English Learners & Text Complexity 1. What and why of Complex Text 2. Role of core vocabulary in complex texts 3. Features of core vocabulary that make it complex for English Learners 4. Making English reading more challenging for ELs 5. Texts that grow ELs’ capacity as readers
1977—Chall proposes: Dumbing down of texts
1996: Analysis of Declining Text Difficulty LEX Mean 0 Primer 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th -10 -20 -30 -40 -50 -60 -70 -80 1919-1945 1946-1962 1963-1991
COLLEGE READINESS Reading Between 2006: Reading Between the Lines the Lines What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading Only 51 percent of 2005 ACT- tested high school graduates are ready for college-level reading— and, what’s worse, more students are on track to being ready for college-level reading in eighth and tenth grade than are actually ready by the time they reach twelfth grade.
2010: Discrepancy in High School & College Texts Stenner, A. J., Koons, H., & Swartz, C. W . (2010). Text complexity and developing expertise in reading. Chapel Hill, NC: MetaMetrics, Inc.
Core and Extended Vocabularies: Words in American Textbooks Word Zones TM 100% 90% 6=135,473 80% 5=13,882 70% 4=2980 60% 3=1676 50% 2=620 40% 1=203 30% 0=107 20% 10% (Zeno et al., 1995) 0% % of 17.25 million words
The Staircase of Vocabulary in the CCSS Exemplar Gr 11-CCR Gr 9-10 Gr 6-8 Gr 4-5 Gr 2-3 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 Zones 1-5 Zones 6-8
Henry and Mudge Henry used to walk to school alone. When he walked he used to worry about tornadoes , ghosts, biting dogs, and bullies . He walked as fast as he could. He looked straight ahead. He never looked back. But now he walked to school with Mudge . And now when he walked, he thought about vanilla ice cream, rain, rocks, and good dreams.
Alice’s Adventure Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, and what is the use of a book, thought Alice without pictures or conversation? So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies , when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.
The Black Ship But as they sat feasting, one who had not been invited was suddenly in their midst: Eris , the goddess of discord , had been left out because wherever she went she took trouble with her; yet here she was, all the same, and in her blackest mood, to avenge the insult . All she did--it seemed a small thing--was to toss down on the table a golden apple. Then she breathed upon the guests once, and vanished .
The Gettysburg Address Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated , can long endure . We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We are met to dedicate a portion of it as the final resting place of those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
Most words are in the core vocabulary because they are versatile. They are versatile in: Meaning Part of speech Use in idioms (literary) Use in complex phrases (content areas)
4.2 Collocations U D Meanings Compound Complex phrase words active • active volcano 56 • adjective: • active member of the 0.90 • active verb Republication Party o always doing things • active in the Democratic party o involved in an organization/ • active seniors activity by doing things for it o working in the expected way • noun o the active (voice) • a (smoky, hostile) atmosphere 50 atmosphere • noun: • atmospheric 0.64 pressure o feeling that an event/place gives you o physics: mixture of gases that surrounds Earth or another planet o the air in a room • in battle battle • legal battle 53 • battlefield 0.74 • noun: • battleship • the battle for (control of the a fight between two armies or Senate) • battleground groups • losing battle o situation where people • battle against (cancer) compete/argue with each other o an attempt to stop something • verb o to try hard to achieve something • chainsaw • bicycle chain • a chain of (islands, mountain chain 47 • noun 0.86 • chain of events • chainsmoke • chained to (a fence) o series of metal rings • mountain chain o group of stores, hotels owned by • chain of same company command o series of related events • chain reaction o series of similar things in a line • chain letter • chain store • verb o use a chain to fasten one thing to another
Teaching (from Calfee & Drum, 1981) distinctions in the Greek/Latin Anglo-Saxon & Specialized words used mostly in Romance layers of science EX: thermometer, English geography New Words through compounding of word parts: thermosphere, geopolitical Romance 1066 (Norman Conquest)-1399 (Henry IV, a native Anglo-Saxon speaker assumes throne): French is spoken by upper classes; English by lower-classes. French loan words remain. EX: frigid, perspiration, soil New Words through derivations: frigidity, frigidness, refrigerator Anglo-Saxon Common, everyday, down-to-earth words EX: cold, sweat, dirt New Words through compounding: cold-blooded, cold-natured, cold- drink, cold-running
Sample Text from 4th Grade NAEP (2007) “I must get help,” said Rosa to herself. But how? I don't know anyone. Mama told me not to speak to strangers. Besides , I don't know how to ask in English. Rosa had an idea. She rushed back to the street, walked to the traffic light, then raced around the corner and back to the school yard.
