COMPLEXITY EPRESE

A Tool for Selecting Diverse Texts

TEACHING TOLERANCE
A PROJECT OF THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER
TOLERANCE.ORG
TEXT SELECTION TOOL

Text selection is critical to both literacy instruction and student engagement. Traditionally, tools that
support text selection have focused on quantitative and qualitative measures only. Appendix D: A
Tool for Selecting Diverse Texts is different. It supports a multi-dimensional approach to text
selection, and includes considerations that help educators prioritize text complexity, critical literacy
and cultural
responsiveness.

Appendix D: A Tool for Selecting Diverse Texts considers four distinct—but interconnected—
dimensions of text selection: complexity, diversity and representation, critical literacy, and reader
and task.

CONSIDERATION I COMPLEXITY
This section quantitatively and qualitatively evaluates the inherent elements of a text. Quantitative
factors refer to word length or frequency, sentence length and text cohesion; these dimensions are
measured by computer software. Qualitative factors are measured by an attentive reader, reflect a
teacher’s professional judgment, and refer to levels of meaning, purpose, structure, language
features (such as conventionality and clarity) and knowledge demands.

CONSIDERATION II DIVERSITY AND REPRESENTATION

This section considers the ways in which the author and characters in a text contribute to the
inclusion of diverse voices in the curriculum. Similar to text complexity, diversity and
representation are inherent elements of a text.

CONSIDERATION III CRITICAL LITERACY

Critical literacy teaches readers to actively and reflectively engage with texts. Readers use
critical literacy skills to interpret messages and challenge the power relationships found within
those messages. They are encouraged to question social norms and institutions like family,
poverty, education, equity and equality. This section of the tool asks users to determine if a text is
a good candidate for critical literacy instruction.

CONSIDERATION IV READER AND TASK CONSIDERATIONS

Culturally responsive text selection includes finding texts that both reflect your students’ identities,
experiences and motivations (mirrors) and provide insight into the identities, experiences and
motivations of others (windows). This section asks users
to consider whether texts act as windows or mirrors and to explicitly name how the text will help
meet established learning goals.

Finally, educators decide whether or not to select the text and have a chance to reflect on their rationale.
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
QUANTITATIVE: Go to http://www.lexile.com. Use the Quick Book Search box in the upper right to see if
your text already has a Lexile Measure. If not, copy and paste a portion of the text into the Lexile Analyzer.

Lexile Measure (NOT CCSS Grade Band

AVAILABLE) (NOT AVAILABLE)

420–820L Grades 2–3

740–1010L Grades 4–5

925–1185L Grades 6–8

1050–1335L Grades 9–10

1185–1385L Grade 11–CCR

QUALITATIVE: Consider the four qualitative measures of text complexity—meaning/purpose, structure,

language features and knowledge demands—and how they make the text more or less complex. Mark an X on
each line to place the text within its grade band for that qualitative measure.

Qualitative Measure Notes and Comments on Text Placement Within Band

Not Beg. End of Beg. End of

suited of lower of higher
to lower grade higher grade
band grade grade

Meaning/Purpose This text covers heavy concepts X

including racism, sexism, abuse,
and socioeconomic hierarchies
which are better suited for high
school students.

Structure The structure follows a X

chronological novel that is a
familiar style to most young
 readers, but the length and narration
style introducing southern dialect
may present challenges to students.

Language Features The main narrator is a girl who is X

growing up from the ages of six to
nine years old. Although the diction
is often simple, the text includes
southern dialect and racial slurs that
need to be properly addressed and
unpacked.

Knowledge Demands The text presents injustice that X

surfaces with deep analysis.
Students must know the contexts of
setting and societal norms to best
understand the underlying and
ongoing themes.

Use both the Lexile Measure and the qualitative analysis to adjust the overall placement of the text within its
grade band. Summarize your analysis and reasoning.

OVERALL GRADE SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS AND REASONING

LEVEL
While the plot itself is based on a young girl’s personal experience growing up
Grade 10 in a small southern town, this novel is best fitting for readers in the ninth and
tenth grade band due to the dense topics explored throughout the text including
racism, sexism, abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), and socioeconomic
hierarchies in the 1930s.

