Life of Frederick Douglass and American Slave written by Frederick Douglass
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Order NowBecause no real text exists for Social Studies, two historical books were chosen for this study in this class. One is entitled Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass and American Slave written by Frederick Douglass and published in 1845. The other text is entitled Vienna Prelude and was written by Bodie Thoene and published in 1989.
The strengths of the texts lie in the value they have for making concrete the ideas and concepts studied in Social Studies. The first text details the life of a slave and is told autobiographically. It was chosen as a method of introducing students to the regime of slavery that existed historically in the United States. Because the book is written in the form of a narrative, it was considered able to hold the interest of the students. However, it would also provide insight into the everyday struggles of slavery, as well as the anti-slavery efforts of abolitionists. The historical setting of the book also coincides with the incipient stages of the American Civil War, which is also an important historical topic that has given rise to several of the civil liberties discussed in the Social Studies class.
The second text, Vienna Prelude, is also important as it introduces the concept of the United States as neighbors in the wider world. The setting of this text is the European countries under the influence of the Nazi regime of the Third Reich during the reign of Hitler. It presents these historical situations using fictional characters. Such principles of freedom of speech, press, and other general liberties studied in Social Studies are challenged in this text. Historical events leading up to the Second World War are also considered in the text, as well as the impact of these events on the lives of ordinary people, especially Jews.
It was demonstrated by the Fry Readability Scale that the Vienna Prelude text was written at the 7th grade level. This class is, however, and 8th grade class. This conclusion appeared to be erroneous because the Raygor scale found the readability level to be at the 8th grade. The text does present challenges to the 8th grade reader in that it introduces a context with which the average American student at that level is not normally familiar. Though the Fry test considered the language to be of a lower level, this was based merely on sentence length and the numbering of syllables. A closer look at the figurative use of language within the text reveals that though the words used are generally short and contain few syllables, the sentences themselves are complex in their constructions and meanings. The conclusion is that the Vienna Prelude text does seem to be well suited for instruction at the 8th grade level.
The Frederick Douglass text is, overall, a suitable one for use with the grade. When conducting the Cloze passage test, it became apparent that some of the deleted words were equivocal and could easily have been replaced with a similar word without significant alteration to the meaning of the text. This, however, might be said of other texts as well. The fact that the Douglass text is set in a different time period gives occasion for unfamiliar words to arise. The text is, however, not overwhelmed by these unfamiliar words and provides an excellent opportunity for the students to expand their vocabularies. The historical context also gives the students concrete examples of the terms and –isms that have often been used and discussed throughout the term. Therefore, the text is also well suited for instruction at the 8th grade level.
One bias can be identified in the selection of these texts. Because no real comprehensive text book exists for the Social Studies subject, these books had to be chosen by the teacher. In choosing these books, the teacher kept in mind the audience and purpose for which the texts would be put to use. This may largely account for the fact that the texts have been found to be suitable—as they were sought with this in mind.
Implicit and explicit curricula
The explicit curriculum as it regards the texts chosen deals with the acquisition of knowledge concerning historical events and the social issues that were involved (and that sprang from) them. A major theme within each excerpt emphasizes the idea of human rights and its extension to persons of all races. As a result, the texts give the opportunity to explore parts of the social studies curriculum that deal with social injustices of all types and the measures created by the United States government to counteract them.
Elliot Eisner gave a detailed definition of what might be considered the implicit curriculum that every school teaches. He writes, “The implicit curriculum of the school is what it teaches because of the kind of place it is. And the school is that kind of place [because of] various approaches to teaching […] the kind of reward system that it uses […] the organizational structure it employs to sustain its existence […] the furniture it uses and the surroundings it creates” (Eisner, 1994, qtd in Yero, 2002). The passages and exercises first allow teachers to collect materials that present parts of the curriculum in ways that are (in their opinion) best suited to their particular students. However, this exercise takes an unconventional approach to teaching. It goes beyond the mere passing on of information and takes learning to a level in which the students become active participants in the process. It displays a level of trust in the students, as it offers these tools also to them so that they might have a hand in the evaluation of a text regarding its suitability to them. This rearranges the organizational structure of the class, as students are able to feel as though they offer something to the class by way of information about how they feel about the text they will be using.
