Text Complexity and Beginning Reading: Supporting Young Readers

Since 1999, Professor Heidi Anne Mesmer has studied beginning reading materials and text difficulty.  She has published widely in this area including articles such as, Toward a theoretical model of text complexity for the early grades, and books, Tools for Matching Readers to Text: Research-Based Practices’ (2008) and Complex Text: Deepening Close Reading in the Classroom (2016).  In this, Reading Recovery Europe Research Seminar she presents on her research on texts for beginning readers and the kinds of skills student will need to read complex texts, what might make texts complex for young readers, and how to best support them addressing important questions. 

This session would be of interest to classroom teachers, reading specialists, and literacy leaders.

Watch the webinar 

Speakers

• Professor Heidi Anne Mesmer, School of Education, Virginia Tech
• Angela Healy, Reading Recovery Teacher Leader, Monaghan, PDST, Ireland
• Dr Helen Morris, Reading Recovery National Leader, (Chair)

Reading Recovery Europe (RRE) seminar series

The aim of the RRE seminar series is to provide a forum to discuss key issues in literacy teaching and learning and to connect research to practice.

Related links

• Reading Recovery Europe
• International Literacy Centre
• Department of Learning and Leadership