# data[].attributes.body
“Labeling children by their level is detrimental to their self-esteem, their engagement, and, ultimately, their progress. The truth is that children can read books on a wide variety of levels, and in fact, they experience many different levels of books across the day.”        @FountasPinnell

# data[].attributes.headline
Level Books, Not Children (written by Fountas and Pinnell)                                                    	

# data[].attributes.subject
Level Books, Not Children (written by Fountas and Pinnell)                                                    	

# data[].attributes.headline
Libraries offer freedom from reading level limitations

# data[].attributes.subject
Libraries offer freedom from reading level limitations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The stories of two 1st graders demonstrate why students need spaces where they can choose what, when, and how they read.
Mark and James attend City Partnership School, which is located in a historically Black urban neighborhood in the northeastern United States. Like many elementary schools across the country, City Partnership uses a balanced literacy approach to reading instruction, with one pillar being the use of "just right" books. Multiple times per year, students are assessed to determine the level of text they can read with independence (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006), and this guides their teachers in helping them choose books to read.

In addition to the reading instruction they receive in their classroom, Mark and James also visit the school library twice a week for "browsing sessions," in which they can move about the space and peruse books as they wish. However, while the library gives them the chance to select and read whatever they like, alone or with others, they have less freedom than one might expect. In fact, their identities as readers have already been constrained by their experiences with leveled texts in the classroom.

As literacy researcher Stavroula Kontovourki (2012) argues, it may seem perfectly innocuous to assess students and assign reading levels to them, but these actions can have powerful and lasting effects on how children think about themselves and how they are perceived by others: "[P]ractices like leveling can be understood both as products of power and as permeated by power, which students take up or resist but whose stakes are nonetheless high" (p. 168). In short, while reading levels are intended to be private and nonjudgmental, they tend not only to become public knowledge within the classroom but also to shape the choices students make outside of it.

It may seem perfectly innocuous to assess students and assign reading levels to them, but these actions can have powerful and lasting effects on how children think about themselves.

All too often, the language of assessment follows students into those spaces designed to be assessment-free. Ultimately, even the school library becomes a contested space, where children struggle to define themselves and their abilities in relation to one another. On one hand, the library offers pockets of freedom and choice, where students can be playful and engage in literacy in a variety of ways and with books of their choosing. On the other hand, the library is just one more place in school where kids have to contend with being leveled.
Mark: "I'm not a level A"
Mark is a spunky, caring, and kind 1st-grade Latino student who speaks both English and Spanish, loves listening to read-alouds, and enjoys browsing time at the library. Described by his teachers as a "low reader," Mark "browses" books in the truest sense, moving around the shelves at leisure.

Over six months, I got to know Mark through interviews, observations, and informal conversations. To him, being a good reader was defined largely by what reading level you were on. When asked what sort of reading he does in the library, Mark named the things that he had been taught to do in the classroom (for example, reading and rereading hard books), and he described himself as someone who is accelerating through reading levels and, therefore, becoming a better reader. However, try as he might, Mark was still seen as a struggling reader by his teachers and peers.

In October 2016, I asked Mark what he would choose to read if he could read anything he wanted. He responded: "I would pick one . . . I would read some again. And, I would buy one more book." Mark defined successful reading in terms of volume, a value promoted in his general literacy instruction and by many literacy experts (e.g., Allington, 2011; Calkins, 2015). However, in addition to calling attention to the volume of books he hoped to read, Mark brought his awareness of his reading level into the library - a deliberately non-leveled space. For example, in February 2017, during an interview, Mark and his classmate Nikki argued about what level Mark had reached, and therefore, what kind of reader he was:

MARK: I can read anything.

NIKKI: No, you can't! (Quietly) He's a level A (the lowest reading level).

ALYSON:Nikki, just him.

MARK (to Nikki):I'm not a level A. I'm a level C.

ALYSON:But what . . . ?

NIKKI: I'm a level J.

MARK:I'm a level D!

ALYSON (to Nikki):Can you let him finish? (To Mark) What are you doing in this picture that makes you a good reader?

MARK:Because I'm a level H.

NIKKI: You're not a level H.

ALYSON(pointing to a picture Mark had just drawn of himself reading):But what are you doing in this picture?

MARK:Umm, grabbing a book.

ALYSON: What kind of book?

MARK:Well, I'm a level O.

NIKKI: No you're not.

ALYSON (to Mark):Just ignore [her].

NIKKI: He's a level C.

MARK:No, I'm not! I'm a level D.

With language such as "I'm not a level A. I'm a level C," Mark articulated reading levels as the marker of proficiency. His classmate Nikki also actively took up the discourse of leveling to regulate what Mark could read, positioning herself as more proficient than him with language such as "He's a level A" and "You're not a level H." These students' emphasis on reading levels demonstrates that the library is not a space that is free from notions of leveled reading, but rather, is a space that is not that different from the more assessment-focused spaces that are integral to Mark's daily life at school.

In February 2017, Mark revealed again just how conscious he was of his level and how much this affected his identity as a reader. During the library browsing session, Mark brought a book called Rainforest Race over to me, saying, "I'm a level D. This is an E," and asked me to read it to him. I encouraged him to try, but he quickly abandoned it when he realized that it was too difficult for him to read independently. Soon after, Mark brought me a Frog and Toad book (level K), asking me to read it to him. I read it, pausing at words that he knew and asked him to read them with me. Upon finishing the chapter, Mark hugged me, saying "Thank you!"

Although he was marked as a "low-level" reader in the classroom, perhaps Mark had finally realized that the freedom of the library allowed him to interact more playfully with books and to read on his own terms. Rather than being expected to read a book at a specific level from cover to cover, he was able to take advantage of the browsing session to have a meaningful literacy experience and to feel successful, even if for only a moment.

It is critical to acknowledge that Mark's success during this event was, in large part, due to the support that I offered to his reading. However, even in short-staffed school libraries where providing this type of reading support is difficult, students should still be given opportunities to make their own book selections and determine whether a text is readable on their own. Because most of the literature that students will encounter in their lives is not leveled, the leisurely reading offered in the library gives students a chance to make their own decisions about whether a book is at an appropriate level.

The leisurely reading offered in the library gives students a chance to make their own decisions about whether a book is at an appropriate level.

James: "I will never forget Mo Willems books"
James, also a 1st grader, is a voracious reader who loves the author Mo Willems. During each of my visits to the school library, I noticed, he would select one of Willems' books. When I asked him why he did so, he responded: "Because Mo Willems always uses speech bubbles . . . Because they can make you understand what the person is talking about." A polite, quiet, and sometimes shy student, James is of African descent (Nigeria and Guinea) and speaks both English and French at home. And while he is described by his teachers as an advanced reader, James is also constrained by his awareness of his reading level.

When I asked James about his love of reading, he said, "I will never forget Mo Willems books." He looked forward to his library sessions because he got to engage with these texts as he pleased, whereas the classroom had more limitations. "When I'm in the library, I always get to see Knuffle Bunny books, Mo Willems books . . ." he told me, referring to these texts as familiar favorites. For months, I observed him returning again and again to Willems, sometimes asking his peers to swap with him so that he could reread those books. It became impossible to think of James as a reader without picturing a Mo Willems book in his hand.

In the classroom, where he is expected to read "just right" books, James doesn't have the flexibility to read the books that he loves. The texts at his independent level (J and K) might be categorized as beginning chapter books, such as the Henry and Mudge series or the Frog and Toad books, which feature multiple characters, larger amounts of dialogue, and more complex plots. Books by Mo Willems are shorter (with most being level F or G), and they play with font, often using all capital letters, exaggerated punctuation, and speech bubbles, which James often acted out.

In November 2016, I interviewed James about the differences between classroom reading and library reading:

ALYSON:James, when you check out books in the library, do you get to pick whatever you want?