Biases represented in the text
More than one bias is represented in the texts chosen for the eighth grade social studies class. These biases include the monolithic, heterosexual, and racist. In Vienna Prelude, the Jews that seek to escape the Nazi regime are generally plagued by the idea that their family members might be in danger. These members are usually of a nuclear family, and some evidence exists that no other type (with the exception of extended families) is tolerated. In fact, under the Nazi regime, anomalies of any sort are usually hidden, as these might become cause for annihilation.
In both Vienna Prelude and Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, heterosexual biases also exist. As mentioned before, under the Hitler regime, homosexuality (or any other deviation from the heterosexual norm) is considered cause for extermination. The nuclear families consist of one male and one female parent along with their children, and this assumption can be made of any family to which reference is made. In the Frederick Douglass book, though nuclear families of slaves are usually broken up, it is generally assumed that any romantic coupling of persons would be of a heterosexual nature.
The racial bias also exists in both novels—yet, it is brought out as an issue in each. In Vienna Prelude, the supremacy of the white race is contrasted against the oppression of the Jews. The Nazi’s are shown to be terrorists and the white supremacist ideal begins to crumble as a result of its presentation within novel. Likewise, the Douglass text details the treatment of the blacks by members of the white race and calls attention to the racial bias that once existed in America. Further attention is called to the injustice of this through Douglass’ struggle for freedom and his demonstration of his humanity—and by extension the humanity of the entire African race.
READABILITY
When teachers read passages aloud to their classes, students can quite often easily process material way above their grade level. However, when students are expected to read passages on their own, it becomes necessary for the teacher to determine the texts that are most suited for the individual student. It is often the case that teachers have to choose passages for an entire class rather than an individual. In such cases, it is often helpful to use readability formulas that determine grade levels and/or ages for which a passage is best suited (Reutzel & Cooter, 2005).
Pros and cons of readability formulas
Benefits of readability formulas include the ease with which a teacher can match a text with the abilities of students as they are expected to be given a certain grade level. A teacher who has no other information about a student beyond his age or grade level can usually pick an appropriate text for the reader. Another thing readability scales also allow teachers to do is match the suitability of given texts to classes, and perhaps to recommend changes to the reading list based on the information gained from the scale.
Readability scales can also miss the mark as it regards the suitability of the texts for the desired reader, so it is important that teachers have an idea of the types of texts that would be considered well-matched to the students involved. Sometimes the factors measured within these scales do not adhere to the rules upon which the scales are based. For example, it is an assumption of the scales that longer or multi-syllabic words are usually more difficult. However, some very short words are unfamiliar, and might therefore be considered difficult as well. If a passage has a significant amount of these words, the readability level of the text might become misrepresented.
Ways to use readability scales
Readability measures should be used mainly in a predictive sense for general feedback concerning the type of class or grade level for which a text is suited. The purpose of the literature being evaluated should therefore be taken into consideration while using any readability scale. If a text is being evaluated for teaching purposes, it might be appropriate to use a slightly higher readability level than if a text is being chosen for entertainment or informative purposes. It is also useful to note the motivation level of the readers for which the text is intended. Motivated readers might also be able to handle a text more challenging than their age/grade level would dictate according to the readability scale. The opposite would be true of less motivated readers. If a computer program is available for testing, the entire text should be evaluated. When testing by hand, at least three (3) 100-word passages should be chosen—one from the front middle and end of text to widen the range of text tested (Stephens, 2002).
It is also important that readability formulas not be used as a singular method of testing, but that they are combined with other methods. Since readability formula tend to test quantifiable aspects of a text, other procedures that deal with more qualitative measures should be used in conjunction with the readability formulas. Tapping into the knowledge and expertise of other professionals provides a wealth of knowledge that the mere formulas cannot offer. Teachers, reading specialists, librarians, and even parents might be able to offer valuable information about a test that goes beyond the realm of the formulas. Finally, once the text has been tried with the age/grade level predicted by the measures, teachers should carry out evaluations of the lessons and make adjustments to the texts as needed (Stephens, 2002).
FRY READABILITY SCALE
The Fry Readability Scale represents a method that teachers can use to determine how well students of a certain age or grade level will perform at reading a certain piece of material. The graph measures a given passage using such variables as sentence and word length to generate information about the grade level for which the passage is suited. The method is predicated on the theory that the longer words and sentences are, the more difficult it will be for the reader to comprehend the passage.
