Day2ELASessions
FluencyandComplexTextGrades4&5
SummerInstitute2016
TableofContents
TableofContents..................................................................................................................................3
Reflection................................................................................................................................................4
StudentProfile......................................................................................................................................5
BirthoftheHaudenosaunee.............................................................................................................6
EelClan,OnondagaNation............................................................................................................................................6
GrammaticalandRhetoricalFeaturesofComplexText.......................................................10
QualitatveFeaturesofTextComplexityExplained................................................................11
SyntaxDefinition(1818).................................................................................................................12
TheJuicyLanguageofText.............................................................................................................13
Usingthe“JuicySentence”toHelpStudentsAccessComplexText..................................14
DeconstructionExerciseI...............................................................................................................16
DeconstructionExerciseII.............................................................................................................17
GrammarandComprehension......................................................................................................18
ScaffoldingStudentInterpretationofComplexText.......................................................................18
Dr.TimothyShanahan,retrievedfromshanahanonliteracy.com,June17,2015.................................18
CreatingTextDependentQuestions...........................................................................................21
Reflection
Questions
BeginningoftheDayReflection:
Thinkaboutyourcurrent
practiceasitappliestothe
question.
EndofSessionsReflection:Think
abouthowyourcurrentpractice
maystaythesame,andhowit
mightchangebasedontheday’s
learning.
TowhatextentdoI
providemystudents
thetimetheyneedto
ensuretheycanaccess
textatacomplexity
beyondtheir
independentreading
levels?
HowoftendoIaddress
fluencyandlanguage
inthetextsIteach?
TowhatextentdoI
previewandworkwith
textsthatIam
teachingbeforeIteach
them?
StudentProfile__________________
Wheredoesthis studentexcel? Homelanguage? Language
minority?*
Reading/literacy levelandability
Interests
Interactionwith
peers
Writingability
Additional
background
Concerns
*Thesubgroupofthelanguageminoritypopulationdoesnotspeak,understand,read,orwritethedominantlanguagewell
enoughtoparticipateeffectivelyinanEnglish-onlyclassroom.Theyarereferredtoas“minorities”notjustbecausetheyare
notanumericalmajorityinthepopulation(althoughtheymaybelocally)butbecausetheyoftenwieldlittleinfluenceor
powerwithinthecountry.AmericanIndians,forexample,aresometimesconsideredlanguageminoritieseveniftheyspeak
onlyEnglishbecausetheirhistoryincludesanon-EnglishlanguageandrepressivelanguageandculturalpoliciesbytheUS
federalgovernment,sothattheircurrentuseofEnglishwasimpactedbythathistory.
BirthoftheHaudenosaunee
ByDehowӓhda·dih-BradleyPowless
EelClan,OnondagaNation
Text
TextComplexity
Features
OverathousandyearsagoontheshoresofOnondaga
Lake,inpresentdaycentralNewYork,democracywas
born.TheSeneca,Cayuga,Onondaga,Oneida,andthe
Mohawkpeoplehadbeenwarringagainsteachotherand
therewasgreatbloodshed.Thesefivenationshad
forgottentheirwaysandtheiractionssaddenedthe
Creator.
TheCreatorsentamessengertothepeoplesothatthe
fivenationscouldliveinpeace.Hisnamewasthe
Peacemaker.
ThePeacemakercarriedpowerfulwordsofpeacetothe
fivenations.Hetraveledinacanoeofwhitestonetoshow
thathiswordsaretrue.
OneofthefirsttojointhePeacemaker’svisionwasan
OnondaganamedHiawatha.Hiawathawasinmourning
withthedeathofhisdaughters.ThePeacemakerused
Hiawatha’spurpleandwhitewampumstringstoclearhis
mindtothinkclearlyagain.Togethertheytraveledtothe
othernationspersuadingthemtoputdowntheirweapons
ofwar.
ThePeacemakerthensoughtoutthemostevilpeopleof
thefivenations.Heknewthatforpeacetoendure,these
FluencyWork
menneededtobeturnedintogood-mindedleaders.
ThePeacemakerhadalreadysuccessfullyconvincedthe
Mohawks,Oneidas,Cayugas,andSenecastojointheGreat
Peace;howeveranOnondaganamedTadodahostopped
thecompletionofthevision.Hewasthemostevilperson
ofthetime.Tadodahowassoevilthathisbodywas
twistedandsnakesgrewfromhishead.