JAMES:Yes. But I can't pick the books there or there (pointing to the teacher resource texts and the nonfiction section for older students).

ALYSON:And then, when you get to book shop in your classroom, do you get to pick whatever you want?

JAMES:I get to pick whatever I want . . . But I don't get to pick everything out because we are in levels.

ALYSON:Hmm . . . Can you tell me what that is like? Are there books you want to read, but don't get to read?

JAMES:I don't get to pick them because I'm a higher level than some people.

ALYSON:So, do you get to pick the Mo Willems books in your class?

JAMES:No . . .

. . .

ALYSON:In the library you don't pick out of levels, right?

JAMES:Mm-hmm.

ALYSON:Which way do you prefer?

JAMES:I prefer that we could pick any book that we want, and we don't have any levels.

Here, James describes how even advanced readers can feel constrained when not permitted to engage with the materials that are meaningful to them. In the library, James has more freedom of movement and of selection than in the classroom, allowing him to be a reader with agency as he reads a range of content, difficulty levels, and genres of text.

We must remember that reading is more than a mere process of moving up levels, and that struggling readers may have limited choices when leveled books are overemphasized.

The library also provides space for students to engage with the texts in different and intriguing ways. For example, later that November, James began reading to himself and then reading with a partner. As he read with a partner, he began to stretch out on the rug, then moved to get another Mo Willems book. After returning to his spot, he and his friend play-fought over the text and then chatted. James soon began reading the book, and two of his peers also began reading Mo Willems books, side by side.

As James demonstrated, the library can open a space for children to resist reading hierarchies, as the students are not leveled in this space. He was able to read with friends who are not necessarily at his level because they could choose books that they all enjoyed together. For James, library is a time for choice in texts, but it's also a space for choice in how to read, where to read, and whom to read with. Whereas the classroom is a focused time for reading with clear objectives, James illustrates how reading can have a broader definition in a space with a different ethos.
Preserving spaces of choice
Though very different readers, Mark and James both point to the ways in which the library offers them freedom. For Mark, the library has the potential to offer a reprieve from reading books at his level and gives him space to explore. For James, the library is where he revisits his favorite books, even if they are deemed too easy for him.

Ultimately, however, while libraries were designed as spaces of equity, where all students can be readers, the logic of school accountability trickles down to even our youngest students, who are forming powerful notions of what it means to be a reader. As librarians, teachers, and researchers, we must remember that reading is more than a mere process of moving up levels, and that struggling readers may have limited choices when leveled books are overemphasized. For students to truly love reading and to become engaged, lifelong readers, they must have opportunities to read a variety of texts. For this reason, reading in the library should be grounded in student choice, rather than assessment-based measures.

Even within our accountability and outcomes-obsessed educational climate, the real work of literacy education means finding and preserving the spaces for students to have choice, passion, and curiosity - to discover favorite authors and, above all, to enjoy the experience of reading.
References
Allington, R.L. (2011). What really matters for struggling readers: Designing research-based programs. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Calkins, L.M. (2015). A guide to the reading workshop, primary grades. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2006). Leveled books (k-8): Matching texts to readers for effective teaching. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Kontovourki, S. (2012). Reading leveled books in assessment saturated classrooms: A close examination of unmarked processes of assessment. Reading Research Quarterly, 47 (2), 153-171.

ALYSON RUMBERGER (atr2125@tc.columbia.edu) is a doctoral candidate and research assistant at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, N.Y.

Originally published in May 2018 Phi Delta Kappan 99 (8), 57-61. © 2018 Phi Delta Kappa International. All rights reserved.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Libraries offer freedom from reading level limitations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The stories of two 1st graders demonstrate why students need spaces where they can choose what, when, and how they read. By Alyson Rumberger Mark and James attend City Partnership School, which is located in a historically Black urban neighborhood in the northeastern United States. Like many elementary

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I was in a cab in Baltimore talking with the driver. He eventually asked me what I did and I told him I spend most of my time working with teachers of middle and high school students who read below grade level. He asked if I'd give him some advice. He said he has 12 grandchildren, and number 9, "our third grader who is the nicest kid you will ever meet," is having trouble with reading. "He's a H. Do you know what that is? His teacher keeps telling his mom that he's a H. We don't know what that is."

While I didn't give him a crash course in the leveling systems for books that schools use, I did explain that a book might be labeled an H, but his grandchild is not an H. He's not a J or M or a P and he, his wife, the child's parents and most importantly that little eight-year-old boy should stop thinking of himself as an "H." We talked about things they could do at home to grow his confidence as a reader and improve his enjoyment of reading while improving his fluency and comprehension. I have a feeling this grandpa is doing all of them, right now. And as good as I feel about this family's concern about this child, I feel as bad that somewhere between the teacher learning about leveling books and talking with children and then the parents of those children, the book lost the label and the child gained it. Let's please be careful and not confuse the designation we might give to a book with a label we place on a child. A child is not an H.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized by Kylene Beers. Bookmark the permalink.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I was in a cab in Baltimore talking with the driver. He eventually asked me what I did and I told him I spend most of my time working with teachers of middle and high school students who read below...

# data[].attributes.headline
Regie Routman: On the Level with Leveled Books 

# data[].attributes.subject
Regie Routman: On the Level with Leveled Books 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Regie Routman
To level, or not to level? Like many educational dilemmas there is no simple right or wrong answer. Freedom to read and choose what to read is at the heart of our democracy and what it means to be a reader.

What is not in question, I believe, is that we want all students to read because they love to read for pleasure and information, not because they want to move to a higher book level. Here's the crucial question, then, we need to be asking: How are leveled texts supporting students to become engaged, deeply comprehending, joyful readers?

Full disclosure: I have been "leveling" books for 30 years. With other teachers I have organized by approximate levels of difficulty, multiple copies of high quality fiction and nonfiction books.

Those leveled books serve primarily as a teacher-directed, temporary scaffold for instructing beginning readers in guided reading groups. They are not used as a single determining factor for assessing a reader, and they are not part of the classroom library where students self-select books to read on their own.

Leveled Books Used Successfully

In the mid-1980's I wrote a proposal to flood a first grade classroom with authentic children's literature and teach reading and writing through natural language texts, both professionally written and student authored.

Because most of the students in the high poverty school where I was working as a reading specialist were failing to learn to read with commercial reading programs, the superintendent and school principal gave their approval. That journey, including our unique "leveled" book collection, was chronicled in my first book, Transitions: From Literature to Literacy. ( Heinemann, 1988.)

While leveled texts played an important and limited role in that successful journey, it was leveling done in a commonsense way that honored the best of children's literature in combination with students' choices, interests, and needs as well as thoughtful teacher judgment.

Ultimately we put together an extensive book room for our school where teachers signed out sets of engaging books to be used for guided reading, book clubs, and discussion. For "Beginning Readers" we had a collection of "Rhyme, Rhythm, and Repetition" books and "Predictability and High Interest" books. I wrote at that time (1988):

At no time do we ever state that a student is on 'green level' and is to choose green level books. These levels are to be used as a starting point guide only. It is not the list. When we find a book does not work at one level, we change it. Teachers need to make adjustments according to their students' reactions."

By grade 3, at the latest, our book collections were mostly multiple copies of outstanding fiction and nonfiction literature, organized roughly by grade levels for small group reading and conversations, sometimes guided by the teacher and sometimes self-directed by students.

Most importantly the foundational anchor for students becoming readers was the classroom library, which like public libraries everywhere honored students' choices and was not leveled. The extensive class library - organized with students - and the cozy, adjacent reading area became the centerpiece and heartbeat of the classroom.

