To offer every student in our classroom the best chance for success, we've found it necessary to offer them reading passages that are differentiated to match their skills and vocabulary. By offering some students slightly simpler texts, it allows them to engage with the very difficult assignments we do in our classroom. If we can help a student by simplifying a text, and it allows them to publish an amazing, authentic website based on their learning, it is a victory.
Examples of Leveled Texts:
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To the right, you'll see an example of how our leveled passages are linked to our lesson and unit plans. Each is clearly labeled. When students are assigned a leveled passage based on their ability, it's done covertly, through Google Classroom, or they find the passages waiting for them in the supply folders at their homogenous group tables.
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"How do we overcome our biases? By walking boldly toward them."
Verna Myers |
Descriptions of Leveled Texts:
Full-Length Texts
English
If you're reading at grade level, we don't modify the text you use in any way. Our texts are selected to be rigorous and authentic (usually about issues that exist in our world right now.) The close read tools you use with these texts have no additional supports, and they're usually full of tier-two [academic] and tier-three [domain specific] vocabulary.
Bilingual
Full-length, bilingual texts have the full-length text with two modifications: it is available in both English and Spanish, and it is chunked into smaller paragraphs. By chunking the text in this way, it allows for students to use the Spanish words to orient themselves in the English text. This allows students to read and comprehend en Espanol, but respond to questions using English.
Shortened Texts
English
Our shortened texts have a few modifications. The most obvious is that they're shorter. We eliminate redundant examples. We shorten embedded stories into anecdotes. We remove sentences with incredibly difficult or confusing language. The goal with our shortened texts is to help struggling students to learn what they need to learn from the text.
Bilingual
Our shortened, bilingual texts use the same chunking methods as the full-length texts as well as the shortening methods described above so that students have access to a clearly chunked text written in clear, plain text to enhance understanding and eliminate confusion.
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"Climb the stairs" to the next level of text difficulty, and enjoy the view as new texts expand your perspective.
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