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This article discusses the importance of providing not only text complexity for one's students, but effective text complexity for one's students. This article works to provide teachers with other modes of finding more complex texts for readers besides just looking at Lexile Levels or the AR point value assigned to it. It discusses the importance of using qualitative evaluations and working to match the text to not only the reader, but the task at hand.

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This article compares reading to lifting weights. You can never gain muscle without putting in the work. This is very similar to reading you have to continue you to work, and you have to continue you "up and up the weight" in order to grow and get better. The article discusses that students are experiencing a lack of text complexity within high schools are suffering terribly when they get to college because they cannot read and properly comprehend the complex texts that are being thrown in front of them. This article then focuses on strategies that teachers can use to try and prevent this from happening. It is very similar to the other article...know your readers, know the text at hand, and know the task you want them to complete.

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How is reading complex text like lifting weights? Just as it's impossible to build muscle without weight or resistance, it's impossible to build robust reading skills without reading challenging text. - Shannon, Fisher & Frey
The New York State Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017) outline the importance of teaching a range of texts, including focusing on the complexity of reading the words on the page, as well as the complexity of building language and knowledge.

The importance of increasing the complexity of texts that students read and the need for teachers to better understand what makes the texts challenging arose out of research that showed nearly half of the students graduating high school need some kind of remediation to cope with the reading required in college and during their careers.

As students move through grades, they are faced with texts that are increasingly longer and more complex in terms of the vocabulary used, sentence structure and text organization. In middle and high school, the texts present greater conceptual challenges, and may include more detailed graphic representations, demanding a much greater ability for the reader to synthesize information.

Central to instruction with complex texts is the notion that the teacher is able to match students' texts and tasks to promote student learning. Teachers need to know whether students can independently read the range and complexity of grade level discipline-specific materials, and if not, what supports and strategies they need. To do this, teachers need to have information on:

Their students as readers

The complexity of the texts they are using with the students, i.e. supports and challenges

The nature of the tasks they set (how students are going to interact with the text) and the level of support the teachers will provide

This guide is designed to help teachers to determine the complexity of the texts they use.

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A Beginner's Guide to Text Complexity | Generation Ready

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How is reading complex text like lifting weights? Just as it's impossible to build muscle without weight or resistance, it's impossible to build robust read ...

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This article talks about all of the shifts within the CCR standards, but what I liked about this article was that it talked about how shift #2, relates to all of the strands of the ELA standards. For reading, students should be able to cite evidence within the text. For writing, students should be able to analyze sources and apply those sources to argumentative writing pieces. For speaking/listening, students should be able to have strong academic discussions with one another over complex subjects and questions.

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This article comes from Reading Rockets. This article states that there are actually 6 shifts, but I believe shifts 4 & 5 work to convey the same meaning. The article and charts within the article work to show what students should be doing and what the teacher should be doing to aid the students. Shift 4 focuses more on the reading aspect while shift 5 focuses more on the writing aspect of finding evidence.

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You are welcome to print copies for non-commercial use, or a limited number for educational purposes, as long as credit is given to Reading Rockets and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact the author or publisher listed.

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Common Core and ELLs: Key Shifts in Language Arts and Literacy

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The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) and Literacy are rigorous, internationally benchmarked, and aligned with college and work expectations. The standards set requirements not only for English language arts but also for literacy across the content areas, including history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

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This article also discusses all of the shifts, but I like how it is broken down into a chart so it makes it very easy to differentiate between the different shifts. Building knowledge is extremely important for reading comprehension. This is something we have talked about in class consistently. The article talks about how we should be splitting up reading 50/50 with fiction and non-fiction but also how we should be providing students with a variety of content based texts (science, social studies, etc.) in order for them to be provided with the most knowledge growth they can.

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This website also looks at all of the strands, but by just looking simply at the Building Knowledge portion of the text, it encourages students to read both fiction and non-fiction in order to grow knowledge and vocabulary skills. It also encourages students to read read aloud books (books above their grade level) in order to "exercise" their comprehension skills.

