WOW!!! What a range of text levels that I use with my
kindergartners and I didn’t even know it. Now, they are not doing the reading
of these texts so it is much different than other grades where they are reading
all these texts. I used the Fry Readability scale to measure the texts
quantitative levels.
Literature: The
Emperor’s Egg is a realistic fiction book with factual sentences placed
throughout the story. I read this aloud to my class and we discuss the text and
pull facts from it.
Quantitative-I was able to average out three sets of
100 words, which ended up being a 6th grade level. I was surprised
at this knowing how well they are able to understand, discuss, and pull from
the text. Qualitative-This had literary and informational adding a layer of complexity. You must be able to follow the story and attend to the straightforward facts the author is giving. Medium level of vocabulary but presented in a child friendly manner.
Reader/Text Factors-My students were very engaged in this book since to them it seemed more like a story. We have been discussing penguins prior to this so they had prior knowledge but still engaged.
Informational: Penguins!
from National Geographic KIDS is an informational text about penguins. It’s labeled
as Level 2-Reading Independently (“perfect for kids who are ready for longer
sentences and more complex vocabulary. New words are defined on the page, but
occasional adult help might be welcome”). This is another text that I read
either parts of or read it over a few sessions.
Quantitative-I averaged two segments to get an end of
2nd grade rating. Qualitative-Although the grade level is quantitatively 2nd grade, there are many informational text features like table of contents, labels, maps, vocabulary words, glossary, etc. These all make it harder for them to follow along. Medium level of vocabulary but still accessible for kindergarten. Short, choppy sentences.
Reader/Text Factors-The colorful photographs will keep their attention while I read this to class. Something that will help keep their kindergarten attentions spans is that a classmate brought this book from home (very important in the k worldJ).
Website: I
typically use this more for the photographs of the penguins and to get specific
information (where they live, what they eat, one other fact). I also will have
it displayed on the SmartBoard and highlight the facts that I am picking out as
I read them. I go through this fairly quickly in order to keep their attention.
Quantitative-WOW!! With two segments the average was
right between a 9th and 10th grade level. No wonder I go
through this quickly. Qualitative-It looks as though this is based out of New Zealand, so many of the spellings of words are not aligned with American English. I have 1 student who might notice this but he has difficulty attending so it would probably pass by him as well. High level of vocabulary. Lengthy, difficult sentences.
Reader/Text Factors-They are really just excited to see the photographs and to learn about the specific penguin that they picked to ‘research’ so they are able to attend long enough on this website, especially because the photographs are so brilliant.
I think that for me, at kindergarten, vocabulary played a
huge role in the complexity of my texts. I do think that by reading several
texts to the class, they are never experiencing the vocabulary in isolation,
which Dr. Hiebert is against in her webinar. After actually comparing these
three texts that I use within our non-fiction/informational unit, I understand
her graph about how narrative and informational texts share about 90% of words
and the 10% is specific to either narrative or informational. All three of the
texts shared many words but they each had specific vocabulary to themselves.
Texts I referenced…
Literature: The Emperor’s
Egg by Martin JenkinsInformational: National Geographic KIDS Penguins! By Anne Schreiber
Other text: www.penguinworld.com
*I have tried (even asking our tech guy) to help me post a
link to my scanned documents for the actual text but haven’t had any luck yet. *
I was surprised too to see the level of those texts (texts that I sometimes use in my first grade classroom too). I always find it interesting when I am looking up books like the ones you wrote about and see that the “interest level” is so much lower than the actual “reading level”. I liked how you incorporated the website even though it was much higher than a kindergarten level, I think its good for students to see photograph with text like captions or labels even if they are above their level. Do you think that using more difficult texts (not too difficult), like the National Geographic book, is motivating for your students as readers?
ReplyDeleteHi Christina!
ReplyDeleteI like how you use multiple texts across a specific topic -- in this case, penguins. I also liked seeing that while you are teaching Kindergarten, you are incorporating texts that are above grade level. I think exposing students to complex text at a young age is great for students; it sets up students to know that they have high expectations!
A question for you: how specifically do you use the penguin website? Is there a way you can extend a lesson for a higher achieving group with this website? I know you say you use it quickly in conjunction with you reading different penguin texts, but I see great possibilities with utilizing that website with certain students!