The Importance of Text Complexity

Far too often I see students reading books that are significantly below their grade and/or reading level. When I try to suggest texts of more depth and complexity I receive the same old complaint, "it's too hard" (at this point please imagine the voice of a whiny two-year-old). Please don't misunderstand, I want students to read - almost anything that gets them to start reading is fine by me. However, once they begin reading it is vital that their reading material increase in depth and rigor.

Let's consider other examples. Let's say you play a musical instrument, perhaps the piano. You begin by learning your scales, but you don't stay there. If you have been playing the piano for two or three years and have yet to progress beyond playing scales there is a problem. Perhaps a more "hip" example, video games. If you have been playing a certain video game for two or three years and have yet to progress beyond level one - you get the idea. How silly would it sound to speak with another video game player and to say, "I never go to level 2 because it's too hard."?

There is nothing wrong with reading Little House on the Prairie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, or The Lightning Thief they are excellent books, but if you never progress to more complex works there is a problem. If I never read anything but Dr. Seuss, as much as I love Dr. Seuss, I will never be able to read anything much harder than Horton Hears a Who. There is a world of great literature out there in which students need to immerse themselves. Yes, Wuthering Heights is difficult, but does that negate the value of reading it - NO! I have not even mentioned such authors as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Dante Alighieri, or Jane Austen. Not to mention modern authors such as Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Zora Neale Hurston, or Leo Tolstoy.

I, too, enjoy reading "vacation" or "beach" reads, but I also endeavor to read works outside my comfort zone; books that are "hard". These difficult works exercise my brain. They help me learn to process information; practice my ability to analyze; increase my vocabulary; hone my concentration skills; learn to critique and synthesize difficult concepts and reasoning; and help me connect to time periods and character conflicts I, myself, will never experience.

To parents, text complexity does not necessarily equate to inappropriate content. There are innumerable complex works available whose content is not problematic for middle school students. Students need to be encouraged to attempt more complex works. Most are not going to do so on their own. They also need to be encouraged to stick it out and not give up when the book gets tough. It's okay if it takes a long time to read a difficult work; it's even okay to put it down and pick up a "vacation" read to rest your mind before diving back in - it is not okay to read Diary of a Wimpy Kid forever.

To conclude, I cannot urge you strongly enough to increase the complexity of the texts you read. Stretch yourself. Seek out books that are outside of the genre you usually pick up. Seek out works that are outside your comfort zone. Join a book club, ask a librarian, check out a book review or bestseller website, google "classic literature" or "1001 books you should read before you die". You might even consider, novel thought alert, talking to your English teacher. I don't know one who would not love to take time out to talk books with you. I would absolutely love to point you in the direction of complex texts you might enjoy.

Enjoy the remainder of your summer and Happy Reading!

Summer Vocabulary #2

For words to become part of our working vocabulary (the words we use in everyday conversation) we need to do more than just know what they mean. We have to use them. Here are a list of words often used in adult conversation, newscasts, literature, and other types of media. Make it your goal to listen for the use of these words this week and to use them all at least once in normal conversation. Feel free to post a comment and let me know how you do. Find a partner (parent, friend, sibling) and let's play...

Oeuvre: the works of a writer, painter, or the like taken as a whole. French. Ultimately from the Latin meaning opera, plural of opus: Latin for work.

Zeitgeist: the spirit of the times, the characteristic feeling or spirit of a particular time period. German: literally means time spirit.

Entre Nous: between ourselves, confidentially. French.

Insouciance: carefree, indifferent, lack of care or concern. French.

Ok, let's see how many of these words you can find, read, or hear this week, but more importantly how many of them can you use? Remember, to have a word become part of your working vocabulary, you have to actually use it - more than once. If you are unsure how the word is pronounced go to www.dictionary.com and use the pronunciation feature.