JourneyofthePeacemaker
ThePeacemakergatheredallofthechiefs.Theytraveled
togethertoconvincehimtojointhepeace.Onlythendid
TadodahoacceptthePeacemaker'smessageandhis
specialdutyofcaretakerofthecouncilfireofthe
Haudenosaunee.Hisbodyandhairstraightenedandhe
becamethelastofthefiftychiefs.Thefivenationswere
unitedatlast!
ThePeacemakershowedthemthatonenationcanbe
easilybroken,likeasinglearrow;butfivenationsbound
together,likefivearrows,willbecomestrong.The
Peacemakerfurthersymbolizedthisunionofpeaceby
selectingthewhitepinetree.Thetree’spineneedlesare
alsobundledintogroupsoffivetoremindusoftheGreat
Peace.ThePeacemakeruprootedagreatwhitepinetree
leavingagreathole.Everyonethenburiedtheirhatchets
ofwarandreplantedthetree.ThePeacemakerplacedan
eagleontopoftheTreeofPeace.Theeagleisthereto
warntheHaudenosauneeofanydangerstothisGreat
Peace.
Awampumbeltmadeofpurpleandwhiteclamshellswas
createdtorecordtheevent.Foursquares(startingfrom
theeast)representingtheMohawk,Oneida,Cayugaand
SenecaNationswiththeGreatPeaceTree(representing
theOnondaga)inthecenter.Thisbecameknownasthe
HiawathaBeltwhichshowedtheunionofthefiveNations.
ComingTogether
TheOnondagaNationisasovereignnationwithitsown
government.ThisbeganwhenthePeacemakerreplanted
theGreatTreeofPeace.Ithasbeeninexistencefor
countlesscenturies.
TheentireHaudenosaunee(Ho-den-no-sho-ne)hasfifty
Hoyane(Ho-ya-nay)orchiefsamongthefivenations.The
Hoyaneareallconsideredequal.Toshowthattheyare
leaders,thePeacemakerplacestheantlersofthedeeron
theGustoweh(Gus-to-wah)orheaddressofeveryHoyane.
Whenincouncil,everychiefhasanequalresponsibility
andequalsayinthemattersoftheHaudenosaunee.
ThePeacemakerenvisionedthechiefsholdingarmsina
largecircle.Insidethecirclearethelawsandcustomsof
ourpeople.ItistheresponsibilityoftheHoyanetto
protectthepeoplewithinthecircleandtolookforward
SevenGenerationstothefutureinmakingdecisions.
AtOnondaga,therearefourteenHoyane,including
Tadodaho.Eachchiefworkswithhisfemalecounterpart,
theClanMother.Incounciltheyarethevoiceofthe
peopleoftheirclan.
Thecouncilisdividedintothreebenchesorgroups.Each
benchmustworktogetherondecisionsforthenation.
Whenadecisionbycouncilhasbeenagreeduponbyall
threebenches,itcomeswiththebackingofallofthe
chiefsinagreement.ItissaidthattheCouncilis“OfOne
Mind."Thereisnovoting.
SincethatfirstmeetingwiththePeacemaker,the
OnondagaNationChiefsandClanMotherscontinueto
governbythewaysgivenbythePeacemaker.Thismakes
theHaudenosauneeandtheOnondagaNationtheoldest
continuousdemocraticgovernmentinNorthAmerica.
AsidefromReadingStandard1,whichstandard(s)doesthistextlenditselftofor
instruction?
Whythis/thesestandards?
