I had to be a problem solver. I became
a thinker about my classroom—a
reflective teacher. Those attitudes and
skills have been more powerful in my
career than any educational material I’ve
ever seen. Developing them made me a
professional in a way no packaged curriculum could.
What makes text complex?
Text Complexity:
Raising Rigor in Reading
Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Diane Lapp
3. The Right Pal
Loretta Shepherd had taught for a few
years in another area before coming to
Highview. We were both outsiders in the
remote, encapsulated community our
school served, and we felt like outsiders,
even with students. On many days,
we didn’t know how to relate to their
world, as they frequently didn’t know
how to relate to ours. It was that sense
of teaching in a foreign culture that
drew us together, but it was a shared
determination to learn to navigate the
culture that deepened our bond.
On most days, we shared stories
of our work that would have been
unremarkable to anyone else in the
building. Everyone else, after all, was
part of the culture that was so baffling
to us. It was important to be able to
laugh, cry, or vent together. All new
teachers need that release. But after the
“cleansing,” we always asked, “So how
do we make tomorrow better?”
I took for granted that every new
teacher had a Loretta in their lives.
Only when we both moved on from
the school did I realize how hard it
can be to find a colleague who both
understands your todays and lifts your
tomorrows.
Learn about the qualitative and quantitative
factors of text complexity, as well as the ways
in which readers can be matched with texts
and tasks. The book focuses on instruction
and assessment of complex texts through
close reading and extensive discussions.
© 2012
ISBN 978-0-87207-478-1
No. 478-TCEL
IRA Members $19.95
Nonmembers $24.95
PREVIEW A SAMPLE CHAPTER:
www.reading.org/TCEL
GET YOUR COPY TODAY!
www.reading.org/TCEL
Call toll free 800-336-7323
(Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 302-731-1600)
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Master of Science in
Education Law (M.S.)
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With a Wave of the Wand
If I had the magic wand we all covet, I’d
not wish for new teachers to have carefully printed and prescriptive guides,
nor required meetings that tell them
“how we do business here.” Of course, I
understand the desire to acclimate
novice teachers to a school or a district.
My first wave of the wand, however,
would bring novices opportunities that
acclimate them to what it means to be a
teacher, to teach creatively, and to share
one’s growth with another person who
seeks to grow as well. EL
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