CONSIDERATION II DIVERSITY AND REPRESENTATION

1. Does the identity or experience of this text’s author support the inclusion of diverse voices in the
curriculum? Which voices?
Race
 Immigration
Ethnicity
Religion
Language
Ability
Gender
Age
LGBT
Place
Class
Other: Historical perspective - written in the 1960s based on the 1930s

Explain: Harper Lee is a woman who brings a sense of diversity to the male-dominated curriculum;
however, this inclusion is quickly smothered by her use of the n-word as a white individual. However,
confronting this injustice regarding her identity nearly adds a greater sense of inclusion to the classroom
community. This is best analyzed through a historical lens based on the 1930s-1960s.

2. Do the identity or experiences of this text’s characters and/or speakers support the inclusion of diverse
voices in the curriculum? Which voices?
Race
Immigration
Ethnicity
Religion
Language
Ability
Gender
Age
LGBT
Place
Class
Other:

Explain: This novel includes voices of members within the Black community, mentions foot-washing
Baptists as a way to discriminate against others in the town, reflects standard southern dialect, has various
prominent women characters including the main narrator as a young girl, upholds the norms of a deep
southern state within the setting during the Great Depression and Jim Crow era, and highlights experiences
of individuals within all economic classes.

3. Which elements of this text, if any, provide an authentic account or reflection of peoples’ lived
experiences?
Setting
Characters/Speakers
 Events
Language
Illustrations

Explain: This story reflects an authentic experience of an interaction between a white woman and a Black
man where the white individual is granted special privilege over the Black individual within the court
system. This reflects many lived experiences of those within southern towns in the 1930s during the Great
Depression and Jim Crow era.

4. Do you have any concerns about generalizations, stereotypes or misrepresentations in the

text?
- In general, I have concerns about generalizations regarding education, finances, and
racial stereotypes. The Finch family is portrayed as a more wealthy, educated, and
powerful family compared to many other families within the town (both Black and
white) who do not have access to the same resources. This may further perpetuate
the racial/social hierarchy that is presented in this text from the angles of education,
economics, and race.
- Additionally, Calpurnia’s character may be inappropriately interpreted as a
stereotypical Black maid during the time period as her voice is not upheld to
portray her sense of being more like a mother figure.

CONSIDERATION III CRITICAL LITERACY

Gaps and Silences: Authors intentionally and unintentionally include and exclude information. A gap exists
where something is left out of the text for the reader to fill in. A silence occurs when a voice or viewpoint is
left out or suppressed.

1. Are certain people or groups left out or given roles that don’t enable them to be
heard?
- Within the major court scene, Tom Robinson (Black male) and Mayella
Ewell (white woman) have their voices suppressed in court due to his race
and her gender. Because the jury is composed of white men and Mayella’s
abuser is present, neither of these characters can give an authentic
portrayal of what occurred that is valued and upheld by the audience at
hand.
- Calpurnia is not given much of a voice outside of the scene where Walter
Cunningham comes over for lunch and when she takes the children to
 church with her despite her powerful presence in the children’s lives.
However, even when having a voice in these parts, she is still more of a
secondary character to the white children therefore she is not given the full
attention to be truly heard.

2. What questions does this text not raise?

- How can Atticus Finch be seen through the lens of a white savior? What
are some of his racist flaws, and why is he not held accountable for them?

3. What strengths and weaknesses does this text pose in terms of gaps and silences?
- Strengths:
- A Black male and a white woman are both given a chance for their voices to be used within
the court scene.
- Readers hear from various diverse perspectives throughout the novel through Scout’s
coming-of-age perspective.
- Weaknesses:
- While many characters who are members of minority communities are given the opportunity
to speak, their voices are influenced by the perception of the white male characters.
- The characters highlight a dynamic between white and Black individuals during this time
period while leaving out the identities of other races and ethnicities who also faced similar
forms of oppression.

Intertextuality: Students are exposed to multiple texts at school, at home, in the media and through
cultural transmission. Intertextuality refers to the way a text’s meaning is shaped by other texts.

1. What are some examples of similar texts?

- Just Mercy (2014) by Bryan Stevenson

- This text features Bryan Stevenson, a Black man, who works as an attorney to help Walter
McMillian, an innocent Black man, who was falsely convicted of murder get off of death
row. This case occurs in the same town that To Kill a Mockingbird is based on which can
reinforce the racist norms of that setting that existed well beyond the time period the novel is
based on.
- Genre: Memoir
- Similar themes/concepts: confronting racism, supporting Black community members,
court/justice system
 - The Hate U Give (2017) by Angie Thomas
- This text features the perspective of a sixteen-year-old Black girl as she learns to navigate a
world that is unjust and discriminatory following her witnessing of the shooting of her
childhood friend.
- Genre: YA Literature
- Similar themes/concepts: racism, coming-of-age, criminal (in)justice

