Matching Books to Readers

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Matching Books to Readers
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What does it mean when my child says
My reading level is L.
I need to read in a different genre.
This is my independent reading level.
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• Books are categorized according to level
• matching text to picture
• placement of print on page
• content
• language structure

The leveling system used in Colquitt County is
Fountas and Pinnell.
The levels are designated by alphabet letters
A Z.
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Books in a set are always leveled in relation
to each other. Level B is a little bit harder
than level A, and so on.
Grade 1 C D E F G H I
Grade 4 P Q R
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The only way to make learning to read easy is to
make the reading easy.
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Easy Text

• Readers can
• read every word
• easily understand every idea
• gain confidence
• practice fluency

Students can read with 99 to 100 percent accuracy.
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Just-right Text

• Readers can
• read most of the words
• understand most of the ideas
• feel challenged but not frustrated

This is a text that students can read with 95-98
percent accuracy.
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Instructional Text

• Readers
• need some guidance to master
• can read most of the words
• understand most of the ideas
• are challenged a bit more

This is a text that students can read with 90 to
94 percent accuracy. These texts are used for
guided reading instruction.
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Challenge Text

• Readers
• cannot read many of the words
• cannot understand many of the ideas
• can sometimes read the words
• but not make sense of the ideas

This type of text may leave many readers
frustrated.
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INDEPENDENT READING
85 of everything a student reads should be easy
or just right
15 should be a bit of a challenge
0 at difficulty level
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So
How do teachers determine a childs independent
reading level?
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1. Accuracy
Teachers note observable reading behaviors

• pausing
• re-reading
• searching the pictures
• appealing for help
• sounding out clusters of letters
• self-correcting

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2. Fluency
Teachers note and monitor changes in

• pace
• phrasing
• intonation
• attention to punctuation

Fluency is essential to improving comprehension.
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3. Comprehension
Teachers ask students to

• retell stories
• respond to prompts and questions

To discover what students remember about a story
often requires some prompting and questioning.
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And students ability to

• select appropriate reading materials
• preview texts
• make predictions
• discuss favorite books, authors, and
• genres

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The method for assessing used by teachers in
Colquitt County is The Developmental Reading
Assessment or DRA

• The DRA enables teachers to
• observe, record, and evaluate change in
• student reading performance
• to plan for and teach what each student
• needs to learn next

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Scholastic Website

• http//src.scholastic.com/ecatalog

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Classroom Leveled Libraries
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However
Not all books in the classroom are leveled.
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Genre Library

• A way to classify books that helps
• students learn how information is
• organized and presented a process that
• supports comprehension

• A way to develop an appreciation for
• the language and devices authors use
• (Authors Craft)

• A way to identify the kinds of books
• students like and want to read

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• A way to teach students to write in
• different genres

• A way to become familiar with a
• favorite author

Some possible genres you might see in classroom
libraries Biography Informational Fairy
Tales Realistic Fiction Poetry Fables Mystery
Historical Fiction
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Genre Libraries
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Matching Books to Readers

• When we match books to readers, we become more
  effective teachers.
• (Fountas and Pinnell, 1999)