Tackling Complex TextsTasks that Motivate

Intermediate Readers

Presented by Betsey Olotka and Elizabeth Marsili

All materials available at http://TacklingComplexTexts.

wikispaces.com/3-5

Determining Text Complexity

Text Complexity Bands

Great Source for Complex Texts

www.NewsELA.com

Silent Conversation

Source of article:www.NewsELA.com

Lexile Level: 720L

The Rules ofSilent Conversations

• Your handwriting must be readable.

• Use all the time I give you for writing. Don’t just write a word or two and quit. Keep rereading and thinking about the article and the things other people have written. Keep the conversation going.

• This is a silent discussion, so no talking until later on!

Text Evidence Walks

Source of article:www.NewsELA.com

It was a close cousin to

certain dinosaurs found

on other continents.

The huge animal was 30 feet long and weighed 4 tons.

Until now, very little was known about North American dinosaurs during the time Siats lived.

Makovicky said he and

Zanno also found bones

from two other new

kinds of dinosaurs.

Text Evidence Walks

Is this evidence that the discovery of Siats meekerorum

was an important discovery?

Text-Based Debates

Source of story:Junior Great Bookswww.greatbooks.org

Lexile Level: 810L

Text-Based Debates

1. Read and mark text.– F = Ooka is fair– UF = Ooka is unfair

2. Divide into groups:– I take the position that Ooka

is fair.– I take the position that Ooka

is unfair.

Text-Based Debates

3. Meet with people who take the same position to discuss evidence from the text that supports that position.

4. State your position and give text evidence to your opponent. Listen to the evidence your opponent provides and take notes.

My position is that Ooka is _______ andmy first reason is _________. You can see that in the story when it says ________.

Text-Based Debates

5. Meet with original group to discuss how to respond to opponent’s argument.

You said that ____________ shows that Ooka is ________. I believe that actually show that Ooka is ________ because ___________.

6. Respond to your opponent’s arguments.

SociogramsA sociogram is a visual representation of the

relationships among characters in a literary text

SociogramsA sociogram is a visual representation of the

relationships among characters in a literary text

Sociograms• Physical distance between characters

• Size/shape/symbol of a character

• Types of lines

• Use of color or visual symbols

• Add one word to each connecting line. Words may only be used once!

Sociograms