Shifting to
Complex Text
in K - 5
Alabama Reading Initiative
MEGA Conference 2013
Insomniacs:
What keeps you awake at night
when transitioning to the new
College and Career Ready
Standards?
Outcomes:
Participants will . . .
•
Gain a deeper understanding of how
the key shift, “regular practice with
complex text…,” supports the
implementation of the standards
(K-5).
•
Clarify their understanding of what
the standards look like in practice
(K-5).
Three Key Shifts in ELA
1. Building knowledge through contentrich nonfiction and informational
texts.
2. Reading, writing and speaking grounded
in evidence from text, both literary
and informational
3. Regular practice with complex text
and its academic language
Why shift to more
complex text?
A primary goal of the CCRS is to
develop active, thoughtful, and
engaged learners who are able to
embrace the benefits and
challenges of the 21st century,
both in school and in the
workplace.
What does this
learner look like?
 Demonstrates
the ability to read
complex text independently
 Possesses strong content knowledge
 Responds to a range of texts
covering many genres and topics
 Comprehends, critiques, and values
evidence
 Employs technology
 Understands other cultures and
perspectives
What is text complexity?

Quick Write:
What makes a text complex?

Text Complexity is defined as those
characteristics that make a specific text
more challenging than another. CCRS
uses a three-pronged model to identify
how easy or challenging a specific text is
to read: Quantitative, Qualitative &
Reader and Task.

How does your definition compare to this
definition?

Turn and talk to your neighbor about
your thoughts.
The Standards’ Model of
Text Complexity
Step 1: Quantitative Measures
Measures such as:
• Word length
• Word frequency
• Sentence length
• Text length
10
Text Complexity Grade Bands
Text Complexity
Grade Bands in
the Standards
K–1
2–3
4–5
6–8
9 – 10
11 - CCR
Old Lexile Range
N/A
450 - 725
645 - 845
860 – 1010
960 - 1115
1070 – 1220
Lexile Ranges
Aligned to CCR
Expectations
N/A
450 – 790
770 – 980
955 – 1155
1080 – 1305
1215 - 1355
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…
12
Quantitative Measures
www.lexile.com
Finding a Lexile Measure for Text:
http://www.lexile.com/findabook/
13
Step 2: Qualitative Measures
Measures such as:
• Structure
• Language Demands
and Conventions
• Knowledge Demands
• Levels of
Meaning/Purpose
16
Qualitative Activity:
Exploring Text Complexity
From Little Bear by Else Minarik
“Mother Bear, Mother Bear, where are
you?” calls Little Bear.
“Oh dear, Mother Bear is not here and
today is my birthday. I think my
friends will come, but I do not see a
birthday cake. My goodness—no
birthday cake. What can I do?”
Activity:
Exploring Text Complexity
From My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Gannett
My father opened the pack and took
out the comb and the brush and the
seven hair ribbons of different colors.
“Look,” he said, “I’ll show you what
to do on your forelock, where you
can watch me. First you brush a
while, and then you comb, and then
you brush again until all the twigs
and snarls are gone. Then you divide
it up into three and braid it like this
and tie a ribbon around the end.”
Activity:
Exploring Text Complexity
From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor
did Alice think it so VERY out of the way to hear
Rabbit say to itself, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be
late!’ (when she thought it over afterwards, it
occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at
this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural):
but when the Rabbit actually TOOK A WATCH OUT
OF ITS WAISTCOAT-POCKET, and looked at it, and
then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it
flashed across her mind that she had never before
seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a
watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity,
she ran across the field after it, and fortunately
was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbithole under the hedge.
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
20
Reader & Task:
Guiding Principles
Reader and Task
Ten Guiding Principles
1. Make close reading and rereading of texts central to
lessons.
2. Provide scaffolding that does not preempt or replace text.
3. Ask text dependent questions from a range of question
types.
4. Emphasize students supporting answers based upon
evidence from the text.
5. Provide extensive research and writing opportunities
22
(claims and evidence).
Reader and Task
Ten Guiding Principles
6. Offer regular opportunities for students to share ideas,
evidence and research.
7. Offer systematic instruction in vocabulary.
8. Ensure wide reading from complex text that varies in
length.
9. Provide explicit instruction in grammar and conventions.
10. Cultivate students’ independence.
23
1. Read
with a pencil in hand; annotate
the text.
2. Reread
to look for similarities in your
current practices.
3. What
new practices do I need to include
in my reading routine?
4. What
practices do I need to revise?
Reader & Task
Guiding Principle #1:
Make close reading and rereading
of texts central to lessons.
Video of Close Reading
“Grappling with Complex
Informational Text”
http://vimeo.com/54007714
Pondering Partners:
 Read each quote.
 Respond in writing to the
quote.
 Share with a partner.
Reader & Task
Guiding Principle #2:
Provide scaffolding that does not
preempt or replace text.
Reader & Task
Guiding Principle #3:
Ask text dependent questions
from a range of question types.
Text-Dependent Questions?
In “Casey at the Bat,” Casey
strikes out. Describe a time when
you failed at something.
In “Letter from a Birmingham
Jail,” Dr. King discusses nonviolent
protest. Discuss, in writing, a time
when you wanted to fight against
something that you felt was unfair.
In “The Gettysburg Address”
Lincoln says the nation is dedicated
to the proposition that all men are
created equal. Why is equality an
important value to promote?
What makes Casey’s experiences
at bat humorous?
What can you infer from King’s
letter about the letter that he
received?
“The Gettysburg Address” mentions
the year 1776. According to
Lincoln’s speech, why is this
year significant to the events
described in the speech?
Model close reading.
 Select a variety of that will draw
students into the texts.
 Pre-teach vocabulary and/or
background and scaffold the texts to
make them accessible to students
without pre-teaching the content of
the texts.
 “Step back” and allow the readers
space and time to experience the texts
unmediated – productive struggling.

Reader & Task
Guiding Principle #4:
Emphasize students supporting answers
based upon evidence from the text.
 Students
have rich and rigorous
conversations which are dependent
on students reading a central text.
 Set
up questions so each student
has an opportunity to draw their
own conclusions and back them up
with evidence from the text.
Reader & Task
Guiding Principle #4 (cont.):
Emphasize students supporting answers
based upon evidence from the text.
Basal Alignment Project
The Basal Alignment Project offers:

A library of 300+ revised lessons
for common Basal reading series
(3rd-5th grades), each carefully
aligned to the CCSS. Each new
lesson includes quality textdependent questions, improved
tasks, and a focus on academic
vocabulary.
Resources

Helpful websites:
o
www.lexile.com
o
www.achievethecore.org/basalalignmentproject
o
www.textproject.org/textmatters
o
www.connected.mcgraw-hill.com
o
www.Engageny.com
Helpful articles:
o
Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading by Fisher, Frey and
Lapp
o
Education Update: “It’s Complicated” by Laura Varlas, April
2012, Vol. 54 #4
o
Educational Leadership: “The Challenge of Challenging Text”
by Shanahan, Fisher and Frey, March 2012, Vol. 69, #6
3–2-1
3 Things that you have learned about
text complexity
2 Things you can’t wait to implement
in your classroom as it relates to text
complexity
1
Thing you still have a question
about as it relates to text complexity