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Why a Type Designer Draws the O Too Tall

8th grade nonfiction passage about type design: 276 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade nonfiction type design 276 words

Why a Type Designer Draws the O Too Tall

Almost everything you read was shaped by a type designer, a person who draws the letters that make up a font. A single font can contain hundreds of characters, and every one must look as if it belongs to the same family. Designers often spend months or even years on a typeface, adjusting curves by tiny amounts that most readers will never consciously see.

Some of the strangest decisions are meant to fool the eye. A round letter, such as o, is usually drawn slightly taller than a flat-topped letter, such as H, and it dips slightly below the baseline, the invisible line the letters sit on. If the round letter were exactly the same height, it would look a little smaller, because a curve touches the line at only one point while a flat edge rests along it. This small extra height is called overshoot, and it makes letters appear equal.

Spacing is just as important. The open space inside letters, called counters, and the gaps between letters shape how a line of text feels. If two letters sit too close, they seem to clump together. If they are too far apart, a hole opens up in the word. Designers adjust particular pairs, such as an A next to a V, in a process called kerning.

To test a design, the designer sets real words and paragraphs in it, prints them, and reads them at different sizes. A font made for road signs must be clear from far away, while one for a book must be comfortable for hours. The goal is a typeface so well made that readers think only about the words.

Questions

  1. What does a type designer draw? in the text

  2. Why is a round letter drawn slightly taller than a flat-topped one? in the text

  3. What is overshoot? in the text

  4. What is kerning? in the text

  5. Why does a designer read the test words at different sizes? think about it

  6. What does it mean that a great typeface makes readers think only about the words? think about it

Words to know

typeface
a complete set of letters and symbols in one design
baseline
the invisible line that letters sit on
overshoot
the extra height that round letters are given so they look equal
counters
the open spaces inside letters like o and e
kerning
adjusting the space between two letters
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 243 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5

Almost everything you read was shaped by a type designer. This is a person who draws the letters in a font. One font can have hundreds of characters. Each one must look like it is from the same family. Designers may spend months or years on one typeface. They change curves by tiny bits that most readers never see.

Some choices are meant to fool the eye. A round letter like o is drawn a little taller than a flat-topped letter like H. It also dips a little below the baseline, the line the letters sit on. If the o were the same height, it would look smaller. A curve touches the line at one point. A flat edge rests along it. The small extra height is called overshoot. It makes letters look equal.

Spacing is also important. The open space inside letters is called counters. The gaps between letters matter too. If two letters are too close, they clump. If they are too far apart, a hole opens in the word. Designers adjust some pairs, such as an A next to a V. This is called kerning.

To test a font, the designer sets real words, prints them, and reads them at different sizes. A font for road signs must be clear from far away. A font for a book must be easy to read for hours. The goal is a typeface so good that readers think only about the words.

▲ This passage · 276 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8

Almost everything you read was shaped by a type designer, a person who draws the letters that make up a font. A single font can contain hundreds of characters, and every one must look as if it belongs to the same family. Designers often spend months or even years on a typeface, adjusting curves by tiny amounts that most readers will never consciously see.

Some of the strangest decisions are meant to fool the eye. A round letter, such as o, is usually drawn slightly taller than a flat-topped letter, such as H, and it dips slightly below the baseline, the invisible line the letters sit on. If the round letter were exactly the same height, it would look a little smaller, because a curve touches the line at only one point while a flat edge rests along it. This small extra height is called overshoot, and it makes letters appear equal.

Spacing is just as important. The open space inside letters, called counters, and the gaps between letters shape how a line of text feels. If two letters sit too close, they seem to clump together. If they are too far apart, a hole opens up in the word. Designers adjust particular pairs, such as an A next to a V, in a process called kerning.

To test a design, the designer sets real words and paragraphs in it, prints them, and reads them at different sizes. A font made for road signs must be clear from far away, while one for a book must be comfortable for hours. The goal is a typeface so well made that readers think only about the words.

■ Harder · 300 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.8

Almost everything you read was shaped by a type designer, a craftsperson who draws the letters that make up a font. A single font can contain hundreds of characters, and every one of them must look as though it belongs to the same family. Designers frequently spend months or even years refining a typeface, adjusting curves by minuscule amounts that most readers will never consciously notice.

Some of the most surprising decisions are intended to deceive the eye. A round letter, such as o, is usually drawn slightly taller than a flat-topped letter, such as H, and it also dips a little below the baseline, the invisible line on which the letters sit. If the round letter were precisely the same height, it would appear somewhat smaller, because a curve touches the line at only a single point while a flat edge rests along its entire length. This subtle extra height is called overshoot, and it makes letters appear equal in size.

Spacing is every bit as important. The open space inside letters, known as counters, together with the gaps between letters, determines how a line of text feels to the reader. If two letters sit too close together, they seem to clump. If they are too far apart, an awkward hole opens up in the word. Designers adjust particular pairs, such as an A beside a V, in a process called kerning.

To test a design, the designer sets real words and paragraphs in it, prints them out, and reads them at several different sizes. A font created for road signs must remain clear from a great distance, whereas one intended for a book must stay comfortable for hours at a time. The ultimate goal is a typeface so skillfully made that readers think only about the words.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put typeface, baseline, overshoot, counters and kerning on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 3 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Why a Type Designer Draws the O Too Tall"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 276 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 8.0. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 3 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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