Simplifying Middle and High School Text Select a passage from a middle-school or high-school level text. It may be literature or informative text, but it must be a text that is used in general education at grade levels 7-12. You may select a chapter or section from a book. Your original text should not be less than 700 words long, and your modified text should not be less than 450 words long. The content of the text should be written for, and interesting to, students in grades 7-12. If you work in a high school or middle school, find out which book or text general education students are currently reading and adapt that text. If you work in an elementary school, select a text that is considered high-quality for middle or high school. You may wish to consult “No Fear Literature” to find quality texts. Using the document “How to Simplify Text” and your own judgment, modify the text so that it is on the reading level of 2nd or 3rd grade. Your modified text must maintain the meaning of the original text; only the readability of the text should be modified. Read back over your text to ensure that it (a) accurately reflects the information and meaning contained in the original, (b) is written clearly using simple and straightforward language, and (c) conveys the important themes and main ideas of the original text. For your modified version, aim for a Flesch-Kincaid grade level between 2.5 and 3.6 (you can calculate the readability of your text at readable.com or in Microsoft Word when you do a spelling and grammar check if you have Show readability statistics turned on). Aim for a Flesch Reading Ease score of 80 or higher (higher scores = easier to read). Long character names (Mercutio, Montague, Desdemona, Brabanzio) will artificially inflate your grade level and lower your readability score. Check your scores using substitute character names (Mer, Mon, Des, Brab) for more accurate scores. Essential vocabulary (organism, molecules, membrane, Constitution) will also inflate your grade level and lower your readability score. However, students must learn essential vocabulary and it must remain in the text. Calculate your readability score with long vocabulary words removed. Then, put them back into the text and add a page of definitions that are in student-friendly language. Turn in both the original text and your modified version with the Grade Level and Reading Ease scores documented.
Hide
