OBJECTIVES OF THIS SESSION

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OBJECTIVES OF THIS SESSION
1. Define Readability 1
2. Define Readability 2
3. Differentiate between these two differing
realities or definitions of readability.
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Readability Definition 1
Readability is an objective estimate of the
difficulty level of reading material derived from
a formula which takes into account
sentence difficulty and vocabulary difficulty.
HOWEVER
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These concepts of sentence and word difficulty
are based upon several false notions,
namely
1. The longer a sentence, the more difficult it
is.
2. A word with more syllables is more difficult.
3. Words are equally difficult for all.
How could anyone believe this?
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Lets consider some examples
1. He is probably going to run away.
2. He is apt to flee.
Which sentence is longer?
Which sentence has more syllables?
Which sentence is more comprehensible?
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Lets consider more examples
1. Some insects are hard for birds to find.
Insects often have protective coloring.
2. Some insects are hard for birds to find
because insects often have protective coloring.
Which sentence is more comprehensible?
WHY?
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So, how does one arrive at these objective
measures of readability?
It is done through the use of formulas such
as Fry Dale-Chall Flesch-Kincaid Rygor Spache
And so on
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So whats the problem with this?
Dont you see?
Formulas give objective estimates of reading
comprehension of material, usually in terms of
grade level, based on selected and quantified
variables in the text.
HUH??
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In other words
These formulas only measure the relationships
among the syllables, words and sentences in a
reading selection.
Take, for example the most commonly used Fry
Formula. It measures the relationship among
number of words in selection, number of sentences
and number of syllables.
continue
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In working with the Fry Formula one would
complete the following steps
1.Choose a reading selection.
2. Count off 100 words.
3. Count the number of sentences. (If the 100th
word falls in the middle of a sentence, you find
the proportion of the sentence.)
4. Count the number of syllables in the selection.
5. Refer to the Fry Readability chart in order
to
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Note this!
in order to arrive at an estimate of the
readability level of the selection.
Therefore, readability formulas do not measure
many of the things that make text comprehensible
to the reader.
They must be used with caution.
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As noted before
These formulas only measure the relationships
among the syllables, words and sentences in a
reading selection.
They fail to take other more important things
into account.
Such as
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And now, for our second and more accurate, more
realistic definition of readability.
???????
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Ill tell you, but first--what are other aspects
of text that affect comprehension?
Think
1. Syntax
2. Density (or concept load)
3. Authors style
4. Cohesiveness
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And still, there is another important component
of readability
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Of course how could I forget this???
THE READER!
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What are some variables within the reader that
affect readability?
Students?
ability to decode
schema
motivation
general ability
interests
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So you see, it is the variables within the text
and the reader that define (or estimate) the
readability of any reading material.

• The Text
• Syntax
• Density
• Authors Style
• Cohesiveness

• The Reader
• Motivation
• Ability
• Interests
• Schema
• Ability to decode

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To sum it up correctlyWe have our second
definition of readability.
Readability is the ease of comprehension of
reading material for the reader. Many variables
within the text and within the reader contribute
to the comprehensibility of the material.
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Im not convinced.
Me neither.
I have heard the term grade level readability all
of my life.
Me too.
OK watchYou will be asked to read two
selections. Please read each selection carefully
and, as you read, think of what really
constitutes the reading process.
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Please read this selection.
Europe and Asia from spread have they, ships in
traveling by often. Habits roving have rats
brown and black both. Pests animal these of
types main two the are rats brown and rats black.
Way this in world the of parts large over spread
been has, all of diseases feared most the of one,
plague bubonic the. Man to harmful very diseases
spread these and, fleas carry also they, property
to damage much do only not rats. History through
all true been has this. Pests animal worst the of
one rat the considers man, world the of part
every in.
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Now, please read this passage.
In every part of the world, man considers the rat
one of the worst animal pests. This has been
true all through history. Rats, not only do much
damage to property, they also carry fleas, and
these spread diseases very harmful to man . The
bubonic plague, one of the most feared diseases
of all, has been spread over large parts of the
world in this way. Black rats and brown rats are
the two main types of these animal pests. Both
black and brown rats have roving habits. Often by
traveling in ships, they have spread from Asia
and Europe to other parts of the world.
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So, here we have it.
Each of the two preceding selections has 100
words and 124 syllables and consists of 6.6
sentences.
According to the guidelines of the Fry formula
both paragraphs are on the same readability
levels.
What is the arrived at level?
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Yes, the arrived at level is low fifth grade.
There is something wrong here.
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Of course there is.
A readability formula is a probability statement
which tells something about the readability of
the text for an average student, having an
average day, with average peers, in an average
classroom and with average motivation.
It does not take into account all these variables
to which we just referred.
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So then
Lets be practicalwhat does the term 5th grade
readability really mean?
It is a probability statement. It means simply
chances are that many or most average students
in the fifth grade could probably read the text.
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OK, everybody, try one more.
If the balloons popped, the sound wouldnt be
able to carry since everything would be too far
away from the correct floor. A closed window
would also prevent the sound from carrying, since
most buildings tend to be well insulated. Since
the whole operation depends upon a steady flow of
electricity, a break in the middle of the wire
would also cause problems. An additional problem
is that a string could break on the instrument.
Then there would be no accompaniment to the
message. It is clear that the best solution would
involve less distance and there would be fewer
problems. With face-to-face contact, the least
number of things could go wrong.
Readability level?
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So, there you have it. The previous reading
selection gave you some difficulty. Yet,
according to readability statistics the material
was on easier levels of difficulty.
Flesch-Kincaid7th grade readability
FryLower 8th grade readability
Why did it first present a difficulty for you?
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Curtain Call
Do you remember the objectives of this session?
What are they?
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OBJECTIVES OF THIS SESSION
1. Define Readability 1
2. Define Readability 2
3. Differentiate between these two differing
realities or definitions of readability.
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Any Questions?
Are you sure?
I hope you remember everything you learned.
Anyone?
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Lets pause
And take a break