
with you.
1
2
3
4
5
Applying the Text Complexity
Measures to Informational Text
“Letter From a Birmingham Jail” by Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
 You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit ins,
marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?"
You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is
the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action
seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension
that a community which has constantly refused to
negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to
dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My
citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the
nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must
confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension.”
44
Quantitative Analysis of
Informational Text
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
 Flesch-Kincaid: 9.4
 Gunnings Fog Index: 12.5
 Automated Readability
Index: 9.6
45
Qualitative Analysis
of Informational Text
46
Reader/Task Considerations
for Informational Text
 Will the reader be able to remember and make




connections among the various details presented in this
specific text?
Does the reader possess the necessary comprehension
strategies to manage the material in this specific text?
Will the reader be interested and engaged with the style
of writing and the presentation of ideas within this
specific text?
Does the reader possess the maturity to respond
appropriately to any potentially concerning elements of
content or theme?
Will the complexity of any before-, during-, or afterreading tasks associated with this specific text interfere
with the reading experience?
47
“Letter of Birmingham”
Recommendation

According to the ELA CCSS RL.9-10.9:
 Analyze seminal U.S. documents of
historical and literary significance (e.g.,
Washington’s Farewell Address, the
Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s Four
Freedoms speech, King’s “Letter from
Birmingham Jail”), including how they
address related themes and concepts.
 The recommended placement of this piece
of informational text is in grade span 9-10.
48
Text Complexity Resource
 Appendix A: Research Supporting the Key
Elements of the Standards
 Appendix B: Text Exemplars and Sample
Performance Tasks
 http://www.pdesas.org/
 Lexile.com
 iu17commoncore.wikispaces.com (includes
professional reading book lists)
49
Your Turn!
Using the four step process, explore the
text complexity of your texts.
Feeling like this a little heavy?
Where do we begin in meeting the Common
demands for text complexity?
Step 1 - Collaborate
Do not do this alone!
Now more than ever
we need each other.
Collaborate with
colleagues to make
joint decisions
regarding text levels
and grade
placements.
Step 2 - Evaluate
Don’t totally scrap your
current reading material!
Instead, use the CC
resources to evaluate
where you’re at and
where you need to be in
terms of selecting
reading materials.
Step 3 – Innovate
One bite at a time! Begin
shifting amount of
informational vs. literary;
shift 20% of students’ reading
to grade level with scaffolding;
Continue referring back to
Common Core document for
guidance
What/So What?
What?
So What?
Now What?
As the presentation unfolds, list at least five new understandings that resonate
with you.
1
2
3
4
5
Part 2 – A Shift in Instruction

The Common Core was designed as the
“WHAT”, not the “HOW”

Common Core is NOT:
Shift in Instruction
“. . . it is important to recognize that scaffolding
often is entirely appropriate. The expectation that
scaffolding will occur with particularly challenging
texts is built into the Standards’ grade-by-grade
text complexity expectations, for example. The
general movement, however, should be toward
decreasing scaffolding and increasing
independence both within and across the text
complexity bands defined in the standards.”
Appendix A
Publisher’s Criteria - REVISED

K-2
 Reading Foundations
 Text Selection
 Questions and Tasks

Gr. 3-12
 Text Selection
 Questions and Tasks
 Academic Vocabulary
 Writing to Sources and Vocabulary
Criteria Jigsaw
1.
Select a K-2 or 3-12
2.
Work in a team of 3
3.
Each member read and mark
a different section
4.
Regroup with your team and
share out key ideas
Engaging Students with the
Texts
Students need to engage with:
 Age/grade appropriate materials for
exposure to structures, content, vocabulary
 Instructional level materials that allow them
to progress
 “Easy” materials that allow them to practice
Source: KAREN WIXSON, PHD
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN/UNCG
60
How do we meet the demands of CC
and the needs of the individual?
TEACHER
Read Aloud
Shared
Reading
Small Group
Differ. Reading
Standards Aligned
Whole Group
Instruction with
Grade Level + Texts
STUDENT
Independent
Reading
TEACHER
Read Aloud
Shared
Reading
Small Group
Differ. Reading
Independent
Reading
Application and transfer of
skills and strategies to
differentiated reading levels
STUDENT
TEACHER
Read Aloud
Shared
Reading
Small Group
Differ. Reading
Close, critical reading
STUDENT
Independent
Reading
What is Shared Reading?
•
Heterogeneous, whole group, curriculum aligned
instruction using grade level appropriate complex
texts
•
Teacher controlled text with a specific teaching point
•
All students can see and engage in a close reading
of the text
•
Text is at or above grade level readability
•
Provide strong teacher scaffold for ‘close reading’
Shared Reading is not . . .