GrammaticalandRhetoricalFeaturesofComplexText
QualitativeFeaturesofTextComplexityExplained
Common Core Standards
Qualitative Features of Text Complexity Explained
Companion to the Qualitative Dimensions Scale
(To be consulted in filling out the rubric and in conjunction with anchor texts)
Structure (could be story structure and/or form of piece)
Simple Complex
Explicit
Implicit
Conventional Unconventional
Events related in chronological order Events related out of chronological order (chiefly literary texts)
Traits of a common genre or subgenre Traits specific to a particular discipline (chiefly informational
texts)
Simple graphics sophisticated graphics
Graphics unnecessary or merely supplemental to understanding the text
Graphics essential to
understanding the text and may provide information not elsewhere provided
Language Demands: Conventionality and Clarity
Literal Figurative or ironic
Clear Ambiguous or purposefully misleading
Contemporary, familiar Archaic or otherwise unfamiliar
Conversational General Academic and domain specific
Light vocabulary load1: few unfamiliar or academic words Many words unfamiliar and high academic
vocabulary present
Sentence structure 2straightforward Complex and varied sentence structures
Knowledge Demands: Life Experience (literary texts)
Simple theme Complex or sophisticated themes
Single theme Multiple themes
Common everyday experiences or clearly fantastical situations
Experiences distinctly different from
one’s own
Single perspective Multiple perspectives
Perspective(s) like one’s own Perspective(s) unlike or in opposition to one’s own
Knowledge Demands: Cultural/Literary Knowledge (chiefly literary texts)
Everyday knowledge and familiarity with genre conventions required Cultural and literary knowledge
useful
Low intertextuality (few if any references/allusions to other texts)
High intertextuality (many
references/allusions to other texts
Knowledge Demands: Content/Discipline Knowledge (chiefly informational texts)
Everyday knowledge and familiarity with genre conventions required Extensive, perhaps specialized
discipline-specific content knowledge required
Low intertextuality (few if any references to/citations of other texts) High intertextuality (many references
to/citations of other texts
Levels of Meaning (chiefly literary texts) or Purpose (chiefly informational texts)
Single level of meaning Multiple levels of meaning
Explicitly stated purpose Implicit purpose, may be hidden or obscure
1
2
Though vocabulary can be measured by quantifiable means, it is still a feature for careful consideration when selecting texts
Though sentence length is measured by quantifiable means, sentence complexity is still a feature for careful consideration when selecting texts
SyntaxDefinition(1818)
“SyntaxisawordwhichcomesfromtheGreek.Itmeans,inthat
language,thejoiningofseveralthingstogether;and,asusedby
grammarians,itmeansthoseprinciplesandruleswhichteachushow
toputwordstogethersoastoformsentences.Itmeans,inshort,
sentence-making.HavingbeentaughtbytherulesofEtymologywhat
aretherelationshipsofwords,howwordsgrowoutofeachother,how
theyarevariedintheirlettersinordertocorrespondwiththevariation
inthecircumstancestowhichtheyapply.Syntaxwillteachyouhowto
giveallyourwordstheirpropersituationsorplaces,whenyoucometo
putthemtogetherintosentences.”
WilliamCobbett,AGrammaroftheEnglishLanguageinaSeriesofLetters:Intendedfor
TheUseofSchoolsandofYoungPersonsinGeneral,butMoreEspeciallyfortheUseof
Soldiers,Sailors,Apprentices,andPlough-Boys,1818
MyDefinition
TheJuicyLanguageofText
• Whatchallengesdoescomplextextpresentforeducators?
• Whatdoessherecommendtoaddressthechallenges?
• Whatresonatesmostwithyouabouthermessage?
Usingthe“JuicySentence”toHelpStudentsAccess
ComplexText
ChrisHayes
ThejuicysentenceisastrategydevelopedbyLilyWongFillmore,specificallytoaddressthe
needsofELL’sandaccessingcomplextext.But,Ihavefoundittobeausefultoolforall
students.Thejuicysentenceprovidestheopportunityforstudentstogainadeeper
understandingofthetextbybreakingapartacomplexsentence.Throughthiscloselookatthe
sentence,manyaspectsoflanguagecanbetaughtincontext.Hereismyversionofhowthe
juicysentencecanbeusedinaclassroom:
● Afterengagingthestudentsinaclosereadusinganexemplar,aBAPlesson,aRAP
lesson,orevenaclassread-aloud,Ichooseasentenceworthyofourtimewhichmay
include:vocabularyworthinvestigatingfurther,complexstructure,languagefeatures
thatmatchgradelevellanguagestandards,etc.
● Iwritethesentenceontheboardandaskthestudentstocopythesentenceverbatim.
Thenthestudentsareinstructedtowritewhattheythinkthesentencemeans.We
thendiscussthemeaningofthesentence,whichwillusuallyleadtoadeeperdiscussion
ofhowthatsentencerelatestothestorywehadread.Ialsotakethisopportunityto
discussanyvocabularyandtheuseofcontextcluestodeterminethemeaning(other
instructionalopportunitiesmaycomeupforvocabulary–wordreplacement,etc.)
● ThenIhavethestudentswriteabout“anythingelsetheynotice”aboutthesentence.
Thisisdifficultatfirst,astheyneedsomemodelingastowhatthismeans.Thisiswhen
Ireallygointothelanguagestandards–circlingverbsanddiscussingtense,circling
wordswithaffixesanddiscussingmeanings,basewords,etc.,circlingpunctuationand
discussingpurpose,etc…Thegradelevellanguagestandardsreallydrivethislearning.
