Reading Levels Unite!

I had a great conversation with a parent at the Book Fair today that made me realize I wanted to do more to help get the right books into the hands of the readers in our class.  Sometimes with reading levels teachers have to be bilingual.  I have seen as many as 7 different book leveling systems used to determine the difficulty of children's literature, but there are 3 that are very important in our classroom.  

First of all, your child's DRA reading level will be taken 4 times this year.  At this point you know your child's DRA score from the end of 1st grade.  2nd Grade F.I.T. teachers will be determining  your child's new DRA level before the end of this marking period.  The benchmark for the end of 1st grade is 16, and in 2nd grade we strive to see students move then to Levels 18, 20, 24, and 28, at a minimum.  

In our classroom, it is also important to know the ATOS (or Accelerated Reader) level of each book as we choose books for R.A.H. homework and pick our independent reading books that we intend to take A.R. tests on.  These levels appear as a grade level #, a decimal point, and another # like this 2.3, 2.4, and so on. My classroom library is organized using this system so that students can find the right book for their Accelerated Reader testing.

Another useful level is the Fountas and Pinell alphabetical system which seems to go hand in hand with Scholastic Book Levels.  When choosing books to purchase from book clubs and at stores, this is often the system that is used.  

The chart below has all the levels listed, but it is one of my favorites because all 3 that I have mentioned are included.

By the time I send home the November book order, DRA scores will be updated to reflect each reader's  current independent reading level.  I will be using the chart above to display your child's scholastic reading level (G, H, I, J, K, L, or M) on their order form.  I will also place 3 arrow stickers within the brochure suggesting some Just Right books for your young reader.  In the mean time, you could still apply your child's 1st grade DRA score to the chart above and find an approximate reading level for this week's book fair.  

There are always some exceptions with a few individual titles, but generally most of the popular series books fall under these levels.  Hopefully it helps!

J 

Henry and Mudge

Franklin

Poppleton

Mr. Putter and Tabby

Young Cam Jansen

K

Frog and Toad

Clifford

M & M

Nate the Great

L

Amelia Bedelia

Cam Jansen

George and Martha

Horrible Harry

Pee Wee Scouts

Pinky and Rex

Weird School by Dan Gutman

M

Bailey School Kids

Bad Kitty

Berenstain Bears

Flat Stanley

Ghostville Elementary

Matt Christopher's Sports Books

Judy Moody

Junie B. Jones

The Littles

Magic Tree House

Rainbow Magic

Ready, Freddy

N

A to Z Mysteries

Amber Brown

Jigsaw Jones

Katie Kazoo