The Fry Readability Scale is useful to teachers in that it allows them beforehand to test the difficulty of the material that they hope to present to their students. Though the formula might not be foolproof, it does give teachers a chance to rule out reading material that would be obviously overwhelming to their students, or that would be perhaps not challenging enough for them. The drawback of this method might lie in the fact that not all students conform to the stereotypical grade/age-level, but knowledge of the students in one’s class should allow a teacher to overcome that particular problem.
Preparing the Fry Readability Test
Three 100-word passages were randomly selected from the front, middle, and end of the book Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene. The sentences were counted, and the length of the final sentence was given as a fraction of the whole by dividing the number of words used by the total number of words in the sentence. The syllables were counted using the method of placing an accent above the word to denote any syllable above one, counting these accents, and then adding 100 to that total. This was done for all three passages and the total and average number of syllables and sentence lengths were found. A Fry Readability Graph was obtained online from the Hope College website, which contained a copy scanned from the Journal of Reading. The average sentence length and number of syllables were plotted on the graph and the point at which the two met was designated as the reading level. The age level was determined in a similar manner from the Fry age graph.
The Passages
- 9 Streams of iridescent twilight streaked the sky above the Gothic towers. Soft pink and blue melted into a deep, star-flecked purple in the east. The spires of Prague’s Hradcany Castle blended into the darkness, and lights in the castle windows shone like evening stars not yet risen to their places in the heavens. The tall bell tower of Hradcany and the greenish cupola of some lesser-known spire held the broad canopy of evening suspended just above the hundred towers of the city.
Elisa Linder and Leah Goldblatt slowly crossed the ancient Old Town Square as others hurried home…
| Number of Sentences | 4.88 |
| Number of syllables | 148 |
- 193 Thomas read over the orders: Austria’s Nazi underground would step up acts of terrorism while at the same time creating an incident to give Hitler’s armies an excuse to march to Austria to “restore order.” A chill ran through him. He did not know how much time there was left for the little nation. If he could, he knew that he must do all he could to bring Elisa to Paris… and into his life again. He had no plans beyond that, but he was certain the she must leave Vienna, and then they would find someplace in the world…
| Number of Sentences | 5.8 |
| Number of syllables | 129 |
- 404. Elisa let her eyes linger for a moment on the Musikverein, and then on the spires of the great St Stephan’s. In the shadow of those spires, she sensed that Leah and Shimon were watching and waiting for the first terrible dawn of Nazi rule. Her heart grieved for them, even as she rejoiced that he father had come home to her in the eleventh hour, when all the marginal minutes and seconds had ticked away. If he had not come, would she have really gone with Murphy? Would she have left the key and the food and the note…
| Number of Sentences | 4.63 |
| Number of syllables | 128 |
Totals and Averages and Grade Levels
| Total number of sentences | 20.8 |
| Total number of syllables | 405 |
| Average number of sentences | 5.10 |
| Average number of syllables | 135 |
| Fry Readability grade level | 7 |
| Fry Readability age level | 12 |
Analysis of the Fry Readability Scale
The syllabification in this passage is represented by the following color scheme. The first syllable of every word is printed in black, the second in blue, the third in dark red, and the fourth in green. It was noticed that most sentences were approximately 20 words in length, though some variations existed. In addition, the words used in the passage tended to have fewer syllables. These facts are ones that caused the Fry Readability Scale to represent the passage as being suited to a seventh rather than an eight grade level. However, it can also be noticed that though some words, such as streaked and streams (in the first line of the first passage), contained only one syllable, they were also rather long and had several consonants running together that could present an intimidating aspect to a reader. Other words, such as spire, are short and only have one syllable, yet they are unfamiliar. Despite the simplicity of the words in the passage, type of language used is also very figurative and presents a level of difficulty that transcends mere sentence and word length. For these reasons, it was believed that some unreliability exists in the Fry Readability Scale and that the passage was still suited for the eighth grade level.
THE RAYGOR READABILITY SCALE
The Raygor Readability Scale is also a method used to determine a student’s ability to handle the material of a given text. The variables of this test include sentence length and the number of long words. Long words are defined as any word that meets or exceeds six letters. This test appears to approach readability from a slightly more psychological perspective, as it takes into account the intimidation that some students feel at the sight of big words. Therefore, it helps the teacher filter out passages whose contents might be too easy or too difficult for the students in the class. It therefore allows the teacher to select material that is at the instructional level, so that the student might be learning from the passage without being overwhelmed by new information or intimidating words.
