Lesson 4 Activity 4.1 Do I have to read this? The text is so hard!

Lesson 4 Activity 4.2. Reading tough text is worth it.

"It isn't often that a society gets a chance to start afresh,

and I think that moment is here."

—Chester E. Finn, Jr.*

*Chester E. Finn, Jr. is a former Assistant Secretary of Education in the George Bush administration, current President of the Fordham Foundation and a well-known critic of educational reform efforts.^[1]

Summary: Text complexity is a reality for all readers. The writings from the Age of Reason can be challenging to comprehend- why is that? Is it because they are archaic or is there a science behind how hard some things are to read?

Benchmark:         

11.4.10.10 By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature and other texts including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Learning Target:

I can read review/research on text complexity and real world application/use.

I can identify Age of Reason literature as complex text.

Essential Question:        

How does studying complex texts benefit the reader versus reading simple texts?

You will need:         2 class periods

        Nonfiction Articles

        Unit Text

STEP 1 

Read the following articles on text complexity.

• Beginner’s Guide to Text Complexity article (.doc)
• Why Complex Text Matters( pdf)

Watch the short video.

• 77 sec on Text Complexity: What Makes a Text Complex? (YouTube)

STEP 2:  

Read the following on “Finding Common Core Grade Levels for Texts: Guide to Online Tools” (.doc)

Select one of the six tools from the chart. There are six tools with corresponding websites, as well as directions for ‘scrubbing’ a section of text to run it through one of the analyzers. These tools analyze test for complexity using different criteria.

• Example - ATOS Analyzer

STEP 3:

Using the online tool you have selected (in STEP 2), copy a section of text in this step of excerpts of literature from the time period. ( Activity 2.1 Step 1. ) Cut and paste this text into a supporting document as per the directions of the chosen tool. If needed, follow the nine steps to ‘scrub’ the text so it can be analyzed. Determine the text complexity based on the online tool you have used.

STEP 4:

In the discussion forum, share your results by labeling your text, your tool and your results of the complexity of that text. Also discuss why, based on all of your readings, complex text matters to you in high school. Respond to two other student’s posts. Reply to everyone who responds to your primary post.