Readability Assessment and Reflection. Exemplar. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney. Kim Breon. University of New England

Transcription

1 Readability Assessment and Reflection Breon 1 Readability Assessment and Reflection Exemplar Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney Kim Breon University of New England EDU 742: Study Skills and Content Literacy Instruction November 26, 2011

2 Readability Assessment and Reflection Breon 2 Readability Tools The two readability tools I chose to review were the Flesch-Kincaid Index/Literacy Level and the Lexile Level. I chose these two readability tools because they seemed to work well with a fiction piece of reading material. As an Autism Support teacher for seventh and eighth grade students, I do not use text books in my classroom, but do have reading books available for students to page through or read. I chose Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney, because this is a favorite series in my classroom. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are relatable to my students and they enjoy the humor in them, even if they are not the ones to read the book themselves. Flesch-Kincaid Index/Literacy Level The Flesch-Kincaid Index/Literacy Level is probably one of the most highly used reading assessments for books in my classroom. I can easily take a page from the book, type it into Microsoft Word, and get the readability level along with the reading ease. The formula to compute the Flesch-Kincaid Index/Literacy Level is (0.39 x Average Number of words in sentences) + (11.8 x Average Number of syllables per word) With this, there are no extra quizzes or tests to take. It is just basic math. Lexile Level Lexile Level and Flesch-Kincaid are two very different assessments. Lexile Level gives you a MetaMetrics system level, where as Flesch-Kincaid gives you a grade level at the end of the assessment. Lexile states The Lexile Framework evaluates both reading ability and text

3 Readability Assessment and Reflection Breon 3 complexity on the same scale. Unlike other systems, the Lexile Framework uses assessment results to match readers with texts essential for growth and monitor their progress toward standards. Lexile Measure is a number indicating the reading demand of the text in terms of the semantic difficulty (vocabulary) and syntactic complexity (sentence length). The Lexile scale ranges from 200 to 1700 Lexiles, although actual Lexile measures can range from below zero to above 2000 Lexiles. Also, it is to note that the Lexile Level is beginning to be linked to state standards and competencies. However, at this time, that has not happened in Pennsylvania. Sample of Text: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney, page 68 Tonight Dad walked up to me while I was sitting on the couch, and he seemed bent out of shape about something. He wanted to know what I didn t bring out the recycling bin this morning like he asked me to. I told him he must be confused, because he never said anything to me about the recycling. But he said he asked me to do it last night while I was playing video games, and to be honest with you, that did seem a little familiar. Reflection This was a helpful way to learn how to find readability levels for books that do not automatically have 2 nd grade written across the front cover of the book. Using the Flesch- Kincaid Index, The text I chose scored surprisingly at grade level 8. This would be a higher grade level book for my students to read individually. However, that being said, I have a student who reads at grade level 2, who is reading this book. The material in the text is not too difficult. There are no large words in the text above besides recycling that would be difficult to read. This surprises me.

4 Readability Assessment and Reflection Breon 4 Using the Lexile Level assessment, the text above came in at 1,000 Lexiles (equivalent to ages 8-11). The nice thing about the Lexile Level is that it also gives you a program that you can search for books within your Lexile Level range. Also, if you do not know your Lexile Level, you can put in a grade level and decide if the reading material at your level was easy, just right, or difficult. The website will give you a list of books within your grade level at different Lexile Levels. Overall, I would say the Lexile Level gives you a more accurate representation along with examples of books to read. It definitely seemed to be more accurate with the text I chose than the Flesch-Kincaid Index. I may have found a new website to search for student reading material!

5 Readability Assessment and Reflection Breon 5 References: K., C. (2010, May 12). Hoagies' Gifted: Reading Levels of Children's Books: How Can You Tell?. Hoagies' Gifted Education Page. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from The Lexile Framework for Reading. (2011). The Lexile Framework for Reading. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from