Discuss your reaction to the statement above.
According to the authors of the Common Core State Standards, "A turning away from complex texts is likely to lead to a general impoverishment of knowledge, which, because knowledge is intimately linked with reading comprehension ability, will accelerate the decline in the ability to comprehend complex texts and the decline in the richness of text itself. This bodes ill for the ability of Americans to meet the demands placed upon them by citizenship in a democratic republic and the challenges of a highly competitive global marketplace of goods, services and ideas."
Discuss your reaction to the statement above.
30 Comments
Andrea Dominguez
6/9/2014 01:54:52 am
First off, I am a new teacher this year and completely new to the Common Core Standards; however, this really resonated the fact that diving into complex texts will truly be cyclical with students knowledge base. Turning away from it will begin the decline in students being prepared graduates long down the road. So how do we ensure that we are making those connections with text complexity?
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Valerie Pelletier
6/16/2014 01:54:41 am
The ability to understand, decipher, and react to complex texts will be the foundation for students' success in school and in life. Why would students turn away? I tend to think turning away is a generational issue stemming from the availability of instant information and gratification, as well as avenues like social media in which communication if brief and shallow. Because of this, I feel responsible as a teacher to foster the skills of understanding complex texts, even at the kindergarten level.
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Patricia Sickbert
6/20/2014 12:41:47 pm
You're right. Kindergarten is not too soon. It's a great time to introduce point of view and get the kids thinking about what they read, really thinking.
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Kathy Katz
6/17/2014 04:19:36 am
Wow, that is certainly a glum and sad forecast! Having said that, I do see it happening. As Valerie states, I see the effects of fast, self involved communication adversely effecting reading, writing and oral communication skills. In fourth grade, the students verbally answering questions and discussing topics rarely use complete sentences unless it is required of them. The students have trouble with research as they just want "the answer" rather than being willing to read the text deeply. Students will write using abbreviations and short hand slang if allowed. As teachers we MUST take the time and energy to allow (demand) that students thoroughly read, thoughtfully discuss, and willingly write about literature and informational texts. The trick in elementary is also to teach reading basic skills and engage the student so reading becomes a lifelong source of joy.
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Christa
6/18/2014 08:22:39 am
Sadly, I agree with what the author is saying. If the complexity of the materials we are giving students is decreased we will not see as much growth from students. Academic demands on students are what drives a student to learn and if we do not expect as much from them we won't get the results we expect.
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Lise
6/18/2014 11:39:18 am
I do agree with this statement. I think all of the technology that is available to kids today has led them away from quality reading. I have also noticed a higher level of frustration when students are challenged in their reading, they want things to come easy. I think it is an absolute necessity to "raise the bar" so our students are able to compete in this world.
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Deb Sudbeck
6/18/2014 10:48:43 pm
I agree with this statement. I think we have seen this happening in the last 20+ years. Once the ability to comprehend complex text decreases (which it has), then the richness of text decreases (which I think we have seen in our reading programs and novels that are being written these days). We need to raise our expectations of students from K on up to not only read but to think while reading.
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Donna Weaver
6/19/2014 12:16:08 am
I agree with this statement!!! The use of technology has taken away the desire to read from a cardboard encased stack of pages with words on them. When I ask students to read a text of complexity, they whine. But once they are gently pushed into doing the task, they find great pleasure! Opening this world to them is very important and knowing what texts that will open the doors for them plays a key part. Once curriculum does not fit all - a teacher must choose based on each individual student's needs to help create a student who IS able to read complex text! Exposing students to different genres is important to create their knowledge base.
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Sheila Freehill
6/19/2014 03:01:45 am
After reading the first 7 comments, I can see we, as teachers, are on the same page. We recognize that the computer age is upon us and we as teachers must model the beauty of slowing down and digesting a great read. I am always asking questions when I read with my students and they can get impatient and just want to get the job done. I work hard to show them that reading is a thinking process and learning to think is what will help develop one's ability to be successful and confident in our competitive society. We must model for our children how to question and debate the pro's and cons of life. If everything is just handed to them they won't learn how to navigate through life.
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Valerie Pelletier
6/19/2014 11:19:31 pm
Very we'll said, Sheila!
Marsha Diemert
6/20/2014 01:06:52 am
I agree but then I don't agree. I realize and know that our level of text has downgraded, but doesn't that coincide with our culture also. Our world is fast paced, wanting the results now, which leads to no time to contemplate our thinking. Frankly, there isn't as much time to be philosophers. For example, I'm thinking I am so glad I am taking this over the summer rather than during the school year because I will be able to take my time and pounder. Being a reading teacher fluency has been a big component, but I think we spent too much time having our students read fast rather than talking about what they are reading. Like in the other statements, we need to be balanced.
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Christine Cope
6/20/2014 05:42:10 am
The discussion surrounding considerate text left me a feeling uneasy. The traits outlined in considerate texts are the same traits that we use to teach writing. Understanding that these are the building blocks of good text how do we move on to the more sophisticated writing that makes a text more challenging. We grade students on their organization, their coherence, their vocabulary, their ideas... Is analyzing text for it's complexity the next step in our writing instruction?
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Patricia Sickbert
6/20/2014 12:37:08 pm
I was thinking about writing instruction, too. I think the reading of complex text and writing go hand in hand. Kids learn to write well by learning to read well and by understanding the nuances in what they are reading. What makes this book so compelling is a question we might ask. What could we do to make your writing piece more compelling is a better question, after reading a complex text, than our saying, "You need a metaphor here or more adverbs in this paragraph." Sometimes, writing instruction is a dumbing down exercise. We seldom teach voice, but a student reading a complex text written with great voice could more easily produce a written piece. So, I do think analyzing text could produce better student writers.