Sample Text from 4 th Grade NAEP (2009) Were these his own footprints ? Yes! He could follow them back to the path . Hooray! Willy shouted . Then he remembered the nuts . I'll come back for them. But, no, on second thought he didn't really want to come here again.
How are students doing with the core vocabulary? 100% National Assessment of Educational Progress (2009): 75% non-ELL: 223 Proficient+ ELL: 188 Basic 50% Below Basic 25% 0% NAEP 4th gr.
The CCSS Staircase of Text Complexity 450-600 600-750 750-900 900-1,050 1050-1200 1200-1350 2-3 4-5 6-8 9-10 11-CCR Blue Old Metrics recommendations Red CCSS Recommendations Hiebert, E.H. (October, 2010). Anchoring Text Difficulty for the 21 st Century: A Comparison of the Exemplars from the National Assessment of Educational Assessment and the Common Core State Standards (Reading Research Report 10.02). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
First-Grade Texts: 1962 & 2007 (Lexiles) 500 400 300 200 1962 2007 100 0 Beginning Middle End -100 -200
Focusing the curriculum on E.D. Hirsch Jr.’s perspective on the western canon— without giving students an understanding of the role of the text in current society
The Optimal “Staircase” of Complex Vocabulary 9-10 6-8 4-5 2-3 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 Zones 1-5 Zones 6-8
Stepping Up Complexity: Building Capacity with Core Vocabulary 5,500 most frequent words & words with ≤ 7 letters 3,000 most frequent words & words with ≤ 6 letters 1,000 most frequent words & words with ≤ 5 letters 500 most frequent words & words with ≤ 5 letters 300 most frequent words & words with ≤ 4 letters 100 most frequent words & words with ≤ 4 letters 50 most frequent words & words with ≤ 3 letters 95+% of words in texts fall into these categories
Step 2: 100 most frequent words & words with ≥ 4 letters Can a cat be pink? No. Can a cat be green? No. Can a cat be black and white? Yes! I play ball with my cat and dog. Get the ball, cat. No, cat, no. Get the ball, dog. Yes, dog, yes! Dogs can run. They run and run. Dogs can dig. They dig and dig. Dogs cannot fly. Birds can fly and fly.
Step 4: 500 most frequent words & words with ≥ 5 letters Toad came walking by. "What a fine garden you have, Frog," he said. "Yes," said Frog. "It's very nice, but it was hard work." "I wish I had a garden," said Toad. "Here are some flower seeds. Plant them in the ground," said Frog, and soon you will have a garden." "How soon?" asked Toad. "Quite soon," said Frog. Toad ran home. He planted the flower seeds.
Step 6: 3,000 most frequent words & words with ≥ 6 letters Sometimes, schools cut music programs when there is a shortage of money. The members of school boards are faced with hard choices when money is limited. One choice might be between music programs or larger classes. In situations like this, school board members are faced with a hard choice. Music programs can be costly. Violins, trumpets, and pianos are expensive to buy. They are also expensive to repair. Further, usually not all of the students in a school take music classes. When faced with the choice of larger classes or music programs, school leaders will often focus on math, science, and language arts.
Recommend
More recommend
