A word about the Book Wizard at the bottom of this page......I was so happy to find this gadget to add at the bottom of my pages! Basically, it is what you think, just type in any book title and see what comes up. It will open in a new window, on the Scholastic website. You will see grade level equivalent and interest level. Grab one of your kid's books and type it in. It is by no means a complete database, but they do have a lot of titles. Use it up friends!
READING LEVELS
I know it can be overwhelming to wrap your mind around the levels of reading used by different teachers, in various schools or grade levels, working from any number of programs. You might just want to know if your child is on target or not for their grade level or how some of the programs correlate. Today, I set out to help you understand. But first a word about levels and reading progress.
The purpose of leveling books and providing a range of books to one school/classroom is to meet the needs of the individual readers. No two children learn to read in the same way at the same time, hence the need for a variation. Beginning readers start with books that have only a few words per page that match a clear illustration. Theses books also tend to repeat high frequency words on each page. As the levels get harder, there are more words per page, more syllables per word, and sometimes less illustrations.
Most current research tells us that a student is reading at their independent reading level (or "just-right level") when they read with 99% accuracy with absolutely NO HELP. Teachers in schools that support guided reading, and are aware of the research, usually employ teachers that are committed to getting students to reading in their independent level for as much time as possible, because this makes them even better readers.
Now, follow the link below to see ONE OF MANY conversion charts for various programs and leveling systems;
Reading Level Correlation Chart
* You will notice that the first column address grade level, some schools have a month by month breakdown for goals within the year, but this is a good place to start.
* The next is GR (guided reading) levels from Fountas and Pinnell (reading gurus.) This is also a system that you may see Scholastic Publishing use a lot in Book Clubs and on their website. Note** Some teachers begin using numbers when they reaching level J/K, starting with 1.
* The Lexile levels are next, these can be hard to use as a parent because they are ranges rather than specific levels. But if you see a Lexile on something and are wondering about the correlations for grade levels, check back here.
*Reading Recovery is a program some schools use, they have a numeric system as opposed to the GR alphabetic system
*DRA levels correlate with the DRA assessment (Developmental Reading Assessment.) Basically there are benchmark books for each level with comprehension questions and timed oral reading portion. Teachers, including me, often use these for an in-depth look at an individual reader. The score on the DRA often determines what Lexile or GR level book the student reads at.
I hope this helps a little. If you have more questions do a little research yourself, see what other charts you can find!