Preparing the Raygor Readability Test
Three 100-word passages were selected from a text. The number of sentences was determined, and the fraction of the final sentence was represented by a decimal. This decimal was obtained by dividing the number of words used from the sentence by the total number of words in the sentence. The words containing six letters or more were highlighted and then counted. The totals number of sentences and long words for each passage were averaged in order to get an overall estimate for the text. This average was plotted on a Raygor Readability Graph, which was obtained online from the educational solutions company Oleander. Where the points for sentence number and word length met determined the grade level for which the text was suited.
The Passages
- 9 Streams of iridescent twilight streaked the sky above the Gothic towers. Soft pink and blue melted into a deep, star-flecked purple in the east. The spires of Prague’s Hradcany Castle blended into the darkness, and lights in the castle windows shone like evening stars not yet risen to their places in the heavens. The tall bell tower of Hradcany and the greenish cupola of some lesser-known spire held the broad canopy of evening suspended just above the hundred towers of the city.
Elisa Linder and Leah Goldblatt slowly crossed the ancient Old Town Square as others hurried home…
| Number of Sentences | 4.88 |
| Number of Long Words | 36 |
- 193 Thomas read over the orders: Austria’s Nazi underground would step up acts of terrorism while at the same time creating an incident to give Hitler’s armies an excuse to march to Austria to “restore order.” A chill ran through him. He did not know how much time there was left for the little nation. If he could, he knew that he must do all he could to bring Elisa to Paris… and into his life again. He had no plans beyond that, but he was certain the she must leave Vienna, and then they would find someplace in the world…
| Number of Sentences | 5.8 |
| Number of Long Words | 19 |
- 404. Elisa let her eyes linger for a moment on the Musikverein, and then on the spires of the great St Stephan’s. In the shadow of those spires, she sensed that Leah and Shimon were watching and waiting for the first terrible dawn of Nazi rule. Her heart grieved for them, even as she rejoiced that he father had come home to her in the eleventh hour, when all the marginal minutes and seconds had ticked away. If he had not come, would she have really gone with Murphy? Would she have left the key and the food and the note…
| Number of Sentences | 4.63 |
| Number of Long Words | 20 |
Totals, Averages and Grade Levels
| Total number of sentences | 20.8 |
| Total number of long words | 75 |
| Average number of sentences | 5.10 |
| Average number of long words | 25 |
| Raygor Readability grade level | 8 |
Analysis of the Raygor Readability Scale
The long words in these passages are printed in bold type. This presented a more accurate view of the passage because of its ability to access the psychological aspect of reading long words, which might deter some students and cause a passage to appear difficult. Because of this, the scale denoted the reading level to be at the eighth grade. However, this scale was also unable to assess the text on a literary level. The difficulties presented by the figurative language and usage of words were not identified by this scale, nor were unfamiliar short words detected and given credit for the difficulty they added to the passage. The scale was also not able to identify the subject matter, which dealt with the cruelties of the Nazi regime. This context may also have added another dimension to the text, raising the level of suitability and making it challenging for an eighth grade student.
Directions for Modification
No modifications were made to the readability tests, though it must be taken into consideration that there can be no qualitative measure of difficulty as it regards figurative language usage.
CONTENT AREA READING INVENTORY
This passage is taken from a non-fiction book entitled Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave. It is a true account of the life of a slave written by Frederick Douglass himself, who lived almost 200 years ago in this country. This is taken from the first chapter of the book, and it describes how he came to be a slave and tells some of the things he remembers from his earliest years. None of us know what it is like to be a slave, so while reading this, empathize with Mr. Douglass by trying to feel what you think he might have been feeling during this time. Once you have read the passage, go through the reading inventory. Remember that although this exercise will measure your abilities, the scores received will be used only for instructional purposes.
The Passage
I WAS born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot county, Maryland. I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant. I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday. They seldom come nearer to it than planting-time, harvest-time, cherry-time, spring-time, or fall-time. A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege. I was not allowed to make any inquiries of my master concerning it. He deemed all such inquiries on the part of a slave improper and impertinent, and evidence of a restless spirit. The nearest estimate I can give makes me now between twenty-seven and twenty-eight years of age. I come to this, from hearing my master say, some time during 1835, I was about seventeen years old.