● ThelastpartIaskthestudentstodoistorewritethesentenceusingthesamestructure
astheauthor.Forexample,ifthesentenceusesquotations,thestudentswillinclude
thesamequotations.Ifthesentenceisacompoundsentence,thestudentswillwritea
compoundsentence.Thetopicdoesnothavetomimictheoriginalsentence,and
actually,Ithinkitshowsadeeperunderstandingwhenitdoesn’t.
HereisanexamplefromafifthgradestoryfoundinHoughtonMifflinHarcourt’s,Katie’sTrunk:
Mybreathgotcaughtsomewheremidstmystomachandchest,andIcouldnotgetitback.
Thissentencegivestheopportunitytodiscusshowthesentencerelatestotheoverallmeaning
ofthestory,todeterminethemeaningofmidstusingcontextclues,toteachaboutcompound
sentencestructures,andverbendings.Anotherversionofhowtouseajuicysentenceis
describedinthearticlefoundonthiswebsite:
http://leafturned.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/juicy-language/.
Afterusingthejuicysentencetoexaminesyntax,youcantakethisinstructionfurther.Judith
Hochmanuseskernelandcomplexsentencestoexpandstudents’understandingofsyntaxin
herbookTeachingBasicWritingSkills.Akerneliswhenasentenceisbrokenapartintothe
smallestsentencepossible(Volcanoeserupt).Thecomplexsentenceexpandsakernelintoa
moredetailed,complexsentence.Youcanbeginthisunderstandingbytearingthejuicy
sentenceintoakernel,andexpandingitusingthestudent’sownlanguage.Thenthislearning
canbeconnectedtosentenceexpansionwiththestudents’personalwriting.Hochman’sbook
alsogivesspecificexamplestolearningotheraspectsoflanguagefromthesentenceleveltofull
essaywriting,withapplicationsfromK-6thgrades.
MoreinformationaboutLilyWongFillmore’sworkcanbefoundinthisarticle:
(http://ell.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/academic-papers/06LWF%20CJF%20Text%20Complexity%20FINAL_0.pdf)
DeconstructionExerciseI
OverathousandyearsagoontheshoresofOnondagaLake,inpresent-daycentral
NewYork,democracywasborn.
1.Copythesentence.
2.Write,“Ithinkthissentencemeans________________.”
3.Writeotherthingsthatyounotice.
4.Writeanewsentencemimickingtheauthor’sstructure.
DeconstructionExerciseII
TheSeneca,Cayuga,Onondaga,Oneida,andtheMohawkpeoplehadbeen
warringagainsteachother,andtherewasgreatbloodshed.
1.Copythesentence.
2.Write,“Ithinkthissentencemeans_______________.”
3.Writeotherthingsthatyounotice.
4.Writeanewsentencemimickingtheauthor’sstructure.
GrammarandComprehension
ScaffoldingStudentInterpretationofComplexText
Dr.TimothyShanahan,retrievedfrom
shanahanonliteracy.com,June17,2015
I'mafourthgradespecialeducationteacherinNYC.Ourschoolhasacquiredanew
reading/writingprogramandhasdiscontinuedagrammarprogramwe'veusedforseveral
years.Inthenewprogramthegrammarcomponentisvirtuallynon-existent.OnagutlevelIfeel
thatstudentsarestrugglingwithtestquestions,evenmathones,duetolackof
practice/knowledgeofgrammar.Theysimplydon'tunderstandwhatthequestionsareasking.I
waswonderingwhatyouropinion/researchshowsasfarastherelationshipbetweengrammar
instructionandreadingcomprehension.Doyouhaveanypreferenceasfarasgrammar
programs/teachingmethodologiesgo?
Greatquestion.Thereisalotofevidenceshowingtheimportanceofgrammarinreading
comprehension.Studiesovertheyearshaveshownaclearrelationshipbetweensyntacticor
grammaticalsophisticationandreadingcomprehension;thatis,asstudentslearntoemploy
morecomplexsentencesintheiroralandwrittenlanguage,theirabilitytomakesenseofwhat
theyreadincreases,too.
Also,readabilitymeasuresareabletopredicthowwellstudentswillcomprehendparticular
textsonthebasisofonlytwovariables:vocabularysophisticationandgrammaticalcomplexity.
AtleastfortheLexileformula,grammarismuchmoreheavilyweightedthanvocabulary.This
meansthatthetextfactorthatismostpredictiveofcomprehensibilityishowcomplicatedthe
sentencesaregrammatically.
Therearealsoexperimentalstudiesthatshowthattherearewaysthatgrammarcanbetaught
formallythatimprovereadingcomprehension.Forexample,teachingstudentstocombine
sentencesseemstoimprovehowwellstudentsunderstandwhattheyread.Clearly,itmakes
sensetoguidestudentstounderstandhowsentenceswork.