Source: Pernille Ripp - 7th graders participating in a independent book reading challenge

It was here the whole class enthusiastically gathered "unleveled" for daily read alouds, teacher demonstrations, shared reading, and shared writing. Most important, daily independent reading - with students reading books of their choice from the classroom or school library - and writing stories, nonfiction and fiction, became the mainstay and first priority of the literacy "program."

The results were transformative. According to standardized test results, we went from a school where more than 50% of first graders were failing to learn to read to a school where 90% of students became successful, self-directed readers, and those gains were sustained.

Concerns About Leveled Texts

So while there is a rightful and temporary place for leveled texts in guided reading and for helping those few students who are not able yet to choose books on their own, there is an accompanying inconvenient truth: It is possible for students to move through levels without adequately understanding what they are reading.

Because the questions on computerized tests, which often accompany leveled collections, are typically low-level ones, students with just a cursory grasp of a text can do well enough to move up a level. I know that as fact. I failed the computerized test on Charlotte's Web, a book I love and deeply comprehend, because I couldn't remember unimportant details. There were no questions on weighty things like theme, setting, character development, or what it means to be a friend.

Here are some other major concerns with using leveled texts:

There is no scientifically proven, research-based process for "accurately" leveling books. Keep in mind the wise statements by scholars and practitioners:

"Students can read texts with comprehension in a range of levels, not one hard and fast level." (Rita Platt, MiddleWeb blog, "Don't Throw Out Your Leveled Library Yet!", Jan. 21, 2018)

"Reading levels are not the same as reading needs." (Kath Glasswell and Michael Ford, "Let's Start Leveling about Leveling", Language Arts, NCTE, Jan. 2011, p. 209)

"Leveling takes a complex idea and makes it too simple." (Glasswell and Ford, p. 209)

Over relying on leveled texts can work against developing self-directed, engaged readers.

When the teacher is in charge of the decision-making, student choice and freedom to choose - reading motivators at all levels - are removed or delayed. Some students become hyper-aware of their level, thereby constraining that student's understanding of what it means to be a reader.

In some schools, librarians and teachers are only allowed to have students check out books "on their reading level," which can send a harmful message to students. Restricting students to a leveled reader may underestimate students' potential, lower expectations, stifle curiosity, and work against perseverance. Also we must ask: Whose interests are being best served? Is it the students, or is it the publishers and those in power?

Source: Beth Hughes - High school classroom

Recommendations for Great Reading

1. Do not underestimate curiosity, passion and interest as a motivator for turning kids into readers.
Many successful readers who were labeled "dyslexic," including such notables as Albert Einstein and Nelson Rockefeller, admit to feeling driven to become readers because of their passion, persistence, and patience to read things they were fascinated by but could not yet understand. Limiting kids to levels can kill an eager learner's natural curiosity on a topic.
2. Organize all classroom and school libraries like the public library, with no leveled books and no areas off limits to readers.
Freedom to choose books and to read them at leisure is the cornerstone of what a library offers - the opportunity to decide for yourself what books you want to read and check out.That means we need to teach students right from the start how to make appropriate choices. Those choices must include - to name several factors beyond word recognition and comprehension - the right to explore, peruse and skim books that appeal; reread easy books; spend months on a series or genre; listen to audiobooks, and abandon books not to our liking.
3. Use leveled books in moderation and with caution.
Ultimately the first graders in the opening story became proficient, joyful readers, not primarily because we used wonderful literature "at their level" for guided reading, but because we kept our main focus on the reading-writing connection and sustained time each day to read and write continuous and relevant texts, mostly of their own choosing.
4. Use common sense; look carefully at what you do as a reader.
See the meaning of "level" more broadly. For example, I have never thought about a book's level when selecting a book for myself. I am driven by my level of interest, curiosity, passion to know more about a topic, by desire to read another book by a favorite author, and by reviews from other readers. Once I have that carefully chosen book in hand (or in my ear) I want uninterrupted time to read it (or listen to it) and, if I choose, the opportunity to talk about it with other readers.
5. Use multiple sources of data to assess readers.
First of all, there is no substitute for the informed judgment of a teacher who knows the whole child and knows, as well, that a reading level cannot sufficiently represent a reader. We must also consider volume of reading, reading interests, motivation, anecdotal evidence from discussions, conferences and observations, student self-assessments and reflections, and more.

Finally, all students deserve the chance to read what they want. It's a lesson I learned over 30 years ago, and it's the opening story I tell in Transitions. When a group of second graders begged me to let them read an enchanting book I'd read aloud to them, I told them "This book is too hard for you." The children, as children do, persisted and I finally relented.

To my amazement at the time, I learned that when interest and motivation are high enough, with guidance and practice students can often read in context what tests and levels indicate they cannot. Let's ensure that however we teach any reader, we keep engagement, excellence, equity, and joy at the forefront.
______________________________________________

Regie Routman, author of the new Stenhouse book, Literacy Essentials: Engagement, Excellence, and Equity for All Learners, is a mentor teacher, coach, and author who works side by side with teachers and principals in diverse schools and districts. For more information about her work and her many books and resources, see www.regieroutman.org.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Regie Routman - On the Level with Leveled Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Regie Routman To level, or not to level? Like many educational dilemmas there is no simple right or wrong answer. Freedom to read and choose what to read is at the heart of our democracy and what it means to be a reader.

# data[].attributes.headline
Fountas and Pinnell Say Librarians Should Guide Readers by Interest, Not Level

# data[].attributes.subject
Fountas and Pinnell Say Librarians Should Guide Readers by Interest, Not Level

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Didn't find what you were looking for? First, try this.

If you typed the URL directly, please make sure the spelling is correct.

If you clicked on a link to get here, the link may be outdated.

Use the search functionality to find what you came here for.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you typed the URL directly, please make sure the spelling is correct. If you clicked on a link to get here, the link may be outdated. Use the search functionality to find what you came here for.

# data[].attributes.headline
Just Right Books: So Much More Than a Level

# data[].attributes.subject
Just Right Books: So Much More Than a Level

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Tags

"Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you've finished just to stay near it." - Marcus Zusak

I recently worked in a classroom helping students understand what it means to have a "just right" book in their hands. Before beginning the lesson I asked students to share how they knew a book was "just right" for them, and received the following responses:

"It's on your level."

"If you are a 3.1, and the book is a 1.4 it is too easy and if it's a 4.4 it is too hard."

"It's from the blue bin."

"If I take a quiz on it and get all the points I know it was on my level."

"It's on my level."

"It's on my level."

"It's on my level."

Every single answer the students gave was related, in some form, to the book being on their level. And each time it was stated, my heart broke a little.

When I left that classroom I began to reflect on my own school days, realizing I could not recall a single teacher ever telling me my reading level. As a child, I just read. I consumed A Dear Mr. Henshaw , , and re You There God, It's Me Margaret with the voracity of a hungry lion. Before I ever started school there was not Berenstein Bears book that I could not recite. And no one ever told me not to read those books. No one. No one ever tapped me on the shoulder to tell me that a book was above or below, or even, right on my level. Granted my schooling days took place during the time of the , , and reading groups and the testing demands were much less than what teachers face today. Regardless, my weekly trips to the local library and daily trips to the school library left me looking only for beloved authors, breathtaking tales, and brilliant pictures. Books that had annoying older sisters, and girls with no grandparents, and families with a thousand pets, because we never had a single one. Books that I had my nose in before it was even checked out in my name. And if they weren't available in the library I became insistent that my mother just purchase them for me to have forever. I simply could not wait for them. The urge inside me to read the book was so intense that I knew myself it was a "just right" book.