2. What are some texts that would pair well with this text?
- “The Meanings of a Word” by Gloria Naylor
- In this text, Gloria Naylor recounts an experience she had as a child where she was called the
n-word, and she was left unsettled. She then begins to unpack the usage of this word by
explaining instances where it is appropriate/inappropriate depending on the context and the
identity of the individual using the term.
- Medium: Essay
- Similar themes/concepts: identity, context, racism

- “We Need to Talk about Injustice” (2012) by Bryan Stevenson

- In this TedTalk, Bryan Stevenson talks about his experience representing prisoners on death
row. He pleads for people to be upstanders by recognizing that Black individuals are
disproportionately incarcerated as those with the most influence in this system oftentimes
have the whitest skin and the most money as a defense.
- Medium: TedTalk
- Similar themes/concepts: confronting racism, criminal (in)justice

- “History of Lynching in the South Documents Nearly 4,000 Names” (2015) by Campbell Robertson,
posted by The New York Times
- This article provides a description of what lynching is and its horrific history. This pairs well
with chapter fifteen of To Kill a Mockingbird as the people of Maycomb mob outside of Tom
Robinson’s jail cell.
- Medium: News Article
- Similar themes/concepts: racism, violence born from racism

- “State v. Johnson” (2017) by Malcolm Gladwell

- This podcast includes a description about a rape case that makes commentary on the
 intersection between power and justice.
- Medium: Revisionist History Podcast
- Similar themes/concepts: rape, power, injustice

3. What strengths or weaknesses does this text pose in terms of intertextuality?

- Strengths:
- To Kill a Mockingbird and Just Mercy follow a similar concept of a Black man being falsely
accused and imprisoned within the same setting. This nearly-replicated story reinforces the
racism that students will learn about within the novel based on the 1930s that translates into
the modern times of the 1990s. Students will be able to track the discrimination and
oppression that spans for decades into modern times to truly grasp a better understanding of
these social injustices.

- Weaknesses:
- To Kill a Mockingbird features a plethora of angles in terms of injustice to really take a deep
dive into while reading. This novel contains racism, sexism, abuse in multiple forms, and
economic hierarchies all within a tense time period of the Great Depression and the Jim
Crow era thus making it difficult to find many texts that cover all angles for each oppressed
voice to be heard rather than just one or two at a time which is not conducive to the scarce
time students spend in class.

Positioning: The content and characters in a text are framed by the author’s attitudes, beliefs and point of
view. This is referred to as positioning. Positioning also impacts the way a reader absorbs and interprets a
text.

1. What do I know about the author’s attitudes, beliefs or point of view in relation to the topic?
- Harper Lee chooses to include the n-word within the novel in order to represent a more authentic
reflection of the time period. As a child, she grew up in Monroeville, Alabama which serves as the
basis for Maycomb, and the use of the term provides a more accurate account of her lived
experience.

2. How might this impact author and reader positioning?

- Because Harper Lee is a white woman, her attempt at a more realistic representation of this time
period by including the n-word may be offensive to the readers thus affecting their positioning.
Readers may not be able to oversee this usage of a racial slur to debunk her reasoning for its
 inclusion and establish a productive conversation about its presence within the novel.

3. What strengths or weaknesses does this text pose in terms of positioning?

- Strengths: The inclusion of this racial slur often leads to productive conversation about how context
can affect language, and it can also lead to the class establishing norms of refraining from using this
word in the activities in order to provide the safest place for all. This can add a sense of
comfortability within the classroom as the class begins reading a novel with many sensitive topics.

- Weaknesses: The usage of the n-word may immediately make students feel disengaged with the text
as the racial slur is coming from a white woman. Although it was written in an earlier time period,
students may feel skeptical regarding the reasoning behind continuing to read this text in the twenty-
first century.

Context: When a text is read, it shapes the reader's response. A reading in 1850 will differ from a reading in
2014. The history of a text, as well as contemporary attitudes and practices, shapes the context.

1. What is the historical, social or cultural context in which this text was written?
- This novel was written in the 1960s but is based on the 1930s within a small town in Alabama. The
effects of the Great Depression are still running rampant from an economic angle, and it is well
within the Jim Crow era from a social angle. Poverty, racism, and gender inequality were the social
norms at the time, and they are all reflected within the novel.

