Featuring the Lexile Framework® for Reading (LFR)

Engaging Students Through Independent Reading in Middle and High School

Kim Bowen, kbowen@lexile.com Research Associate

Overview Independent Reading Matching Readers and Texts

• Lexile Framework for Reading • Other Tools

Facilitating, Enriching and Assessing Independent Reading

This I Believe

•Reading is essential to success •Reading has been essential to my success

•Reading can save lives •Reading has saved my life

Independent Reading Engaging to students Targeting “sweet spot” of challenge and

success Increasing fluency (accuracy,

automaticity, prosody) and confidence Improving stamina (length of time,

length & density of text)

Oklahoma Resources http://sde.state.ok.us/measure/Lexiles

/default.html http://sde.state.ok.us/measure/Lexiles

/pdf/ConversionTableGr3.pdf http://www.sde.state.ok.us/measure/Fi

ndabook/default.html

English Language Arts -- Reading Strong developmental foundation for

student reading Read literary & informational texts (within

& beyond ELA) Challenging reading material for students

Oklahoma & The Common Core Standards

Reading as Transactional Process LFR Foundation

• Iterative • Meaning-making transactions

• Reader • Text

MetaMetrics Technology • Analyze Text • Link to current assessments • Forecast comprehension • Match readers and texts

The Lexile Framework for Reading

An educational tool that links text and readers under a common metric—Lexiles

Typical range of readers within a classroom • 10th to 90th percentile or about 600 Lexiles

Lexile measure helps educators determine the amount of scaffolding needed by each student for a successful reading experience

Lexile Comprehension Model Reader Ability – Text Readability = Comprehension

“Targeted” Comprehension = 75% Independent Reading / Self-Engagement

600L (reader) – 600L (text) = 0 (75% forecasted comprehension)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

-1000 -750 -500 -250 0 250 500 750

Reader - Text (in Lexile)

Fore

cast

ed C

ompr

ehen

sion

Rat

e

75

Less Challenging

More Challenging

50%

90%

The “sweet spot“ for Reading

This I Believe Activity Review the descriptions of the essays below

and select one to read: • A Duty to Heal • Be Cool to the Pizza Dude • Do What You Love • Remembering All the Boys • The Perfection of Character • We Are Each Other’s Business

Read the selected essay

This I Believe Activity Reread the essay, underlining the word,

phrase, or sentence that resonates with the concept of “identity”

Take a few minutes to write about how the selected lines reflect the concept of identity

“Jamming to the Text” • Stand and read your underlined sections • Don’t worry about repeated or echoing lines

Forecasted Independent Reading for Readers of Similar Ability with Texts of Different Difficulties

Reader Ability

Text Difficulty

Exploring Identity Unit Sample Texts

Expected Comprehension

1000L 500L Sit-In (Pinkney & Pinkney) 96%

1000L 750L Esperanza Rising (Ryan) 90%

1000L 1000L Warriors Don’t Cry (Beals) 75%

1000L 1250L Muchacho (Johnson) 50%

1000L 1500L On Equality Among Mankind (Rousseau) 25%

Success Rates for Readers of Different Ability with Texts of Similar Difficulty Reader

Ability Sports Illustrated Lexile

Expected Success

500

750

1000

1250

1500

1000L

1000L

1000L

1000L

1000L

25%

50%

75%

90%

96%

Stenner, Stone

Limitations of Lexile Measures What Lexile text measures don’t address

Text Characteristics Age-appropriateness of

Content Text Support (pictures, pull-

outs) Text Quality (Is it a good

book?)

Reader Characteristics Interest and Motivation Background Knowledge Reading Context and

Purpose

Lexile text measures only measure text complexity. Therefore, input from readers, parents, teachers and

librarians is necessary.

Available free at www.Lexile.com/Findabook Contains English and Spanish titles Reading within the Lexile Range provides

challenge without frustration • 50 Lexiles above Lexile measure • 100 Lexiles below Lexile measure

Add student interests to Lexile Range and students are likely to read more.

“Find a Book with Lexiles” Web site

Use Internet databases to: Find on-line periodical articles and

instructional resources by Lexile measure on a variety of high-interest topics for “emergency” independent reading

Build tiered supplemental reading lists on content topics (to support differentiated instruction)

Lexile Analyzer Analyze short text to get Lexile measure

(LM) Requires free registration & file saved as

text (directions on www.lexile.com) Use to determine LM of published texts Use to determine LM of assignments

This I Believe Essay Lexile Measures

• A Duty to Heal (750L) • Be Cool to the Pizza Dude (1060L) • Do What You Love (1090L) • Remembering All the Boys (890L) • The Perfection of Character (560L) • We Are Each Other’s Business (940L)

Other Tools & Resources Reader Interest Inventories Reading Logs, Booklists Websites

• Goodreads.com • Teenreads.com • EnglishCompanion.Ning.com • Young Adult Library Association

• http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/yalsa.cfm

•

Setting up Independent Reading: Issues to Consider Supplement class study?

• Thematic, genre, general? Assessment?

• Process? Product? Individual? Small group? Whole group? Time in class? Out of class? Intensive (close analysis) or Extensive (fluency,

pleasure) Free Choice? Controlled (limited) choices?

Ex: Supplement Thematic Unit Unit: Exploring Identity

• Whole Group Reading • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings autobiography (1070LM) by

Maya Angelou* • “I Am an American Day Address.”(850LM) by Learned Hand* • “Remarks to the Senate in Support of a Declaration of Conscience.”

(1160LM) by Margaret Chase Smith* • Model Reading Strategies – Literary Analysis Essays Excerpts from Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Modern

Critical Interpretations Ser. (1330LM ) Edited by Harold Bloom *Common Core State Standards Exemplar Texts for Grade 9

http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf

Ex: Supplement Thematic Unit Unit: Exploring Identity

• Small Group Reading • Literary Analysis Essays Excerpts from Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Modern Critical Interpretations Ser. (1330LM ) Edited by Harold Bloom

• This I Believe Essays (www.thisibelieve.org)

*Students can be grouped by reading challenge match OR by interest in topic

Ex: Supplement Thematic Unit Unit: Exploring Identity

• Individual/ Independent Reading • Informed by data

– Lexile – Interest Inventory – Observation – Other?

Ex: Supplement Thematic Unit Unit: Exploring Identity

• Individual/ Independent Reading • Options • Free Choice • Guided Choices – memoir, coming of age stories • Controlled Choices – Literature Circle or Book Club style

– Esperanza Rising (750L) – The Circuit (880L) – Warriors Don’t Cry (1000L) – Something to Declare (1100L) – Muchacho (1250L)

Enriching Independent Reading Discussion

• With co-readers • With others in class • With others outside the class

Making Connections Outside the Text (and the Classroom)

Assessing Independent Reading Process v. Product? Observable Behaviors

• Class Input / Posted • Checklist/Evidence

Reading Conferences Self-Assessment

For More Information Daniels, H. & Steineke. (2004). Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles.

Heinemann Gallagher, K. (2009) Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and

What You Can Do About It. Stenhouse Hiebert, E. (2009). Reading More, Reading Better. Guilford Press Lesesne, T. (2003). Making the Match: The Right Book for the Right

Reader at the Right Time, Grades 4-12. Stenhouse Lesesne, T. (2010). Reading Ladders: Leading Students from Where

They Are to Where We’d Like Them To Be. Heineman Mesmer, H. (2008). Tools for Matching Readers to Texts. Guilford Miller, D. (2009). The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in

Every Child. Josey-Bass Robb, L. (2009) Assessments for Differentiating Reading Instruction.

Scholastic