Friday, April 11, 2014

How does Mirrors & Windows address CCSS text complexity?

As we all know by now, one of the key requirements of the Common Core State Standards for Reading is that all students must be able to comprehend texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school. The Standards define a three-part model for determining how easy or difficult a particular text is to read, based on qualitative, quantitative, and reader and task considerations, as well as grade-by-grade specifications for text complexity.
  • Mirrors & Windows text complexity measures appear in the At a Glance box for each selection on the Before Reading page in the Teachers’ Edition. A reading level of Easy, Moderate, or Challenging, based on a careful evaluation of each text by qualified reading specialists, takes all of the Common Core text complexity measures into account.
  • Quantitative measures included in the reading levels are based on the standard readability formulas of Dale Chall, Fry, and Lexiles. (All reading scores available by request.)
  • Qualitative measures are used to indicate difficulty considerations and ease factors, factors that might make a selection difficult or easy to read, such as the author’s style; length of the selection or length of sentences, words, and paragraphs; difficulty of the vocabulary; and students’ familiarity with the topic or subject matter. These factors help teachers evaluate reader and task considerations to determine whether a text is appropriate for a given student.
  • In addition, the quantitative measure of the total word count for each selection is included along with the reading level in the Unit Scope and Sequence Guide in the Teachers’ Edition.


Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Use Avenue to Assess CCSS Speaking & Listening

Engage students with cutting edge, research based digital technology. Avenue is an innovative video-assessment platform for capturing, reviewing, providing feedback, archiving, and visualizing progress of video-based learner performances in your language arts classroom. Students develop their speaking and listening skills by recording a response to an oral task created by the teacher. Each task is self-evaluated and submitted to the teacher, allowing students to immediately self-reflect and grow.

For instructors, Avenue is simple
1. Record, upload, or search for your media
2. Build customized tasks in minutes
3. Assign tasks to one or all with ease
4. Access with custom scores, video, and text

For students, Avenue is even simpler
1. Complete assigned tasks
2. Self-evaluate your performance
3. Review feedback and progress

Try Avenue today! Visit emcl.com/avenue to request your FREE 30-day demo.