What students are reading was the focus of the Lynbrook Board of Education's February business meeting.
At the Feb. 6 meeting the Strategic Planning Committee’s Academic Achievement Subcommittee delivered a report, updating the board and the public on the district’s progress in aligning the middle school English language arts curriculum with the Common Core Learning Standards.
As explained in the presentation, the district uses a three-part model for measuring text complexity that takes into account quantitative and qualitative elements, as well as reader and task considerations, when assigning appropriate reading-level text selections. The exclusive use of quantitative measures, such as word and sentence length, tends to underestimate the qualitative challenges posed by complex narrative fiction.
Using quantitative tools only, sophisticated works such as “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Jane Eyre” would be rated as appropriate reading for grades 2-3. Using a three-part model takes into account qualitative factors such as levels of meaning. In addition, it allows teachers to tailor text selections to provide students with the opportunity to not only stretch their reading abilities, but also to experience the satisfaction and pleasure of fluent reading.
The presentation went on to outline the class reading selections that have been chosen for grades 6-8, with an explanation of the qualitative and reader task considerations that were made in choosing the texts.
What books are your children reading? Tell us in the comments section below.