My mother was named Harriet Bailey. She was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey, both colored, and quite dark. My mother was of a darker complexion than either my grandmother or grandfather.
My father was a white man. He was admitted to be such by all I ever heard speak of my parentage. The opinion was also whispered that my master was my father; but of the correctness of this opinion, I know nothing; the means of knowing was withheld from me. My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant–before I knew her as my mother. It is a common custom, in the part of Maryland from which I ran away, to part children from their mothers at a very early age.
Part I
Comprehension
- What does the word “authentic” mean?
- Define the word “ignorant?”
- What is the definition of the word “impertinent?”
- What is Douglass’ age at the time of his writing this passage?
- From which state did Douglass run away?
- Of what race was Douglass’ father?
- Why would it be necessary for birth records to be authentic?
- Tell how you think it might help a slave master to keep slaves ignorant.
- Explain the meaning of this statement: “They seldom come nearer to it than planting-time, harvest-time, cherry-time, spring-time, or fall-time.”
Part II
Using a textbook
- If in the library, where would you look for quickest access to the title of this book? (The Spine)
- If there is no information on the outer cover of this book, where can a person find the most complete information about its name, author, and publisher? (The Title Page)
- In a text book, where can you look to find meanings of new and difficult words?
- Where is the glossary usually located in a text book? (The Back)
- Where can a person look to get an idea of the broader topics contained in this book? (The Content Page)
- Where can a person find the sources of the author(s) information in a text? (The Bibliography)
- If a person would like to find information or a more specific nature (like what page to find the explanation of a particular term), where can that information be found? (The Index)
- Where can someone find information about when and where this book was published? (The Copyright Page)
Defining Content-Specific Vocabulary
Directions: Match the following terms with the appropriate scenarios or definitions
(Political correctness, sexism, Bill of Rights, Affirmative Action, class-ism, Declaration of Independence, racism)
- A person dislikes another because of social background. ______________
- Some universities try to make sure they accept a certain number of minority students to their institution every year. _______________
- A document that outlines to Americans the specific liberties they can expect to be granted as citizens of the United States. ________________
- Mark thinks girls cannot play basketball and Cheryl thinks boys cannot take care of babies. ______________
- The document signed by the founding fathers which announced to Britain the breaking away of the United States. ________________
- John refuses to sit at the same lunch table as Kyle because Kyle has dark skin. ____________
- A mode of controlled speech and action designed to minimize its offensiveness to the different groups within society. _______________
Following Directions
Carry out the following commands
- Get out a blank sheet of paper.
- Entitle it “Narrative of the life of an American Social Studies Student.”
- Place a colon at the end of the title and place your name after it.
- Write the first ten words of the passage we just read.
- Write the names of three terms you’ve learned so far in this class.
- Place the name of your teacher at the top left-hand corner of the page.
- Write the name of the American slave we just read about.
- Write down the fifth word from the end of the passage.
- Write down the tenth word in the fifteenth line of the passage.
Analysis of the passage regarding comprehension:
The passage provides ample ways in which to test comprehension. It allows for vocabulary instructions as it not only provides new and unfamiliar words, but it also presents a context that is familiar enough for students to use context clues to derive meaning from the text. It, of course, provided enough material from which to draw factual questions as well as deeply inferential questions that cause students to think and make connections. In short, the passage allows for student development of low- and high-level comprehension and critical thinking skills.
Analysis of the passage regarding use of a text book:
The ability to use a text book is an area in which the Frederick Douglass narrative did not fully meet the criteria necessary for testing. Though the narrative contained several of the parts of a book and was useful in performing the exercise, some areas were missing, such as a glossary of terms and an index. This can be accounted for in the fact that the book is not an instructional text book but an autobiography and is therefore more comparable in the features that it presents. As a result, it was not possible in this section to compose questions that referred specifically to the Douglass text. Rather, some had to be made in reference to text books in general.
Analysis of the passage regarding defining content-specific vocabulary:
Several of the terms discussed in social studies were relevant in the context of the Frederick Douglass text. The idea of racism, freedom, and the rights of the individual were aspects of the lesson that were directly addressed by the text and were represented by the dominant themes of the text. Even the idea of Affirmative Action was indirectly related to the dominant theme of the text in such a way that the students would be able to draw inferentially on knowledge gained from the text in order to make educated decisions about their views concerning that aspect of the American ideology. Some terms such as class-ism could also be addressed through the differences that could be detected between the slave classes, the lower “white” classes (whose members did not own slaves), and the rich slave owners.
