These expectations for students’ understandings about language and how it makes meaning
in different disciplines have implications for what teachers should know about language. Across
the disciplines, teachers need to develop deep understandings about the inextricable link between
language and content knowledge and how to support each of their students in understanding how
language works to make meaning with different types of text.
Making Meaning with Complex Text
In grades nine through twelve, a world of classic
and contemporary literature opens to students. The CA
CCSS for ELA/Literacy indicate that high school students
should read works of Shakespeare; foundational pieces of
American literature from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and
early twentieth centuries; world literature; and seminal
U.S. documents of historical and literary significance, such
as the Gettysburg Address, King’s “Letter from Birmingham
Jail,” the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to
the Constitution, and more. Other informational texts,
such as textbooks, reports, primary and secondary
sources, artworks, and Web pages, populate content area
classrooms. In world history, U.S. history, economics,
American government, biology, chemistry, physics, theater, music, visual arts, world language,
geometry, algebra, calculus, statistics, physical education, health, and other classrooms, students
encounter an array of printed, digital, and symbolic texts they must read and analyze. Regardless
of the quantitative measure of these texts, they all pose text complexity challenges of some sort for
almost all students.
Foundational literature may be difficult for reasons
of archaic language, historical situation, and conceptual
or symbolic meanings. Depending on the breadth and
depth of the curriculum students have experienced,
some forms and genres of literature and nonfiction
may not be as familiar to students. As novels and short
stories have tended to dominate the ELA curriculum, the
structures and language of plays, poetry, and essays may
be less familiar. Primary sources in history and technical
reports in science and other technical subjects may not
be plentiful. And the textbook—sometimes out of date,
occasionally not well written, and frequently pushed aside
by classroom lecture—is often viewed by students (and
teachers) as alternately impenetrable, boring, and just too
heavy. Students, however, need to read a broad range of
texts including high-quality textbooks; to make meaning
from complex texts and interact meaningfully with the
information and ideas in them, students need support.
In terms of quantitative measures of complexity, suggested ranges of multiple measures of
readability for the grades six through eight complexity band recommended by the NGA/CCSSO are
provided in figure 7.3.
The CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy
indicate that high school
students should read works of
Shakespeare; foundational
pieces of American literature
from the eighteenth, nineteenth,
and early twentieth centuries;
world literature; and seminal
U.S. documents of historical and
literary significance...Foundational literature may be
difficult for reasons of archaic
language, historical situation,
and conceptual or symbolic
meanings. Depending on
the breadth and depth of
the curriculum students have
experienced, some forms
and genres of literature and
nonfiction may not be as
familiar to students.Grades 9 to 12 Chapter 7 | 675