Book Leveling

Have you ever wondered how you tell at what grade level a book is written? The Gunning-Fog Index is a quick, simple way to pretty accurately determine how hard a text is. This can help tell you whether the materials you are choosing for your student are appropriate for his/her reading abilities. The following are the steps for applying the Index:

Gunning-Fog Index

1. Select a sample

2. Determine the average number of words per sentence

3. Determine the percentage of hard words

4. Add the 2 factors and multiply by 0.4

Note: Do not take samples from the very beginning or end of chapters. Avoid sampling material that is not typical of continuous matter; that is, avoid sampling titles, heading, and vertical lists. Do not sample dialog unless it is typical of the content.

Hard words: A hard word is usually any word of three or more syllables. Count a hard word only once in each sample (if a hard word appears several times, only count the first occurrence). Do not count any three-syllable made up of a two-syllable word and one of the following endings: -s, -es, -‘s, -s’, -ed, -ing, -er, -est, -ly. A hard word does not include acronyms, proper names, numbers, or three-syllable compound words (e.g. anyone, everything, or another).

Sample

In general, construction of pictograms follows the general procedure used in constructing bar charts. But two special rules should be followed. First, all of the picture units used must be of equal size. The comparisons must be made wholly on the basis of the number of illustrations used and never by varying the areas of the individual pictures used. The reason for this rule is obvious. The human eye is grossly inadequate in comparing areas of geometric designs. Second, the pictures or symbols used must appropriately depict the quantity to be illustrated. A comparison of the navies of the world, for example, might make use of miniature ship drawings. Cotton production might be shown by bales of cotton. Obviously, the drawings used must be immediately interpreted by the reader.

Computation

129 words in 10 sentences = asl (average sentence length) of 13 words

26 hard words out of 129 = 20%

Average sentence length 13.0

Percentage of hard words 20.0

Total 33.0

Multiply by 0.4

Grade Level of Readership 13.2

Visit http://www.readabilityformulas.com/gunning-fog-readability-formula.php for more information about the Gunning-Fog Index.

Visit http://www.usingenglish.com/resources/text-statistics.php to input text directly into a text box and automatically receive statistics about the text, including the Gunning-Fog level.

Learn About Health Issues With Our New Mini-Lessons

Do you know if you have high blood pressure?
Are you knowledgeable about your family’s health history?
How do you know if it’s safe to take aspirin with your current medications?

Project Read focuses on helping its students achieve the goals that are important to them in their own lives, so we are very excited to introduce Health Literacy “Mini-Lessons.” There are two, topic-specific binders available in our library you may use to incorporate into your tutoring sessions.

Lessons in the “Basic Health Literacy” Binder:

• Health Professionals
  
• Emergency Care
  
• Regular Check-Ups
  
• Health History Forms
• Medicine
  
• Reading Labels & Measuring
  
• Health Insurance

Lessons included in the “Special Topics" Binder:

• Chronic Disease
• Environmental Health
• Male Reproductive Health
• Minority Women’s Health
• Female Reproductive Health
• Prenatal & Maternal Health
  

There are interactive videos and activities at every reading level so each Project Read student can understand how to live healthier. As always, please see the staff if you would like copies made of the lessons.

Job Training Grant Available

Project Read received the following information from UVU:


Do you know someone faced with having to change career paths or upgrade
their job skills to survive? We can help.

UVU Community Education is the recipient of a Federal Community Based
Job Training grant. The purpose of this Federal grant is to increase the
number of trained, certified and skills-ready information workers. It
is directed towards helping lower income, minority, and disadvantaged
populations build job skills.

Individuals who qualify will have the opportunity for computer training
and skill upgrades through a variety of classes such as:

• Community Education computer classes
  
• Medical Coding, Billing and Transcription online training
• Fiber Optics certification
• Ed2Go online classes including: Microsoft Applications, QuickBooks, Digital Photography, and Adobe, and basic computer literacy courses
  

The grant will award up to $500 dollars to low income individuals
seeking computer training. These grant dollars will help prepare them to
enter the workforce with an upgraded skill set for our knowledge-based
economy. Take advantage of this opportunity now! (Must be a U.S.
citizen and 16 years of age or older to qualify. Veterans welcome.)

For more information on this grant opportunity, contact:

Kathy Johnson
Workforce Development Coordinator
Utah Valley University
Phone: (801) 863-8798
Fax: (801) 863-6024
Email: kjohnson@uvu.edu