Analysis of the passage regarding following directions:
The passage allowed for some amount of directions to be derived from it in order that the students might be made to follow. However, in order to devise some of the more detail-oriented sections of the directions, it was necessary to deviate from the text. This occurred on four of the ten questions. It must also be noted that the questions in this section tended to be rather simplistic and superficial, though they do well at measuring the ability of the students to follow directions.
THE CLOZE PASSAGE
Developed by Taylor in 1953, the cloze passage aids the teacher in gauging the comprehension level of a student as well as the suitability of a particular text for the student. Like the readability tests described above, it assesses whether the student can cope with the content of the passage (Grierson, 1999). It measures such variables as schema (background knowledge) by determining whether or not the student is able to predict upcoming words in the passage. It also assesses the student’s familiarity with the grammatical and syntactical constructions in a given language (English, in this case).
Preparing the CLOZE Passage
The method for creating a cloze passage involves copying out a passage from an actual text, then removing words according to a certain pattern. The particular Cloze passage used in this research contains 130 words. The first and last sentences have been kept intact, while the every five words have been removed from the sentences in between.
CLOZE Text taken from Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave.
I have had two masters. My first master’s name __________ Anthony. I do not __________ his first name. He __________ generally called Captain Anthony—__________ title which, I presume, __________ acquired by sailing a __________ on the Chesapeake Bay. __________ was not considered a __________ slaveholder. He owned two or __________ farms, and about thirty __________. His farms and slaves __________ under the care of __________ overseer. The overseer’s name __________ Plummer. Mr. Plummer was __________ miserable drunkard, a profane __________, and a savage monster. __________ always went armed with __________ cowskin and a heavy __________. I have known him to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly, that even master would be enraged at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself.
Passage in its Entirety
I have had two masters. My first master’s name was Anthony. I do not remember his first name. He was generally called Captain Anthony—a title which, I presume, he acquired by sailing a craft on the Chesapeake Bay. He was not considered a rich slaveholder. He owned two or three farms, and about thirty slaves. His farms and slaves were under the care of an overseer. The overseer’s name was Plummer. Mr. Plummer was a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster. He always went armed with a cowskin and a heavy cudgel. I have known him to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly, that even master would be enraged at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself.
Scoring a CLOZE passage
The “one-half/one-third” method is usually used to score the cloze passage. In this method, if a student correctly supplies one-half or more of the missing words in the passage, the student is considered to be able to read and interpret it at an independent level. If the student correctly supplies less than one-third of the missing words, the passage is considered to be too difficult for him or her. Students who score in between these one-third and one-half ratios are considered able to handle the passage, provided the proper preparation be given him or her (Reutzel & Cooter, 1999).
Analysis of the CLOZE passage
Some cloze passages have larger intervals between the deleted words, the smaller the interval chosen. However, the number 5 was chosen for this text because the smaller the interval, the more words the students will be required to supply. It also meant that less of the context would be made available to the students, and more thinking would be required on their part. Since the students doing this passage would be from the eighth grade, the Cloze passage was designed to be a bit more challenging. However, the first and last sentences of the passage are usually kept in tact to provide a contextual anchor for students, and such is the case in the passage used here.
Modifications to the CLOZE passage
For this particular passage, using a 5-word interval sometimes made it too difficult to make inferences. At other times, more than one word could be placed within the blank spaces without altering the meaning of the text. Some alternative would have been to use larger intervals between the deleted words or to provide scrambled words in place of blanks. Another way of modifying the Cloze passage to make it more suitable would have been to orchestrate the choice of the words to be deleted in order to test for a particular variable (syntax, background knowledge). The teacher could also just choose to delete words from the passage that he or she believes that a student should be able to provide from the context and grammatical/syntactical clues. This option has been demonstrated below:
Alternative CLOZE Passage*
I have had two masters. My first master’s __________ was Anthony. I __________ not remember his first name. He was __________ called Captain Anthony—a title which, I presume, he __________ by sailing a craft on the Chesapeake __________. He was not considered a rich slaveholder. He __________ two or three farms, and about thirty slaves. His farms and slaves were __________ the care of an overseer. The __________ name was Plummer. Mr. Plummer __________ a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster. __________ always went armed with a cowskin and a heavy cudgel. I have known him to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly, that __________ master would be __________ at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself.
