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?