I reflect on my elementary experience for one reason alone-I have come to realize that the vast majority of kids today don't know this. They don't know the of perusing an entire library, feverishly looking for a book that speaks to them. They don't know their favorite authors because books have always been placed in their hands by an other. They don't know who they are as readers because they have never been given the opportunity to shape their own reading identity, it's always been done for them. And come to think of it, it hasn't been a terribly enjoyable ride. Sadly, the experience today's students will look back on will be one of their teacher directing them to a certain section of the library that has books on their level, while the student hopes from within a book will be waiting there that they are excited to read. Most times they walk away disappointed.

Many articles and much research have been published regarding the unintended consequences of making students aware of their reading level because by doing so we allow it to deeply shape their reading identity as a "good" or "bad" reader. We would also be wise to recognize the role this number plays in limiting our readers. Boxing them into parameters in which they feel they cannot operate outside of, instilling further misconceptions about what it means to live the life of a reader.

After our initial conversation in my lesson that day, I knew my mission for the next next 55 minutes. We began to draft a list of all the ways we know a book is "just right" for us other than its level. I shared with them that as an adult, no one has told me my reading level in years. I asked them to think about how I know a book is "just right" for me when I walk into the library. This idea was mind-blowing to some, but as we began to talk through it the conversations became spirited and enthusiastic. And I left them with this challenge:

"This year, when someone asks you why you are reading the book in your hands, your response is not, 'It's on my level.' But rather, something that sounds like this:

'It's by my favorite author and I just have to read all of his/her books. They're the best!'

'This book has my favorite scene in the whole world! Do you have a minute? I'd like to share it with you.'

'Oh, this book. Well, I've read this one six times already, but it just keeps getting better each time. This time I noticed how the author did ________.'

'I just had to know more about the character in this book, because he/she seemed a lot like me.'"

This is how our students should know they have a just right book in their hands. It's visceral. It's a feeling in their heart that creates an instant connection to a book-not a number on a report.
Melanie Fuemmeler is a K-5 Instructional Coach in Kansas City, MO. Her passion lies in developing readers and writers, young and old alike. A society needs voices, activism and empathy-all of which are achieved through a love of literacy. Her daily mission is to find those voices to make them heard. Follow her on Twitter @mfuemm and see more of her posts at www.mfuemmeler.wordpress.com .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
"Just Right" Books: So Much More Than a Level by Melanie Fuemmeler

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you've finished just to stay near it." - Marcus Zusak I recently worked in a classroom helping students understand what it means to have a "just right" book in their hands.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Pardon my passion for a moment, but a few things need to be said.

When we make a child a level we diminish the entire child. Levels tell a child that they are not worth us getting to know them. That we don't have time to take the time we need to help them better. That their entire reading identity is the same as every other child that is at that level.

When we make a child a level, a letter, or a number, we are telling them that that is all they need to know. That that is all we need to know. That they do not know how to shop for books, that they can rely only on outsiders who have determined what is best for them. Thet their level speaks for them and that our conversations need to be about comprehension and skills, rather than who they are as readers.

When we make a child a level, we can teach more. We can do more. We can match kids up more easily. We can rely on others to do the hard work of getting to know the very child that is in front of us and help them discover who they are as readers, as human beings. And we can go home, lulling ourselves into thinking that we actually helped that child by telling them to only pick from certain levels of books because that is what the research told us to do.

But that is not what our reading instruction is only about. It was never JUST about matching kids to text. It was never JUST about finding the right fit book. It was never JUST about 99% comprehension rates, good fit books, or the five finger rule. It was never just about the quick solution or the short-term fix. In our obsession with getting things done, we have forgotten that it takes time to develop a reader, it takes time to become a reader, it talkes trial and error, and it takes discovery. Levels can take that away from us all.

It is about discovering why reading matters. Why reading makes us better human beings. Why they should leave our classrooms, our schools, and find more books so that they can continue to wonder, to search, and to feel something.

So when we make a child a level, ask yourself this; who is that level really helping because it sure isn't the child in the long run.

PS: I was quoted today in a discussion piece in School LIbrary Journal, about how leveling disempowers children, other smarter people are quoted as well.
If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers - The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child, out August 2017. This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block. If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book Passionate Learners - How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pardon my passion for a moment, but a few things need to be said. When we make a child a level we diminish the entire child. Levels tell a child that they are not worth us getting to know them. Th...

# data[].attributes.headline
A Choice Literacy blog post devoted to this topic

# data[].attributes.subject
A Choice Literacy blog post devoted to this topic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
You've found Choice Literacy, the home on the web for teachers who lead.

We are literacy coaches, teachers, and school leaders with experience in dozens of diverse classrooms. This site presents the best of the tools, guides, literacy lessons, and sage advice we've gathered and tucked away as we've worked together over the years, as well as our latest thinking on topics like standards and digital tools.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
You've found Choice Literacy, the home on the web for teachers who lead. We are literacy coaches, teachers, and school leaders with experience in dozens of diverse classrooms. This site presents the best of the tools, guides, literacy lessons, and sage advice we've gathered and tucked away as we've worked together over the years, as well as our latest thinking on topics like standards and digital tools.

# data[].attributes.headline
Beyond Reading Levels: Choosing Nonfiction for Developing Readers

# data[].attributes.subject
Beyond Reading Levels: Choosing Nonfiction for Developing Readers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
With a growing interest in nonfiction as a focus in K-12 education, it's crucial that librarians engage with teachers in conversations around text complexity and reading levels. Many educators are using reading levels to guide student choice, and this discussion has important ramifications for school libraries. Unfortunately, teachers often grasp for a clear, precise guide to tell them which books are right for their students. Many teachers urge their students to find "just right books" that match their reading levels, especially in elementary schools. Others insist that students should be allowed to follow their interests and read anything they want. How can we find common ground and work together to help students develop a lifelong love of reading and essential reading skills?

School libraries play a distinctly different role in students' lives and education than classroom libraries. According to the 2011 American Association of School Librarians ( AASL) Position Statement on Labeling Books with Reading Levels, books and other resources in the school library should be shelved using standard classification systems. The statement places particular emphasis on nonfiction: "It is the responsibility of school librarians to promote free access for students and not to aid in restricting their library materials." School librarians should not label or organize library books with reading levels; however, understanding reading level systems will help librarians curate and grow their collection to include a range of materials that serve developing readers. These systems are not sufficient for matching books to readers, but understanding them will provide an important starting place.
Reading Level Systems
Three proprietary systems dominate the education and publishing fields today:

Lexile and A.R. reading levels are both based on a computer analysis of the complexity of a text's word length and sentence length . Lexile uses a 1,000-point scale, and A.R. uses a grade-level numerical scale. Lower numbers in both systems indicate easier reading levels. While Lexile and A.R. levels are the most commonly used, neither evaluates a book's writing style, content, or design-all of which are essential elements in nonfiction.

Qualitative reading level systems, such as Fountas & Pinnell's Guided Reading , take into account a more nuanced range of elements in a text and assign a gradient level using letters from A to Z. This method uses 10 characteristics to evaluate a text's complexity, ranging from a its structure and content to its format and design.

When evaluating nonfiction books, whether it's by using subscription sites such as Follett's Titlewave or free sites like Scholastic's Book Wizard, educators look at these different reading levels. But upon closer examination, these levels do not provide enough information to adequately match nonfiction books with readers. One must look inside each book to understand its reading level. While this may be true to some extent with all books, readers interact with informational texts in different ways than they do with fiction.

In order to select nonfiction titles that serve the needs of our elementary students, librarians and teachers must consider how young readers interact with informational texts, and they must understand how different features of the texts help support developing readers. As Lucy Calkins writes in Reading Pathways, Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions: Grades 3-5 (Heinemann, 2015),

"If we can notice and discuss the ways these texts become more complex, our teaching of nonfiction becomes much more powerful."
Factors that influence nonfiction text complexity
There's no doubt that the amount of nonfiction available for young audiences is massive. What should librarians and teachers look for when selecting material for developing readers? Because the overarching purpose of nonfiction is to inform, begin by looking at the content. Does an author offer interesting, correct facts in an engaging manner? What other factors should be considered?

