Last week, we talked about the three levels of text complexity. The things that we can measure ourselves (Qualitative), the things that can only be measured by a computer (Quantitative), and the ability of the students seated in front of you at the time, (Reader & Task).
When you are going to analyze a text to see if it is complex…here are a few things to consider…
1.) Make sure that you understand the quantitative measures first…
2.) Check the text for parts that you think the children will stumble over so that you can create activities to help the children master understanding of those sections.
3.) Remember to consider the reader and the task at hand. This is probably the most important part! 🙂 Sometimes this outweighs the qualitative and quantitative measures.
4.) For K and 1…Decodable text does not lend itself to this type of evaluation. You’ll need to expose the students to complex text through your read alouds, for the most part. 🙂
5.) Your professional judgement is most important in determining text complexity for your students. Use your best judgement in concert with the three levels of complexity! 🙂
I’ll post some resources here for you a bit later on in the week…my computer is just not cooperating tonight! :/
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Woo hoo! 😉 Thanks, Katie! 🙂 I'm doing your Chinese New Year pack with my firsties in two weeks! 🙂 Can't wait to share pics of our shenanigans! 🙂 I'll give you a holler when I do! 🙂 A good time will be had by all, I am sure! 🙂