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Hope you all are aware of the increased competition in today's world. Okay, let me ask you all something.

Who do you think are feeling the pressure due to this competitiveness?

Yes, the students are the ones who feel the pressure to stay in the race. But Common core state standards ensure that all students possess the skills and knowledge essential to succeed in college, career, and life upon graduation from high school, regardless of where they live. Yes, they have set these consistent guidelines to match the expectations of colleges, workforce training programs, and employers.

What do you think are these guidelines?

It's basically a set of standards of what every student should know and possess the ability to do English language arts. Do they have specific grade students to whom these guidelines are applied to? No this is followed right from the kindergarten to 12th grade.

Common core had called for key shifts in English language arts which they consider essential for implementing the standards well.

These key shifts are focused on things that have the most vital return for students. Common core has ensured that these shifts guide all aspects of implementing the standards which include professional advancement, assessment, design, and curriculum.

So we would like to describe these key shifts in English language arts ensuring one thing - expectations for teaching and learning are made clear to you in a concise manner.

We have discussed below the key shifts in English language arts called by the common core:
1. Students are required to practice with complex texts and its academic language:

ELA standards prefer students to go for complex texts rather than focusing wholly on the skills of reading and writing. This is because of the fact that the gap between the complexity of college and high school texts is huge. Based on what students can read in terms of complexity, it is considered as the greatest predictor of success in college. Standards include a staircase of increasing text complexity from elementary through high school which also focuses on building general academic vocabulary so critical to comprehension.

Common core standards advise looking at current scope and sequence to determine where/how to incorporate greater text complexity

Common core allows and encourages teachers to build a unit in a way that has students scaffold to more complex texts over time. It also encourages teachers the opportunity to share texts with students that may be at a higher difficulty level.

2. Reading, Writing and Speaking Grounded in Evidence available on the text:

If you have any analysis, well-established claims or clear information to be presented then common core highlight the importance of using the evidence from texts. This standard implies student has to go through the text with attention so even if a question is asked from the complex text the student will be able to answer it. This insists on teachers asking questions from text rather than questions based on experience or the already known ones. This standard makes sure that students focus on what they are reading which prompts them to grasp information, ideas, arguments based on the evidence in the text.

Common core standards also expect the advancement of the narrative writing throughout the grades, because they believe that command of sequence and detail will be essential in later grades. Not only that, but it is also important for effective, argumentative and informational writing. Likewise, students should be able to answer a range of text-dependent questions. Go for questions in which the answers require conclusions based on careful attentiveness to the text.

3. Building Knowledge through Content-Rich Nonfiction and Informational Texts:

Students learning to read should exercise their ability to comprehend complex text through read-aloud texts. Usually, in grades two-plus, students begin reading more complex texts, which consolidate their foundational skills with reading comprehension. Standards intimate to read the texts aloud which are considered to be well above the grade level of the student. This, in particular, is applied for grades five-plus and above.

Standards urge you to go for nonfiction stories which make up the vast majority of required reading in college or profession so this will improve your vocabulary and get you to be prepared for college, career, and life. Considering the fact that Informational text is harder for students to comprehend than narrative text common core has advised that students are required to read very little informational text in elementary and middle school. At the same time, common core supports grade seven-plus students learning how to read different types of informational text.

Standards advise students must establish a base of knowledge across a wide range of subject matter by engaging with works of quality and substance.

It is clear that helping kids adjust to these key shifts will provide new challenges for teachers and for the students themselves. Teachers will have to be creative in finding the most efficient way to deliver engaging curriculum and professional development. By better understanding what the shifts mean and how the mastery of this new approach will benefit our kids, however, we can take the first important steps to helping our kids succeed with the Common Core State Standards.

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Key Shifts in English Language Arts For Kids -98thPercentile

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Common core had called for key shifts in English language arts which they consider essential for implementing the standards well. Click here to read more