Print size and design: The design of information books clearly impacts how accessible it is for developing readers. Consider whether the type size and line spacing is appropriate for the intended audience. Paragraph length also influences the information-load for readers. Think about whether the content is accessible in manageable chunks, or whether it might be overwhelming for developing readers.

Headings help readers preview information and organize it in their minds. Do these headings and subheads use consistent type styles to draw attention and keep organization clear? Moreover, think about whether the headings are explicit enough for readers' needs or if they just pique interest.

Visual text features: Other visual elements such as illustrations, diagrams, captions, and time lines help convey important information in nonfiction texts. These text features are not always in the main body of the text, but they can provide essential support for developing readers. As K.T. Horning writes in From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books (HarperCollins, 2010), "It is important not to lose sight of the main purpose of illustrations in a book of information: to provide information by complementing, supporting, or extending the text." This is especially true for developing readers; text features must be explicitly aligned to the main idea.

Illustrations alone do not provide enough support for burgeoning readers; captions and labels in diagrams focus attention. These can capture essential information, show relationships, and provide a scaffold for readers as they summarize information.

To see the effect that text features have on a text's complexity, let's look at Volcanoes by Martha E.H. Rustad (Capstone, 2014). A diagram clearly shows a volcanic eruption (see p. 6-7 in Google Books preview ). Instead of just using text to describe the process, a diagram highlights key vocabulary, shows different parts of the volcano, and illustrates the movement of lava. Pair this with Elizabeth Rusch's Volcano Rising (Charlesbridge, 2013) as a read-aloud in the library, which will draw students' interest and encourage them to explore the topic in more detail.

Vocabulary & word choice: Nonfiction books, by their very nature, contain many words that will be new to young readers. As with any specialized topic, awareness of key terms and vocabulary is critical to understanding nonfiction material, particularly for those who may have limited vocabularies. Since it is not possible to provide students with enough background knowledge to account for all specialized terms, it is critical for easier books to have specialized words defined clearly right on the page. As books get more challenging, they include glossaries and assume readers have a stronger subject-specific knowledge.

When you provide students with a variety of books, they build important skills to identify words they do not know or understand. As you gather together books across a range of reading levels, think carefully about the vocabulary demands. Professional reviews often indicate whether nonfiction titles have glossaries, but only by looking closely at the book itself can you see what reading level this supports.

Writing style & text structure: As you delve into the text, notice the writing style to see how clearly the author organizes the information. Expository text may be written in a question/answer format, or it may pose a problem and then investigates the solution. As Melissa Stewart thoughtfully discusses in her blog " Celebrate Science ," nonfiction authors often blend several styles. Even if they do this, however, young readers need to be able to see the structure so they can organize the information in their own minds.
Building Text Sets: the ladder of complexity
A primary goal in the school library is to help students read increasingly complex texts about subjects they want to learn more about. Choice and access are undoubtedly key in achieving this goal. We must provide access to texts across a range of complexity so children can get plenty of experience reading just-right, high-interest texts.

In order to study how nonfiction texts become more complex, the best thing to do is to assemble a selection that progress up the ladder of complexity and compare them. How do they change? What differences do you notice?

Here is a text set we developed for baseball. School library collections must have materials that provide entry points for a wide range of readers. We cannot expect readers to jump from a text for beginning readers to a biography of a modern ball player right to Kadir Nelson's iconic We Are the Ship (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion, 2008).

It is essential to complement books that students can read independently with nonfiction read-alouds, such as the powerful picture book biography Growing Up Pedro by Matt Tavares (Candlewick, 2015), and online digital resources, such as articles from .

Engage your students in this activity as you analyze your existing collection. Ask them to compare books they're reading on a subject and organize them in a ladder of growing complexity. Then talk about what features make books harder to read. Is it just the word length and sentence length, or are they noticing more?

It is not just important to have a set of books to meet different reading levels, but also to provide a variety of texts for children to share and explore together.
encouraging curiosity, building conversations
Curiosity plays a critical role in drawing children to nonfiction. As children begin to see the connection between having a question and discovering the answers between the pages of a book, the difference between reading fiction and nonfiction becomes evident.

With nonfiction, a reader may pick up a book on a topic of interest, glance through it, and find that they need more information about a different aspect of the topic in order to answer their question. Encouraging children to explore a book is important. Providing them with tips to navigate nonfiction, such as the table of contents, headings, endnotes, and resources, allows them to identify exactly what they are looking for and learn how to seek it out in additional titles.

Unlike fiction, nonfiction often allows readers to jump around the text and examine a small portion before moving onto the next chapter. Rebecca L. Johnson's When Lunch Fights Back: Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses (Millbrook, 2014) can make readers curious about the hagfish. They might stop to explore another text about hagfish, as well as a video, before returning to the book. Ask yourself: are you encouraging your students to be curious, avid nonfiction readers?

As children get excited about a topic, they want to talk about it. It may begin simply with two students exploring the images or photographs in a book and talking about what they are seeing, and evolve into looking at labels and other text features to gain understanding. These organic conversations provide a way to deepen their reading. Kids will return to a nonfiction book over and over again as new questions arise or as they decide to delve into another aspect of a topic. Reading nonfiction collaboratively encourages children to spend more time with a book than they might have done on an individual level.

In order to support curiosity and collaborative reading of nonfiction, it is critical to make high-quality nonfiction available and visible to kids. A display of books ranging from easier to harder reading levels around a specific topic or a variety of high-interest subjects will attract children and often become a gathering place for them to discuss what they are reading. As children discover something interesting or even gross, they just to share this discovery and call over a friend or two. Each student adds to the conversation by asking questions or sharing what they know about the topic. Though this style of reading looks very different from when a child engages in a novel, it is valuable for children to become proficient, enthusiastic readers of increasingly complex nonfiction.
Mary Ann Scheuer is an elementary teacher librarian for the Berkeley (CA) Unified School District and founder of the blog Great Kid Books This article was featured in our free Extra Helping enewsletter.
Subscribe today to have more articles like this delivered to you twice a week. Alyson Beecher is a Literacy Coach for the Pasadena (CA) Unified School District and founder of the blog Kid Lit Frenzy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Beyond Reading Levels: Choosing Nonfiction for Developing Readers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With a growing interest in nonfiction as a focus in K-12 education, it's crucial that librarians engage with teachers in conversations around text complexity and reading levels. Many educators are using reading levels to guide student choice, and this discussion has important ramifications for school libraries.

# data[].attributes.headline
A Level is a Teacher's Tool, NOT a Child's Label

# data[].attributes.subject
A Level is a Teacher's Tool, NOT a Child's Label

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's hard enough to be a kid. They have lots of things to worry about: parents, friends, sports, grades, etc. Reading can be an escape from those worries, just like it is for adults; it's a way to relax and plunge yourself into someone else's world for a little while. But what happens when a child finds out that they're not reading on the "same level" as the other children? What does that even mean to them? It's not good, they know that. Reading has now become another worry to add to the pile of worries.

Trying to climb the "level ladder" is not what reading is about. It should be about enjoyment and discovery. Focusing too much on text levels can cause problems. Fountas and Pinnell created the F&P Text Level Gradient ™ to be used as a teacher's tool for assessment and instruction. The levels aren't meant to be shared with the children or parents.

Help Students Build Self-Esteem and Love of Reading

"It is detrimental to a student's self-esteem and to their love of reading when they are encouraged to measure their own progress by 'moving up levels,'" (Fountas and Pinnell 2017). Students should not use levels to compare themselves with others or to compete. This is counterintuitive to building a classroom community where each student is respected; has a sense of agency; values collaboration over competition; and grows up seeing themselves as literate.