2. How can this text be made relevant to a contemporary context?

- In general, poverty, racism, and gender inequality are still very prevalent within the United States
which was very apparent in 2020 as there was an economic crisis during the pandemic and a social
outcry for justice within the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd
and Breonna Taylor. More specifically, connections between To Kill a Mockingbird and Just Mercy,
which was published in 2014, can be made to highlight an instance where racism and
disproportionality are seen within the criminal justice system in a more modern time period.

3. What strengths or weaknesses does this text pose in terms of context?

- Strengths: This text can provide a point of reference for growth or lack thereof regarding racial
injustices within the court system and the south as a whole. When reading To Kill a Mockingbird,
students can take a step into the past and have a better understanding of societal norms, and they will
be able to compare and contrast that with more contemporary events and movements.
 - Weaknesses: Because this book is based on a time period nearly a century ago, students need to be
well-aware of the norms of the setting which they did not experience first-hand and have an
understanding that everything that was said then is not acceptable now. For example, just because
students are learning about how common discrimination through the use of slurs was at the time and
how the usage was not denounced, the use of slurs with no push-back now is utterly unacceptable.
Students must be able to take their learnings of the text one step further by being aware of what not
to learn in addition to what to learn.

CONSIDERATION IV READER AND TASK CONSIDERATIONS

Reader considerations: Culturally responsive text selection relies on a teacher who knows the reader(s) and
considers their experiences, motivations and knowledge. These considerations relate to the discursive
background of your readers.

1. Experience
For whom could this text be a mirror of their identities and experiences?
- Students of color who have experienced race-based injustice
- Survivors of physical, emotional, sexual abuse (including rape)
- Those who face impoverishment and neglect

For whom could this text be a window into the identities and experiences of others?

- White students who have not experienced race-based injustice

- Those who have not faced the oppressive nature of abusive relationships
- Those who are not survivors of sexual-based violence
- Those who have never faced impoverishment or neglect

What strengths or weaknesses does this text pose in terms of windows and mirrors?
- Strengths: This novel provides many angles regarding sensitive subjects of which many students
will likely be able to self-identify. This may make those who have experienced race-based injustice,
abuse of some form, impoverishment, and neglect feel a little more seen, heard, and valued within
the classroom through discussions about how these injustices are not acceptable.

- Weaknesses: While many diverse experiences are highlighted giving students a kind of mirror and
window with which to view the novel, the whole of the text is still ultimately written by a white
woman with white protagonists which can never provide the absolute authentic account of people
 who face challenges related to race. Thus, she can be deemed as unreliable and untrustworthy
affecting the ability of students to clutch onto her other insights.

2. Motivation

How could this text connect with the interests and concerns of my students?

- In current times, many students have a strong social media presence which they use to engage with
social justice issues. In 2006, social media was used to circulate information and provide support to
survivors of sexual violence within the #MeToo movement, and this same energy was kept during
the racially-charged justice movements of 2020 including Black Lives Matter. Students with interest
in social activism can read To Kill a Mockingbird as a way to stimulate more conversation around
the criminal justice system its flaws regarding sexual-based violence and race-related
disproportionality.

How could this text motivate my students?

- This text can be motivational for students to become more involved in fighting for justice stemming
from race, gender, sexual, and class-related identities. Students may feel uncomfortable and upset
when reading about the various power dynamics related to identity, and after reflecting on how that
connects to modern day through reading Just Mercy and other supplemental texts, feel an inclination
to get involved in social activism from an angle that they feel most passionate about whether that
relates to themselves or another interest.

3. Knowledge

To what extent does this text access and build upon the knowledge my students bring with them?

- Students may have a general understanding of discrimination of this time period, but the majority of
that knowledge may stem from textbook learnings within a history class. This novel takes a more
personalized approach to portraying racial and gender-based oppression through a child’s
perspective as she grows up. The readers gain a better understanding of prejudice, the violence of
gossip, courage, morality, racism, sexism, abuse, and classism all through the eyes of a young girl
learning how to navigate the world around her. By presenting these sensitive topics through a
narrative rather than statistical evidence, it creates a more emotional response that leaves a more
lasting impact on students to fight against injustice rather than blindly accepting it.

Task considerations: Perhaps the most important question when selecting a text is “How will it help students
learn?” Keep your standards and learning objectives in mind as you select texts.
1. What is the learning objective?
- The main learning objective is for students to become more aware of various identities and the
discrimination those identities face. After this awareness, students will hopefully become more
understanding, caring, and active in supporting these identities and fighting for justice for all.