A Read Aloud

Small, homogeneous groups

Round-Robin (ie: popcorn reading)

Students reading by themselves

How is this approach similar to what you
already doing?

Differences?

Wonderings?
Shared Reading vs. Read
Aloud
Shared Reading




Read Aloud
All eyes on same text

All ears (not eyes) on
same text

Highly teacher controlled

5-15 minutes

New text read at each
session
Students interact with
text
15-30 minutes
Same text can be used
over multiple days for
different purposes
What does Shared Reading look
like?

Grade 4 Shared Reading Demonstration

Note what the teacher is doing vs. what
the students are doing
Shared Reading Texts
May be used multiple times to serve
different purposes
May include excerpts of a longer text
May include high interest, modern texts
(magazine articles, cereal boxes, blogs,
song lyrics, etc.)
Think about ‘bundling’
Remember…

Shared Reading is where you directly
teach a strategy or concept to the whole
class at one time. Differentiated small
groups is where students apply it at their
instructional or independent reading
level.

Thoughts?
What is ‘close reading’?
Depends
on who
you ask!
The Shift To Text-Dependent
Questions
In “A Letter from a
Birmingham Jail,” Dr.
King discusses
nonviolent protest.
Discuss, in writing, a
time when you
wanted to fight against
injustice.
Based on this text, and
this text alone, what
do you know? What
can you make out
about the letter Dr.
King received?
What is ‘close reading’?

“the careful, sustained interpretation of a
brief passage of text. Such a reading
places great emphasis on the particular
over the general, paying close attention
to individual words, syntax, and the
order in which sentences and ideas
unfold as they are read.” – wikipedia
Close Reading in Action

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.9 Analyze seminal
U.S. documents of historical and literary
significance (e.g., Washington’s Farewell Address,
the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s Four
Freedoms speech, King’s “Letter from Birmingham
Jail”), including how they address related themes
and concepts.

David Coleman Presentations: Bringing the
Common Core to Life
Walking through MLK Letter (10 min)
http://vimeo.com/25206110,


In the ‘narrow’ . . .
Little, if any, focus on context
 Only rely on what is in ‘the four corners’
 Avoid imputing to the author any ideas or
arguments that aren’t evident in the text
 Avoid substituting our ideas for the authors
 Limit pre-reading strategies
 Re-read multiple times searching for textual
evidence

Proceed with Caution!
Another Perspective
Oh the Places You’ll Go!
Language
 Narrative
 Syntax
 Context

Another perspective . . .

Meaning emerges from the transaction
between the reader and the text

“The words give us information, but the
meaning doesn’t emerge until each reader
brings his thinking to bear upon it.” (Beers and
Probst, 2012)

Until then, words are merely ‘ink on paper’
(Rosenblatt, 1938/1995)
An Example of this Approach


My Papa’s Waltz

What is my own definition of ‘close
reading’? How does it compare with
what has been shared today?

In your own reading, how do you
engage in ‘close reading’? What
motivates you to read in this way?
In Action . . .
Pattern Folders – A Literary Analysis
Tool (Gr. 9-12)
 Thinking Notes (Gr. 9-12)
 Little Notes for Big Ideas (Gr. 3-12)
 Analyzing Informational Text - Gr. 5
 Evidence and Arguments - Gr. 9-12
 Poetic Elements - High School
 Embedded Vocabulary – Elementary
 Text Complexity: A Teacher’s
Perspective

Next Steps

Collaborate, Evaluate, Innovate

Continue referring back to the actual
Common Core document and
publisher’s criteria

iu17commoncore.wikispaces.com
Remember, it’s a process . . .
How do we meet the CC
demands for text complexity?

How does CC define text complexity?

What do we need to consider when
selecting texts?

How can we meet the rigorous demands
of Common Core while meeting
individual student needs?
Ticket out the Door
Red light – Stop or hold
off doing
Yellow – think about
doing or points to ponder
Green – definitely need
to move forward with
Upcoming ELA Common Core
Learning Opportunities

Feb 6 (C) and 13 (W) – Meeting Common
Core’s Demand for Text Complexity

March 13 (C) and March 18 (W) – Meeting
Common Core’s Demand for Rigorous Writing
Across the Gr. 4-12 Curriculum – Canton

April 30 (C) and May 1 (W) – Meeting the
Common Core Demands for Writing at the
Elementary Level
Contact

Christina Steinbacher-Reed creed@iu17.org