Make "Choice" Authentic

Telling students to choose by "level" is not an authentic way to select books to read independently. That isn't how I choose a book as an adult. In fact, I really love reading high fantasy, young adult books with a romantic twist. Can I read War and Peace? Sure, but I devour those YA novels like candy and that's what we want students to do: get them to a point where they need to read every day; they yearn for it. As much as possible, strive for them to choose books in a way that all readers do-books that interest and engage them.

Advocate for the Appropriate Use of Levels in Your School

Fountas and Pinnell believe very strongly that students' reading levels have no place in teacher evaluation or on report cards to be sent home to parents. Too much emphasis on levels can lead to misconceptions on the part of families. Informing parents of the level at which their child is reading can make them uneasy. They may see the level as a very exact
measurement, but students don't always read at a precise level. Parents also talk with other parents, and if they find that their child is reading at a lower level than other children, they might panic. But they don't understand the intricacies of how those levels work the way you do.

Levels can be a resource for you and your colleagues to guide student choices for independent reading, but they should not be a limitation or a requirement. Leveled books are instructional tools for teachers who understand them-nothing more. Above all else, a level is a teacher's tool, not a child's label.

Jill Backman, Fountas & Pinnell Marketing Manager

Join the fastest growing community in the field of literacy education. Get your free membership and stay up to date on the latest news and resources from Fountas and Pinnell at www.fountasandpinnell.com

Join the Fountas & Pinnell Literacy™ Facebook Learning Group for more collaborative conversation at https://www.facebook.com/groups/FountasPinnell/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Level is a Teacher's Tool, NOT a Child's Label

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's hard enough to be a kid. They have lots of things to worry about: parents, friends, sports, grades, etc. Reading can be an escape from those worries, just like it is for adults; it's a way to relax and plunge yourself into someone else's world for a little while.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Psychologists love to measure things, and perhaps nothing has been measured as much by psychologists as reading-both texts and readers. Multiple different instruments measuring text readability have been devised and used over the past century, as have multiple standardized tests of readers' abilities. Though their results are often first presented as numerical scores whose interpretation is difficult without a key, most instruments also translate these into more generally understood grade-level reading scores. These are typically reported as year-and-month scores; thus a book scoring at reading level 8.1 is said to be written at the early eighth-grade level, while a student scoring at reading level 4.6 is judged to be reading at the level of the average student in the sixth month of fourth grade. Two common reading level systems are exceptions to this: Fountas and Pinnell's Guided Reading program uses letters, from A to Z, while the increasingly popular Lexile leveling scheme rates both texts and readers from 0L to approximately 2000L (there is actually no upper limit). Both of these do, however, offer rough grade level conversion charts on their websites, here and here respectively.

However measured, reading levels can be a generally useful guide to whether a particular text is going to be far too difficult for a particular reader. For example, the student who scored at 4.6 on a recent, valid reading test will probably have significant difficulty reading and understanding that text at an 8.1 reading level.

Unfortunately, though, the ubiquity and precision with which these reading levels are now being tested and reported has led to their increasingly inappropriate use, especially in schools. For example, professional development materials accompanying the Common Core initiative instruct teachers to "match" texts to readers based on Lexile level, staying within a narrow range of only 50L above to 100L below each student's tested Lexile level. Most school reading incentive programs require students to read texts within a restricted range of their measured reading skill levels, either within the Lexile range just mentioned, or, if using another rating system, within five months of their measured reading levels. For example, that student who tested at 4.6 might only receive credit for reading books leveled from 4.1 to 5.1. Many schools now even restrict the books students can check out from the school library to those at such "appropriate" levels, and in some cases, parents are even being told to " concentrate on material within his or her Lexile range " when offering books to their children at home.

Such misguided policies and practices are based on three very prevalent myths about reading levels:
Myth #1: Each text has a discrete, accurately measurable reading level.
Because reading levels are often reported very precisely, one might think that measuring the readability of a text was an exact, agreed upon science. Nothing could be further from the truth. Almost all text level measures are based upon some combination of word difficulty (measured by number of letters, number of syllables, and/or frequency of use) and sentence complexity (measured by length in words and/or number of phrases). However, the specific formulas and differing emphases of various measures can result in very different reading levels for a single text.

Take, for example, the 2016 Newbery Medal book, The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. The Lexile corporation rates this award-winning book for young teens at 640L, equivalent to somewhere between a 3rd and 5th grade reading level, according to their conversion tables. ATOS, the reading level system used by the Accelerated Reader program, rates it at reading level 4.8 (i.e., 4th grade, 8th month). Using the first 200 words from Chapter 2 of the book, the Free Readability Calculator results in the following range of levels, from seven more of the best known and respected readability scales, for exactly the same words from the same book:

Automated Readability Index: RL 5.6

The SMOG Index: RL 5.8

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: RL 5.8

Linsear Write Formula: RL 6.6

Dale-Chall Formula: RL 6.9

Gunning Fog Index: RL 7.6

The Coleman-Liau Index: RL 8.0

That readability scores for this book, based on well-accepted, research-based formulas, span more than three grade levels is not an unusual result; try it for yourself using 150 words or more from any text. And of course, none of these scales can measure how well the text is actually written-whether the author uses transitions effectively, provides rich descriptions, or explains things clearly, all of which certainly affect the readability of a text.
Myth #2: Each reader has a discrete, accurately measurable level of reading skill.
Tests of reading skill levels, even those that are carefully designed and commonly used, suffer from many of the same difficulties as measures of text readability, in that each uses differing contents and criteria for measuring reading ability.

Some use lists of common words at differing grade levels to judge decoding ability, while others require readers to pronounce a list of nonsense words as well. Some include measures of oral reading fluency and/or vocabulary, while others do not. Some tests ask readers to answer questions after reading a passage, while others measure comprehension through a CLOZE procedure in which readers are asked to supply missing words in a passage, and still others require readers to recall salient details of a text as a means of judging comprehension. Some tests are given by a trained psychologist, one-on-one, while others are given to groups of students in regular class settings. Some are timed, while others are not.

Even the very criterion for scoring "at" a certain reading level differs among tests, with some tests allowing readers to attempt all the test questions (or as many as they have time for), and then scoring based on the number of correct answers, while others subtract a certain percentage of incorrect answers from the number of correct answers before scoring, and still others arrive at a reading level by stopping the test after the reader has missed a certain set number of questions.

Not surprisingly, readers will often score quite differently on different reading tests.

In addition, while texts stay the same from day to day, readers do not. People's performance on many tasks, including reading tests, can be significantly affected by whether they are tired or well-rested, hungry or full, healthy or sick, distracted or focused, anxious or confident. Children are perhaps even more affected by such outer circumstances, since they lack the maturation and self-regulation skills that allow many adults to maintain more even performance levels in varying circumstances.

Myth #3: Readers should (almost always) read texts very near their reading level.

Given the margins of error implied by the variability in both text readability and reading skill measurement described above, the expectation that texts can be closely "matched" to readers' skill levels is clearly unfounded. The idea that texts should always be matched to readers' tested levels is equally problematic, for a number of reasons.

First, reading is an interactive process, so the difficulty or ease with which a particular reader can read a particular text depends in part on his or her prior knowledge related to the text and motivation for reading it.

Reading research has repeatedly demonstrated the effects of prior knowledge on reading comprehension; simply put, it is easier to read and understand texts that talk about things you already know a lot about. When readers have a good bit of prior knowledge on a topic, even difficult texts can be easier to read and understand because they can draw on their own knowledge to fill in any gaps in their comprehension. Conversely, many of us have experienced the effects of a lack of prior knowledge when first reading in an unfamiliar subject area, whether it is economics or art or environmental science. It is not so much that we cannot read or do not know the words in the texts, as it is that we don't have the background knowledge to make sense of what they say. Similarly, readers demonstrate higher "reading levels" in genres that are familiar to them. For example, a complex science fiction novel, very difficult to read for someone who rarely reads in that genre, may be considerably less difficult for a frequent science fiction reader, who is familiar with common science fiction conventions and story lines, and perhaps even with previous books by the same author.

