Description

Before students read a complex text, teachers can use a text analysis tool to identify potential challenges and opportunities within the text. This proactive step helps teachers anticipate where students may struggle with vocabulary, sentence structure, or background knowledge, and plan instruction or supports accordingly. Sarah Lupo emphasizes that understanding the demands of a text is essential for effective scaffolding and ensuring equitable access to rigorous content. Completing a text analysis could help you determine which reading strategies to use with your students.

Instructions​

1. Choose the text students will read, ideally one aligned to grade-level standards and instructional goals.

2. Read the entire text carefully.

3. Identify aspects that may require support (e.g. background knowledge needed, words and concepts that are abstract or could have multiple meanings, vocabulary words that require pre-teaching). Look for text features and organization. Is this a considerate text with headings, titles, relevant images and embedded vocabulary definitions? Or is that a support you will need to add?

4. Based on the analysis, prepare scaffolds for your students. These scaffolds could include the reading and word/vocabulary strategies in this playbook.

​Consideration:

Completing a text analysis for every text you have students read could be time consuming. Use this strategy for complex or stretch texts. Additionally, you might follow this entire process using the included graphic organizer if you are new to this approach. Over time, you might do a text analysis without the graphic organizer and at a quicker pace.