Transforming the Resources You Have into Accessible Formats for All Students
By Carmen Nguyen
Carmen Nguyen addresses the problem of finding “resources that are authentic and challenging and address grade-appropriate concepts, but are also at the students’ reading level.”
She notes that texts which have been adapted with simplified vocabulary often also delete necessary complex sentence structure needed for comprehension. Even some of the websites that can change the level of the text do not provide an adequate solution. Nguyen lists five steps for adapting authentic text.
- Determine the Goal for Using the Text – What students will need to accomplish and whether they will be doing this independently, with a group, or with the teacher’s help.
- Read Text Using Different Lenses – Decide what information is necessary for students to complete the assignment, and what vocabulary needs to be taught.
- Decide Which Student/s or Group/s Will Receive the Adapted Text – Use your students’ reading proficiency levels to choose what scaffolds are needed.
- Determine Whether or Not Clarity is Needed – Here the author provides a chart to guide the adaptation of the text. For example, one item in the chart is “Does the text contain charts, tables, pictures, diagrams, photographs? Yes-Leave it alone or Enhance, No-Enhance”
- Select and Add Features to the Text to Enhance the Readability – This includes a second chart. One item is to add repetition of names or concepts.
For teachers who are just getting started in adapting text, the article concludes with this: “A last piece of advice is to not overwhelm yourself with too many supports. Begin with embedding features that will give students just enough access and move forward from there. Yes, adapting texts or resources does take time and practice. But all things worth doing take time.”