Textbooks
are one of the key features to success in the classroom. Providing a good textbook
to students gives them the opportunity to expand their knowledge on a given
topic. Oftentimes, students will experience texts that are too far above their
level. This runs the risk of poor comprehension. Teachers and administration
should focus on the textbooks that they choose for the classroom and make sure
they are readable to the level of the students. Textbooks now come in
traditional text and e-text versions to fit different teaching styles. E-texts
are often preferred for their multimodal approaches reaching out to students on
many different levels. However, traditional texts should still be used with
proper strategies (i.e. read aloud, literature circles, jigsaws, etc.) to best
benefit the student’s comprehension.
Some students
might find it difficult to focus on the textbook. Literature circles can be
beneficial across the curricula in both content area and multimodal styles.
With the content area approach, a single topic is focused and many texts can be
referenced. The students can be split up based on the types of readings they
are reading (i.e. fiction, non-fiction, biography, etc.) and come together as a
group to discuss the topic. Using the multimodal approach incorporates technology
throughout the group. The students can be split by different expertise levels
(i.e. CEO, illustrator, etc.) and will use a different form of technology
depending on their focus. Using these strategies can help a student focus on
the text therefore comprehending it on a higher level.
Teachers
should also assess the readability of a text before presenting it to the class.
Educators should be on the lookout for red flags such as inconsiderate discourse,
text ambiguity, and dumbed-down text. These prevent the reader from
appropriately grasping the idea behind the text. When scanning for the
appropriate text to use, teachers and administration can use checklists, the “rule
of thumb,” and readability formulas. Checklists allow the text to be analyzed
based on its pros and cons based on the class needs. Using the rule of thumb
lets the teachers consult with the students by seeing how much the student
struggles when reading the text. It is important to keep some tougher content
to allow growth in the student. Lastly, readability formulas are used to
determine the recommended grade level for a specific text.
Different
formulas are currently in place and can be analyzed in different ways. Teachers
can even input a section of text into Microsoft Word and use the spelling and
grammar tool to assess the overall readability score of the text using the
Flesch-Kincaid method. This can be done by adjusting the proofing settings on
Microsoft Word allowing for the readability to be analyzed. After the grammar
and spelling check is complete, the user is presented with a predicted grade
level of the reading. Other readability formulas are in placed with varying
levels of student comprehension; however, not one readability formula can be
considered the right way. While readability formulas are a good tool for
teachers to use when analyzing a text, they should be taken loosely. Grade
levels from the scores should be seen as an ambiguous number as it can depend
on the topic being discussed and even the writer’s interest in the subject.
Readability formulas calculate their values from sentence and word length but
this cannot always determine the difficulty of a text. In order to have a more
accurate measure, a majority of the text should be used.
Teachers
can test out students’ comprehension of a text by using a couple of different
methods called the cloze and maze procedures. The cloze procedure takes
portions of text and blanks out certain words or phrases. The student is
required to fill in the blanks to the best of their abilities. The maze method
is similar but the students are given options to choose from when filling in
the blanks. These methods are excellent as they can be used across the curricula.
Using these methods and others presented in this chapter, teachers can make
reading a more interactive experience for students to help them better
comprehend textbooks and other texts they are presented with.
The Flesch-Kincaidreading ease of this post: 51.2
Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 10.5
1 comment:
I do agree that it is important for teachers to assess the readability of a text. They should make sure that the students will be able to understand what it is they will be reading. Also teachers should know if the reading will be too easy or too difficult for a child. If it is too easy then the student will not be interested in reading it.
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