Interest and motivation also great affect a reader's ability to read a text. An excellent example of this is the recent Harry Potter phenomenon, in which thousands of children as young as second grade read and enjoyed 300 and 400 page books written at fifth to seventh-grade reading levels, simply because they were fascinated by the magical world created by J.K. Rowling in her series. Most teachers can likewise recount stories of students like the struggling high school reader who tests at a fourth or fifth-grade reading level, but somehow manages to read and understand a motorcycle repair manual written at the tenth-grade level, because he wants to fix up his motorcycle. And of course, resources can be made available to help truly motivated readers read difficult texts, from dictionaries, online resources, and audio texts to the time-honored strategy of simply asking someone else, a teacher, parent, sibling, or friend, about the words you don't know. We might also point out here that most very early simple books (those with highly repetitive text) simply cannot give children a full sense of the joy of reading.

Also, there is good evidence for the benefits of reading texts both above and below one's official reading level. Reading easier texts can help novice readers, especially, gain fluency and confidence, and can develop readers' enjoyment of reading at all levels. Consider how many of us enjoy relaxing with a good romance or murder mystery that is well below our adult "reading level"! On the other hand, researchers are finding that challenging students to tackle more complex texts, while supporting them in their efforts to do so, leads to greater growth in reading than simply having them read texts at or just above their current reading levels.

Finally, full comprehension is not necessary for a reader to enjoy and benefit from a book. Certainly students should not be assigned and required to learn from a book that is significantly too difficult for them to read, but most of us, again, remember reading and enjoying in childhood books like The Secret Garden or A Christmas Carol or Captains Courageous without, at first, fully understanding the historical contexts or social issues involved. Indeed, it is often as we grow, and read and then reread such books, that we first gain a sense of history or start to value equality or self-reliance or charity, from stories and characters we have grown to love.
Some take-aways:
Reading levels should never be used to limit the texts children may access or try to read. Neither reading tests nor readability measures are anywhere near exact enough to predict which individual child will best be able to read or benefit from which individual book or magazine or online text. There is nothing wrong with letting a child try to read a text, and then abandon it if it is too hard, or too simplistic, or simply boring-after all, adults do this all the time. Limiting reading selections based on reading levels too often results in children having too few texts available to them that they want to read, and thus discourages them from reading altogether.

Passion, curiosity, and knowledge are at least as important as reading levels in helping children find good things to read. This is especially true because we know that motivation and knowledge can increase effective reading levels, while, conversely, readers can enjoy and gain a lot from texts that interest them, even if they are "too easy."

Children should not be required/expected to independently read and learn from texts that are considerably above their reading levels. Ironically, textbooks are perhaps the most common source of such demands, since they are frequently written well above the reading levels of the grades for which they are intended. But disparity between student reading levels and text readability levels does not necessarily mean we should discourage or prevent such students from engaging with such texts. Rather, it should trigger educators to provide support for reading as necessary, including vocabulary- and knowledge-building tools, partner reading, group discussions, audio- and video-texts, and simple availability for questions. Indeed, since reading levels are not exact measures, and also affected by prior knowledge and interest, such supports will probably be helpful to many other students as well.

To read more about this topic, check out these clear, but nuanced discussions of readability and leveled reading by top researchers in this field:

Hiebert, E. H. (2012). Readability and the Common Core's staircase of text complexity. Retrieved from http://ransonbalancedliteracy.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/file/view/Text-Matters_Readability-and-Complexity.pdf

Shanahan, T. (2011). Rejecting instructional level theory. Retrieved from http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/2011/08/rejecting-instructional-level-...

Benjamin, R. G. (2012). Reconstructing readability: Recent developments and recommendations in the analysis of text difficulty. Educational Psychology Review, 24(1), 63-88.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Psychologists love to measure things, and perhaps nothing has been measured as much by psychologists as reading-both texts and readers. Multiple different instruments measuring text readability have been devised and used over the past century, as have multiple standardized tests of readers' abilities.

# data[].attributes.headline
What if Just Right is Just Wrong? The Unintended Consequences of Leveling Readers

# data[].attributes.subject
What if Just Right is Just Wrong? The Unintended Consequences of Leveling Readers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unintended Consequences of Leveling Readers.pdf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Levelized reading programs have been around since dirt but considering what we know today about reading-how we read, why we read, how we can keep on reading throughout our lives-surely we know better than to even suggest that our students restrict their reading only to books recommended at certain levels or lexile scores.

But it seems we may not. Many "acceptable" reading curricula resemble an orderly progression of texts organized by steps and numbers when neither make sense.

Peter Greene writes about how nonsensical this can be:

"There's a lot to argue about when it comes to reading levels. These are generally based on mechanics, in keeping with the whole philosophy of reading and writing as a set of context-free "skills"- it assumes that how well you read something has nothing at all to do with the content of what you're reading. Lexile scores, the type of analysis favored by the Core fans, works basically from vocabulary and sentence length. That has the advantage of being analysis that a machine can do. It has the disadvantage of providing ridiculous results. Ernest Hemmingway's novel The Sun Also Rises is at about the same lexile score as the classic Curious George Gets a Medal- third grade-ish. Meanwhile, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse V may have PG-13 language and situations, but it also has a fourth grade-ish lexile score. And none of those works rank as high as Mr. Popper's Penguins.

"So there's a great deal to dislike about the whole business of assessing reading levels..."

The American Association of School Librarians is among those who dislike Labeling Books with Reading Levels :

"...Student browsing behaviors can be profoundly altered with the addition of external reading level labels. With reading level labels often closely tied to reward points, student browsing becomes mainly a search for books that must be read and tests completed for individual or classroom point goals and/or grades. School library collections are not merely extensions of classroom book collections or classroom teaching methods, but rather places where children can explore interests safely and without restrictions. A minor's right to access resources freely and without restriction has long been and continues to be the position of the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians.

"Labeling and shelving a book with an assigned grade level on its spine allows other students to observe the reading level of peers, thus threatening the confidentiality of students' reading levels. Only a student, the child's parents or guardian, the teacher, and the school librarian as appropriate should have knowledge of a student's reading capability."

Despite this position, a recent School Library Journal article notes:

"... The topic of labels and restricted sections in libraries came up in SLJ's Controversial Books Survey last year. The results showed that compared to a 2008 survey, school libraries are more likely now to place content labels on books or to have restricted sections for books containing mature content. The practice of using content labels had increased the most at the elementary level, from 18 to 33 percent. Twenty-seven percent of respondents at the middle school level said they currently used labels, compared to 10 percent in 2008, and in high school, the number has increased from six to 11 percent."

NCTE stands strong against the labeling, leveling, lexiling, etc.-of books in its Position Statement Regarding Rating or "Red-Flagging" Books .

Spelling things out, NCTE member Teri Lesesne emphasizes in her recent blog, " There Is No Neutral, " why book leveling, labeling, red-flagging, and lexiling are not good ways to grow readers and why we educators shouldn't stand for them :

"If we want kids to become lifelong readers, levels and lexiles and tests and other programmed approaches need to go the way of the early primers ... Lexiles and levels and tests narrow choices for readers. I think of them in the same way I do censorship of other means. They tell kids, "Sorry, you can't read that. It is not on your level." I wonder what would happen if I were to do that in a library or bookstore to an adult. I suspect it would not be pretty. Choice matters. Choice is crucial. There is no, "well, you can select from this shelf," when it comes to choice. And we, as educators, need not be neutral in this. We need to take a stand. Know the research. Fight against the censorship that results when we allow a program to narrow the choices for readers."