*Directions and scoring are similar to passage above.
Scrambled CLOZE passage
I have had two masters. My first amrtes’s name was Anthony. I do not emrbreme his first name. He was generally lecadl Captain Anthony—a tetli which, I presume, he qdauicre by sailing a fract on the Chesapeake Bay. He was not cdnoidseer a rich slaveholder. He wnedo two or three amfsr, and about thirty sslaev. His farms and slaves were neudr the care of an osverree. The overseer’s name aws Plummer. Mr. Plummer was a smieraleb drunkard, a opranef swearer, and a asagev monster. He always went rmdae with a cowskin dna a heavy cudgel. I have known him to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly, that even master would be enraged at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself.
Directions
Unscramble the words in bold type in order to decipher the truest meaning of the passage. Score in a manner similar to the method given for the cloze passages above.
STUDENT COPIES OF READABLILITY PASSAGES
The following three passages have been taken from the front, middle and end of a text chosen for this class. While reading these passages, it is necessary for you to pay attention to the readability. Readability refers to the ease with which a person is able to read and understand a passage, and it involves the necessity of the person to adjust reading patterns and strategies at certain parts of the passage. In order to measure this, consider the following variables:
- The length of the sentences
- The length of the words
- Number of syllables in each word
Be prepared to report and discuss whether you found the passage to be easy, moderate or difficult to read and understand. Give reasons for your decision. Consider whether the passage might be considered easy or difficult for other reasons. Do you think it appropriate for your class?
The Passages
- 9 Streams of iridescent twilight streaked the sky above the Gothic towers. Soft pink and blue melted into a deep, star-flecked purple in the east. The spires of Prague’s Hradcany Castle blended into the darkness, and lights in the castle windows shone like evening stars not yet risen to their places in the heavens. The tall bell tower of Hradcany and the greenish cupola of some lesser-known spire held the broad canopy of evening suspended just above the hundred towers of the city.
Elisa Linder and Leah Goldblatt slowly crossed the ancient Old Town Square as others hurried home…
- 193 Thomas read over the orders: Austria’s Nazi underground would step up acts of terrorism while at the same time creating an incident to give Hitler’s armies an excuse to march to Austria to “restore order.” A chill ran through him. He did not know how much time there was left for the little nation. If he could, he knew that he must do all he could to bring Elisa to Paris… and into his life again. He had no plans beyond that, but he was certain the she must leave Vienna, and then they would find someplace in the world…
- 404 Elisa let her eyes linger for a moment on the Musikverein, and then on the spires of the great St Stephan’s. In the shadow of those spires, she sensed that Leah and Shimon were watching and waiting for the first terrible dawn of Nazi rule. Her heart grieved for them, even as she rejoiced that he father had come home to her in the eleventh hour, when all the marginal minutes and seconds had ticked away. If he had not come, would she have really gone with Murphy? Would she have left the key and the food and the note…
* No modifications were made to the readability tests, though it must be taken into consideration that there can be no real qualitative measure of difficulty as it regards figurative language usage.
COPIES OF READABLILITY GRAPHS FOR STUDENTS
The Fry Readability Graph for grade level estimates
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Graph taken from OleanderSolutions, 2006. http://www.oleandersolutions.com/raygorgraph.html
- Count number of sentences.
- For the final sentence fragment, use a decimal obtained from the ratio of words used from that sentence.
- Count the number of words of six letters or more.
- Plot dots on the graph representing the number of sentences and number of words numbering six letters or more.
- Find the square in which the two dots meet. This represents the grade level for which the passage is suited.
STUDENT COPIES OF CLOZE PASSAGES
The cloze passage is designed to measure your ability to predict the words that should appear in certain places in a text. For this exercise, you must rely on your knowledge of English grammar, syntax (word order), and of the context assumed in the passage. In this passage the first and last sentences have been kept in tact. The directions for completing and scoring the passage are as follows:
- Fill in the blanks in each sentence
- Count how many blanks are contained in the passage
- Check the your answers against the entire passage, which is given at the bottom
- Count how many blanks you were able to fill in correctly
- Write down your score as a fraction of the total number of blanks. For example, if you filled in 14 blanks correctly out of a total of 18 blanks, your score would be 14/18
- Follow these directions for the alternative passage as well
- Determine which of the passages was easier to decipher
- Give reasons for your answer
* It is very important that you not look at the passage in its entirety before doing the cloze exercises. This would corrupt the integrity of the test and cause it to become invalid.
