Assessment
This week I read an article by Rog and Burton discussing the importance of matching children to their correct reading levels and finding books for them on those levels. The article stated many important things, one of which was that a book cited as a level three book, or a book for third grade cannot possibly meet the needs of every student on a third grade reading level. A child just entering third grade is not as advanced a reader as a child halfway through third grade. Children should be able to read 90-95% of the words on a page easily for that book to be considered on their level. Leveling books is a difficult task, but there are a few key things that one needs to pay attention to when doing so. These details include:
1. the length of the book
2. the appearance and placement of text on a page
3. support offered by the illustrators
4. familiarity of subject matter
5. predictability
6. proportion of familiar words to those that are unfamiliar
- Do you remember reading leveled readers in elementary school?
- If you used them, was it during small group instruction? Do you remember if your teacher kept track of your progress or guided you to which level you were to read?
I do remember reading leveled readers in elementary school and it was consistently during a small group instruction time. I do not think I ever chose the book myself, my teacher always handed our group which book to read.
ReplyDeleteI definitely remember reading leveled readers in elementary school. Anytime we were reading leveled readers, we were doing so in small groups with or without the teacher. I don't remember ever reading leveled readers alone or choosing which one we were assigned to read each day.
ReplyDeleteI honestly cannot believe how little I remember my experiences in reading instruction in elementary school. I don't remember being assigned to particular "level." I really just remember choosing a book based on the title and the cover to be perfectly honest. I understand that categorizing books onto levels is a difficult task and is imperfect. However, I can see how beneficial this categorization could be.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel ! sometimes it is frightening how little I remember of my instruction in elementary school years. I never remember being assigned a particular level or number. I can see how they would be beneficial to an extent but I can easily see it becoming a competition, and the comprehension is lost.
ReplyDeleteI don't particularly remember using leveled readers in school, however, I did get to experience them when I shadowed a kindergarten classroom. The students would read the leveled readers out loud to me and would also meet in small groups with the teacher where they would also read leveled readers with her. The teacher would mark down things as they went through the reading based on each of their individual reading skills.
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