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Kim
6/20/2014 01:53:06 pm
I appreciated your and Patricia's thoughts. It makes sense that writing instruction would be affected, too. I'm wondering if students could analyze writing for complexity when they peer edit.
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Patricia Sickbert
6/21/2014 02:37:40 pm
One great thing for us to model would be peer editing for writing complexity. This is so needed for some of my students. They will say, "I like this part," or draw hearts on their peer's paper.
Julie Daley
6/20/2014 11:12:35 am
When pondering this statement, I think about my own child that just graduated from high school. I truly feel that if I gave him a complex text he would read the first page and declare that he was DONE! How many times I heard him say, "I do not need to read the book, I'll just look at Spark Notes." Getting him to read anything challenging was always a struggle. Technology has truly given people a way out from putting effort into reading and comprehending more challenging texts.
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Patricia Sickbert
6/20/2014 12:23:10 pm
I agree with this statement, but I also see the difficulties for teachers here. We want to give instruction and insight to all students particularly with a complex text. Sometimes even the intervention groups are so large it is difficult to do this. But one thing we can do which will help students get all the benefits from reading a complex text is to model curiosity.
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Kim
6/20/2014 01:44:23 pm
It's difficult to discuss complex texts without discussing perseverance, which others have alluded to as well. I agree that all students need to be challenged, but they also need support with what it looks like to get through something difficult. I know we talk about that with students already, but I'm wondering if we need to be thinking about modeling it even more.
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Kim
6/21/2014 02:48:30 am
Here's a related blog post I just found. Some of the ideas may be familiar, but lots of practical suggestions for how to talk with students.
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Patricia Sickbert
6/21/2014 02:54:37 pm
I love the Samuel Beckett quote, "I can't go on, I'll go on." When talking about perseverance, it's such a great starting place with students. That hike that was so hard, (but we did it) the poem that was so difficult, but we finally understood it (think Emily Dickinson). Chapter Two of Text Complexity- Raising Rigor...
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Amy Melany
6/21/2014 04:55:21 am
This statement to me is reflection of what has been happening with instructional expectations over the past 10 (or more) years. I feel like my reading instruction has become somewhat curriculum and assessment driven and less student driven. At the end of the day, kids need to be able to read deeply and know how to take any text and think critically about it. Don't get me wrong...not everything has to be read deeply, but in our highly competitive world, having critical thinking skills is going to give our kids an advantage in their future.
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Nancy Gordon
6/22/2014 09:24:46 am
Yes- we do need to shift to more student driven instruction to help students access their critical thinking skills! I am excited to see education shifting away from assessment driven instruction.
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Pam Antell
6/22/2014 04:32:35 am
I agree with this statement. I think our students need to be exposed to sophisticated ideas and practice critical thinking skills in order to be prepared for a competitive marketplace. I also believe that this will enrich their personal lives. Being a knowledgeable and reflective person will serve them well in all domains. However, I'd like to see this happen in a way that promotes engagement. I think successful learning happens when students are actively involved and personally motivated. I also believe that this learning needs to happen in a way that is developmentally appropriate. We should challenge students, but we should not place demands on them that are so far out of their zone of proximal development that they can not be successful.
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Rachel Etherington
6/22/2014 06:42:31 am
In our world of instant gratification it is a challenge to expect our students to read a complex text to get the information. Its so easy to type a question on Google and get an instant response. The trouble is that the instant information is instantly forgotten! I agree that if our students cannot read a complex text they will miss out on the knowledge and therefore the ability to be creative and competitive in a global market.
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Joan Maher
6/22/2014 08:43:08 am
Kids need real life experience to go with the complex text. Just having kids read difficult materials with no hands on learning would be a mistake. We need to bring books to life.
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Jan
6/22/2014 08:58:41 am
Yes, it is crucial that students be able to independently comprehend and increase knowledge by using complex text. As they are learning how to do this (by careful scaffolding), we, as their teachers, are teaching them persistence. As they persist, they will experience the satisfaction of having tools to meet the demands of our society and world.
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Nancy Gordon
6/22/2014 09:29:58 am
This statement made me think of a lesson we teach in kindergarten writing. We talk about how if something is hard to draw/write, we don't just switch to drawing flowers and rainbows because it is easier. We persevere, we stick with it and try the best we can because it will only help us become better writers.
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Erin
6/22/2014 12:39:58 pm
It's hard to see that we in education are asking less of students than we have in the past. Haven't we raised academic expectations? Think of how the reading proficiency levels have been raised year after year to help us be sure readers are ready for the next grade level. First graders reading Lexiles190-530, Fountas and Pinnell H-N. We are obsessed with comprehension, teaching comprehension strategies from the first days of Kindergarten because "knowledge is intimately linked with reading comprehension ability." But we do seem to be missing something that the new CCSS are now addressing, the Reader/Text/Task aspect. We are asking students to read complex texts. We are challenging their comprehension and helping them progress level by comprehension level. We are not asking them to think deeply about their reading, to analyze, critique, interact, apply. These are the "skills" that will help students meet "the challenges of a highly competitive global marketplace."
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Karissa
6/22/2014 01:43:58 pm
I think that the statement is close to being true because students need to have complex material to think through. When we give children reading that does not cause them to really think, we are setting them up for failure. A lot of my students just want to know what the right answer is without going through the work to find the answer. I also think that as teachers, we need to make reading exciting again for children.
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Kelly
6/23/2014 09:51:51 am
I agree and I think some of the texts we currently use are not nearly complex enough to help our students become critical/deep thinkers.
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