CLOZE Text taken from Narrative of the life of
Frederick Douglass an American Slave
I have had two masters. My first master’s name __________ Anthony. I do not __________ his first name. He __________ generally called Captain Anthony—__________ title which, I presume, __________ acquired by sailing a __________ on the Chesapeake Bay. __________ was not considered a __________ slaveholder. He owned two or __________ farms, and about thirty __________. His farms and slaves __________ under the care of __________ overseer. The overseer’s name __________ Plummer. Mr. Plummer was __________ miserable drunkard, a profane __________, and a savage monster. __________ always went armed with __________ cowskin and a heavy __________. I have known him to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly, that even master would be enraged at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself.
Alternative Passage
I have had two masters. My first master’s __________ was Anthony. I __________ not remember his first name. He was __________ called Captain Anthony—a title which, I presume, he __________ by sailing a craft on the Chesapeake __________. He was not considered a rich slaveholder. He __________ two or three farms, and about thirty slaves. His farms and slaves were __________ the care of an overseer. The __________ name was Plummer. Mr. Plummer __________ a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster. __________ always went armed with a cowskin and a heavy cudgel. I have known him to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly, that __________ master would be __________ at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself.
Scrambled cloze passage
I have had two masters. My first amrtes’s name was Anthony. I do not emrbreme his first name. He was generally lecadl Captain Anthony—a tetli which, I presume, he qdauicre by sailing a fract on the Chesapeake Bay. He was not cdnoidseer a rich slaveholder. He wnedo two or three amfsr, and about thirty sslaev. His farms and slaves were neudr the care of an osverree. The overseer’s name aws Plummer. Mr. Plummer was a smieraleb drunkard, a opranef swearer, and a asagev monster. He always went rmdae with a cowskin dna a heavy cudgel. I have known him to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly, that even master would be enraged at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself.
Directions
Unscramble the words in bold type in order to decipher the truest meaning of the passage. Score in a manner similar to the method given for the cloze passages above.
Passage in its Entirety
I have had two masters. My first master’s name was Anthony. I do not remember his first name. He was generally called Captain Anthony—a title which, I presume, he acquired by sailing a craft on the Chesapeake Bay. He was not considered a rich slaveholder. He owned two or three farms, and about thirty slaves. His farms and slaves were under the care of an overseer. The overseer’s name was Plummer. Mr. Plummer was a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster. He always went armed with a cowskin and a heavy cudgel. I have known him to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly, that even master would be enraged at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself.
References
Douglass, F. (1845). Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave, written by himself. Boston: Anti-slavery Office. Retrieved on October 15, 2006 from http://docsouth.unc.edu/douglass/douglass.html
Eisner, E. (1994). The Educational Imagination: On the Design and Evaluation of School Programs, 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan College Publishing.
Fry Readability Graph. The Journal of Reading. 21, 242-252.
Grierson, S. (1999). “The cloze procedure.” Novelinks. Provo, Brigham Young University http://english.byu.edu/Novelinks/reading%20strategies/Anthem/cloze%20general.htm
OleanderSolutions. (2006). “Raygor estimate graph.” Readability in Industries. Oleander Solutions. Retrieved on October 15 from http://www.oleandersolutions.com/raygorgraph.html
Reutzel, D. R. & Cooter, R. B. (1999). Balanced Reading Strategies and Practices: Assessing and Assisting Students with Special Needs. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill
Reutzel, D. R. & R. B. Cooter. (2005). The essential of teaching children to read. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Stephens, C. (2002). “Everything you always wanted to know about readability but were afraid to ask.” Plain Language Center. New Westminster: Practice Development Group. Retrieved on October 25 from http://www.gopdg.com/plainlanguage/readability.html
Thoene, B. (1989). Vienna Prelude. New York: Guideposts.
Wessman, L. (2006). Expanded Directions for Working the Fry Readability Graph. Hope College. Retrieved on October 25 from http://www.hope.edu/academic/education/wessman/2block/assignments/frygraph.htm
Yero, J. (2002). “Explicit, implicit and null curricula.” Teachers’ Mind Resources. Retrieved on October 25 from http://www.teachersmind.com/eisner.htm#R1
