What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction - International ...

Key vocabulary
• Readability formulas: Methods of determining text difficulty “on
the basis of syntactic and semantic complexity” (p. 339)
• Critical word factor (CWF): An “indicator of the task demands for
recognizing words in primary-level texts. The CWF indicates
the number of words that will be difficult in a text when
measured against a curriculum” (p. 345)
• Text leveling: In Reading Recovery and guided reading, a method
of differentiating texts along certain dimensions to establish
their level of difficulty for students in the elementary grades
Materials
For each participant:
✓ Chapter 15 of What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction
✓ Learning log
For you:
✓ A variety of leveled texts
Session Activities
Initiating learning
As described in session 5, mind streaming helps learners activate
background knowledge.
1. Group members should find a partner.
2. For one minute, Partner A should describe the dilemma
confronting teachers and students regarding the texts of
assessments designed to determine students’ achievement
of state or national standards. Partner B should encourage
Partner A through active listening.
3. Partners A and B reverse roles.
Interactive group design
Display a variety of level texts. Ask participants to examine and
classify them according to the systems identified in this chapter.
As a group, analyze the texts and identify key ways of determining
readability, interest level, and text difficulty. Reflect and share group
findings.
From the Professional Development Edition of What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction
(3rd ed.), © 2009 International Reading Association.
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