2. How does this text help meet that objective?

- This text helps meet this objective by allowing students to share the same perspective as a young girl
who is growing up to be a moral and ethical character even in the midst of racism, sexism, abuse,
and a class-based hierarchy. As Scout, the main protagonist, is learning about discrimination and
oppression against these minority communities, so are the readers who mimic her sense of curiosity,
acceptance of people of color, and belief in fighting for what is right.

3. What task might I match with this text in order for students to demonstrate mastery of the instructional goals?
- With this novel, students will be asked to complete many discussion boards and reflection journals
where they will explore their understanding of the text in relation to their own experiences. This will
allow students a space to connect these sensitive topics of the past to the current world and their own
lives in hopes of promoting empathy and acceptance regarding various identities.
- Additionally, this unit will conclude with an artistic-based music project where students will connect
moments within the text with songs of their choosing to best reflect their knowledge of the novel
through an artistic mode of expression.

4. How will this task work toward the goals of anti-bias education?

Identity: Promote a healthy self-concept and exploration of identity.

- This text allows students exposure to a plethora of voices from minority groups that were often not
heard during this time period. Through seeing and hearing these various perspectives concurrently
with Scout and the morals she is learning, students will have their own identity shaped for the better
to be more accepting and supporting of survivors of injustice, sexual violence, impoverishment, and
neglect in the current time period.

Diversity: Foster intergroup understanding.

- This novel features voices from many minority groups including people of color, women, and
individuals from all economic classes. By including experiences from characters in each diverse
community, students will have a more holistic representation of the social norms centered on
injustice during that time period.
 Justice: Raise awareness of prejudice and injustice.

- Prejudice and injustice are two of the main topics explored throughout this novel in various plotlines
including the introduction of characters such as Boo Radley, Mrs. Dubose, and Tom Robinson. By
confronting prejudice and injustice head-on and from various angles, students will be aware of this
discrimination in more subtle instances such as judgment resulting from town gossip and more overt
ways such as the false accusation and incorrect guilty verdict within Tom Robinson’s case.

Action: Motivate students to act by highlighting individual and collective struggles against
injustice.

- This novel includes both individual and collective accounts when facing injustice as Tom
Robinson’s story is specifically focused on, but the town itself has outbursts against
Atticus for even defending a Black individual which is an attack on the community of
color itself. Through showing that injustice is more than just the struggles that one
character faces and by providing thorough detail of the setting including the norms of the
time period, students should be able to recognize the ominous power of injustice then,
make connections to this widespread oppression in the present times, and feel emotionally
compelled to actively respond to this unfair, cruel treatment of those in communities of
color on an individual or collective basis.

5. What supports or differentiation will my students need to succeed in that task using this text?
- For students to succeed in best understanding the text and becoming more active when standing up
to injustice, they need to have support along the way throughout their exploration of such sensitive
topics. First, the students should have a text that debunks the use of the n-word which will be used to
set a classroom boundary of not using the word - this will ensure that the students feel like the
classroom is a safe space for them to begin reading. Following, students will be given lots of
supplementary readings/videos/podcasts that will provide them with more context of both the setting
and the court system which will aid their comprehension of the novel. Further, students will be given
an abundance of time to reflect on their reading and draw connections to their own ideas and
experiences as the material is very heavy and can be emotionally taxing to mentally process. Lastly,
I will ensure that my students have time to ask me questions in and out of class where I will be able
to respond and support on a more individual-basis.
DECISION WILL I SELECT THIS TEXT?

Yes No

Why and how will I use this text in instruction? Why am I choosing not to use this text in instruction?

- To Kill a Mockingbird will be used in a class-wide novel study as the backbone of a unit based on
social justice. This book allows students to explore injustices and inequalities stemming from
race, gender, and class while also touching on other sensitive topics such as physical, emotional,
and sexual abuse as well as impoverishment and neglect. By including such a wide variety of
oppressive angles, Harper Lee captures the widespread social obstacles faced by many
communities of people throughout the south in the 1930s. Through the understanding of society at
this time, students will be able to reflect on their own experiences and research the experiences of
others in the current day and begin to compare and contrast growth relating to these injustices
over time. Students will learn a sense of empathy and acceptance of those with differing identities
than themselves, and they will be exposed to activism in hopes of shaping their willingness to
pursue justice and truth in the future - just like Scout.