Douglas Fisher - Text Complexity: Stretching Readers with Texts and Tasks

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Publisher: Lisa Luedeke

Editorial Development Manager: Julie Nemer

Editorial Assistant: Nicole Shade

Production Editor: Melanie Birdsall

Copy Editor: Melinda Masson

Typesetter: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd.

Proofreader: Caryne Brown

Indexer: Jeanne R. Busemeyer

Cover Designer: Janet Kiesel

Marketing Manager: Rebecca Eaton

If youre previewing this preface with the question of what has changed since we published the first edition of Text Complexity, the answer is quite simple: our response to the empowered voices of educators who are asking more detailed questions about their roles in preparing students to read complex texts across the disciplines. With a renewed belief that students who are prepared to succeed must be able to read well and extensively, write from a base of information, and speak clearly in ways that hold the attention of listeners, teachers are intent on crafting purposeful instruction that results in all students becoming literate across the grades and subjects.

State and national calls for students to learn how to deeply comprehend and evaluate informational and literary textsand also how to craft multiple text types that are needed for career and social successhave been sounded, and as a result, everyone is looking to the teacher as never before to ensure that all students leave school with college- and workplace-ready skills. A widening awareness that literacy is the linchpin for success in school and the future workplace has grasped the attention of teachers across grade levels and disciplines who are attempting to ensure literacy learning without losing the veracity of their disciplines.

We work with hundreds of educators across the country and are privy to their questions:

• What features of a text constitute complexity?
• How do these features differ across the grades and disciplines?
• How can we support all students in mastering the literacy skills needed to read increasingly complex texts?

Focusing on teachers concerns, we updated and recast this second edition with information and examples designed to provide instruction that supports making written text accessible to all. We have expanded this edition from five to nine chapters that retain an easy-to-read tone, a clear structure, and lots of classroom scenarios. The focus remains on text complexity across a number of dimensions, including quantitative factors and qualitative text features, but we have expanded our emphasis on reader and task considerations.