Studiesofmetacognitionandtheoriesofreadingcomprehensionsuggesttheimportanceof
studentshavingalanguageofgrammar(knowingthedifferencebetweenanounandaverbfor
example),andcommonsensewouldsuggestthatitmakessensetohelpstudentstounpack
sentencesthatconfusethem.
Thatdoesn’tnecessarilyjustifyalotofgrammarworksheetsandthelike,butitdoesarguefor
teachingstudentsaboutsentencesastheymeetthem.Forexample,lookatthefollowing
sentencefromNikkiGiovanni:
“ThewomenofMontgomery,bothyoungandolder,wouldcomeinwiththeirfancyholiday
dressesthatneededadjustmentsortheirSundaysuitsandblousesthatneededjustatouch—a
flowerorsomevelvettrimmingorsomethingtomaketheladieslookfestive.”
Itisalongsentence(44words),andithaslotsofembedding(witnesstheauthor’suseof2
commasandanem-dash).Isurmisemanystudentswouldstruggletomakesenseofthis
sentenceprimarilybecauseofthecomplexgrammar.Howwouldyoudealwiththis?
First,IwouldhavethestudentsreadthispagefromGiovanni’sRosaandoneofthequestionsI
wouldaskwouldbe,“WhatdidthewomenofMontgomerydo?”PerhapsI’dfindthatthe
studentsweren’tasperplexedasIassumedinwhichcaseI’dmoveon.Butlet’simaginethat
theycouldn’tanswermyquestion...thenI’dshowthemhowtobreakthissentencedown.
Forexample,Iwouldpointoutthatthephrasebetweenthecommas,“bothyoungandolder,”
addsanideabutthatIwanttosetitasidefornow.Thatwouldsimplifythesentenceabit:
“ThewomenofMontgomerywouldcomeinwiththeirfancyholidaydressesthatneeded
adjustmentsortheirSundaysuitsandblousesthatneededjustatouch–aflowerorsome
velvettrimmingorsomethingtomaketheladieslookfestive.”
Evenwithsuchasimplechange,Ibetmorekidswouldunderstanditbetter,butmaybenot.
Let’sgofurther:
Aswiththecommas,theword“that”(whichshowsuptwicehere)signalstheinclusionofa
separateoradditionalidea,andasareaderthatisanotherpointofattackthatIcanusein
tryingtointerpretthissentence.Andtheword“or”isanothergoodplacetoseparatethese
additionalideas.
Let’sslicethesentenceatthefirst“that”andthefirst“or:”
“ThewomenofMontgomerywouldcomeinwiththeirfancyholidaydresses”
“thatneededadjustments”
"ortheirSundaysuitsandblousesthatneededjustatouch–aflowerorsomevelvettrimming
orsomethingtomaketheladieslookfestive."
Obviously,wecouldkeepbreakingthisonedown,butagain,manykidswouldgetitatthis
point:Thewomenwerebringingintheirfancydresses…Whichwomen?Theyoungandtheold.
Whichfancydresses?Theonesthatneededadjustments.Whatotherkindsofoutfitsdidthey
bringin?Sundaysuitsandblouses.Whichsuitsandblouses?Theonesthatneededjusta
touch—somethingthatwouldmakethemlookfestive.
Thepointofthiskindofexchangewouldnotbetoteachgrammarperse,buttohelpstudents
tountanglecomplexgrammarsothattheycouldindependentlymakesenseofwhattheyread.
Frankly,fewofourchildrenknowwhattodowhentheyconfrontthiskindoftextcomplexity.
Kidswhoknowsomethingaboutsentencesandpartsofspeechwillbeatanadvantage,but
theystillwillnotnecessarilybeabletointerpretasentencefromthatalone.Thiskindof
scaffoldedanalysisisaimedatbothuntanglingthemeaningofthissentenceandingiving
studentssometoolsforunpackingsuchsentenceswhentheyareontheirown.
Yourreadingprogramshouldprovidesomeinstructioningrammar,anditshouldprovideyou
withsomesupportinprovidingstudentswithinstructioninpartsofspeech,sentence
combining,and/orthekindsofscaffoldingdemonstratedhere.Itispureromanticismthat
assumesthatchildrenwilljustfigurethiskindofthingoutwithoutanyexplicitinstruction(and
itisevenmorefoolishtoassumethatEnglishlanguagelearnerswillintuitthesethingswithout
moredirectsupport).
CreatingTextDependentQuestions