Complex Texts: Guiding Readers One Step at a Time

Complex Texts:  Guiding Readers One Step at a Time

Photo Credit:  Veer

A staple of the Common Core is the idea of text complexity.  Writers of curriculum must constantly consider whether the text chosen for a particular age or grade level or subject is appropriate and within the acceptable range of complexity.

In this post, Maria Walther, a 1st grade teacher, author, and Literacy Consultant gives some ideas for making sure the text complexity is appropriate.  While focused mainly on young elementary age readers, the ideas Walther shares are applicable to middle or high school students as well.

First, Walther suggests that we get to know the reader.  The better we know our students, claims Walther, the better we will be able to scaffold reading activities and introduce increasingly complex texts.  There are two good ways to do this, the author says, including a reading interest inventory and a running log.  The interest inventory will help us to match readers to texts and subjects which appeal to them, thus increasing engagement and interest.  By keeping a reading log, the teacher can readily design activities for guided reading lessons.  These may focus on anything from self-monitoring to decoding to vocabulary development.  

Second, Walther says teachers must get to know their books.  It is essential that teachers get to know the books  they select for guided reading lessons before the activity commences.  Categorizing books which are useful for self-monitoring, for example, allows the teacher to focus on that skill, whereas other books may be better suited to lessons on fluency, vocabulary study, decoding, or comprehension.  Knowledge of the books we teach seems obvious, but understanding the usefulness of various texts to achieve learning objectives is critical.

Finally, the author insists that we learn about successful frameworks for teaching guided reading.  She cites Jan Richardson's book The Next Step in Guided Reading as a wonderful resource featuring a 3-pronged approach to guided reading that includes also word study and guided writing.  Walther implores her reader to continue to learn, to have professional conversations, and to embrace the methodologies that will help us to help students become better readers.  

The idea that matching students up with  texts that interest them, that being familiar with the texts we select, and that staying on the cutting edge of methodology in guided  reading can allow us to deliver the Common Core while producing a generation of readers of difficult text is empowering.