What are you reading right now? How did you choose that text? What's your reading level? What's the level of the text you're reading right now? Do you know its lexile score? Does it matter?

What about your students?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Levelized reading programs have been around since dirt but considering what we know today about reading-how we read, why we read, how we can keep on reading throughout our lives-surely we know better than to even suggest that our students restrict their reading only to books recommended at certain levels or lexile scores.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Yesterday, during Readers Workshop, I suggested a book to one of my kindergarteners. He looked at it and then asked me, "what level is it?" I was stunned. Where had he heard about levels? It certainly wasn't in our classroom. None of my books are leveled and I've never mentioned anything about levels in our talks about how readers choose books to read.

I asked him what he meant. He told me, "the level tells you whether you can read the book or not." Wow. We went on to have a great conversation about how readers (not levels) decide if they can read a book. Readers can choose a book that interests them, an old favorite, a favorite author or character, and they can read the pictures, read the words or remember read.

But I couldn't get this conversation out of my mind. This five year old has already heard about levels. A system that is meant for teachers to use to guide OUR instruction. Chances are, he heard about this from a well-meaning parent or adult in his community. Which led me to question - do parents need to know reading levels? What does that really tell our parents? It gives them a number or letter to compare their child to others. It gives them a number or letter to talk about with other parents at soccer practice, the playground or gym. It gives them a number or letter that, most likely, doesn't really mean much more than a letter or a number that ranks their child. And it may give them a letter or number that their child uses to define himself or herself as a reader and that limits what they can read or not read.

Parent - teacher conferences are coming up in the next months. There are so many things we can share with parents to help them understand where their child is in reading. A level doesn't really help them understand, and it can do harm.

What if we shared their child's book box and shared the kinds of books their child enjoys?

What if we showed our parents texts that their child is reading in guided reading and then compared that text with benchmark texts - showing parents where we are headed?

What if we shared the goals their child has set to work on as a reader or the goals we have set for their child?

What if we shared how we are teaching strategies to help their child as a reader?

What if we shared language that parents can use to help their child talk about books or problem solve when they get to tricky parts?

What if we shared our class charts that help guide our readers? (I send these home in our weekly poetry notebooks so parents can see the language we are using and so that kids can share what they are learning in Readers Workshop.)

What if we shared lists of suggested books to check out from the library? (Most librarians aren't going to be able to help you find a "level L" book - however, they can help you find Mo Willems or Jan Thomas books)

I think this is an important conversation to have in our schools. Are we sharing levels outside of our school? And if so, what is that purpose? I worry that talking about levels with parents serves no other purpose than to further define readers by a level and widen the gap between home and school. Choosing a book by the level is not an authentic way of choosing books in the real world. Libraries don't level books. Book stores don't level books. Speaking in terms of levels is a language most parents don't understand, and it doesn't serve our purpose of creating strong, lifelong readers who love to read.

How do you communicate with families about where their child is as a reader, and where they are headed? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Yesterday, during Readers Workshop, I suggested a book to one of my kindergarteners. He looked at it and then asked me, "what level is it?" I was stunned. Where had he heard about levels? It certainly wasn't in our classroom. None of my books are leveled and I've never mentioned anything about levels...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
While I was visiting an elementary school library in Chicago last spring, a group of third graders came into the library to return and check out books. The children wore index cards clipped to their shirts. On one side of the card was the child's name. On the back, layers of sticky labels with the top label indicating the child's current Lexile reading level. The poor librarian was required to check the reading level on the cards against the books the children wanted to check out. If a child picked a book that wasn't on their level, she had to take it from them and tell them to get another one. Imagine what it feels like to hear you can't read a book you want to read and must choose another one. Imagine your entire class witnesses this exchange. How do you feel about reading? How do you see yourself as a reader?

Again and again, I see reading level measures used to rank children, sort them into reading groups, identify at-risk readers, or generate grades. To what end? If we truly value a whole child model of education, children's development of lifelong reading habits and skills should matter just as much as reading scores. Does our institutional zeal for reading levels have long-term negative consequences for young readers?

Restricting children's reading choices to books that fit within their reading level warps children's positive reading identity development and their perceptions of what reading is. Requiring students to read books "at their level" at all times limits children's reading choices and derails intrinsic motivation to read, which is driven by interest, choice, and reader's purpose-not reading level.

While we don't want students laboring to read text that is too difficult for them to comprehend, or burn through books that provide little intellectual challenge, we must be mindful of how reading level systems affect how children see reading and themselves as readers. Reading levels are meant to guide, not limit or define children's reading choices. Consider what reading level systems offer and what they don't:

Reading level measurements apply to the texts children read, not the children themselves. Reading level instruments like Lexile were originally designed to measure text complexity. These tools were not created to assess children. Reading levels are tools that guide teachers' instruction and text selection, not labeling systems for kids.

Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, the co-creators of the F & P Text Level Gradient™, have expressed concerns about the misuse of the leveling framework they created and how this distortion harms children's reading agency and self-concept. In a recent School Library Journal interview, they emphasized, "It is our belief that levels have no place in classroom libraries, in school libraries, in public libraries, or on report cards." Fountas and Pinnell insist that children should not use reading levels as limits when selecting books to read.

Reading level is inconsistent and varies from reading event to reading event and reader to reader. Don't discount reader preparedness when determining the accessibility of a text. Physical health, alertness, stress, engagement, and our self-concept about reading all affect our ability to read any given text. Reading is a transaction between the reader and the text, and we don't walk into new texts empty-handed. Readers bring our background knowledge, culture, gender, life experiences, and prior literacy experiences into every text, which affect our comprehension and motivation to read. The quality of the text drives our ability to read it, too. Well-written, engaging books are easier to read than boring, poorly written ones. Text formatting and book design features like font, page size, visuals, and color can influence text readability from reader to reader. Your preferences and experiences differ from mine. We don't access the same text in the same way.

Reading level systems are scaffolds. Scaffolds are meant to come down. When I go to Barnes & Noble, I do not see adult readers looking for the blue dots or using the Five Finger Rule to find books to read. The goal of all teaching is independence. How are we guiding children toward independent reading lives? Children should be able to select a book for their own purposes and determine if they can probably read it. Dependence on reading level as the primary criterion guiding children's book selection impedes their reading independence long term.

Children need modeling and instruction in how to preview and select reading material like readers really do. We cannot presume children know how to pick books for themselves. Many children report they struggle to find enjoyable books to read. The primary drivers of independent reading are choice and interest over everything else. As reading mentors, we can suggest books based on children's interests that we think they can successfully read. If a child selects a book you suspect they cannot read independently, what strategies can you teach or resources can you provide that will help them read it, anyway? Do you know another book that might interest this reader, but is more accessible to read? Can you collaborate with your librarian to build your book knowledge or help you match children with books? Your informed guidance supports young readers long term. There is no substitute for knowing the kids and knowing their books.

Public labeling of book levels in school and classroom libraries violates students' academic privacy. According to the American Library Association, students' reading levels are confidential academic information-like grades and test scores. When students are required to select books from a visibly leveled collection, their academic information becomes public to everyone in sight-including other students, staff, and volunteers. Labeling levels also alters children's book browsing behaviors and pushes reading level ahead of more authentic book selection criteria like author, genre, or topic. Libraries should be places where children can select books without restrictions or shame.

I continue to study and learn about the relationship between reading identity development and the roles that teachers, librarians, and families play in shaping children's reading identities-both positive and negative. Adult readers do not use reading level systems to guide their reading choices. We must consider how these systems benefit developing readers temporarily or not at all. While using reading level as a scaffold to support students, we must teach and model authentic book selection skills. Confident, competent, independent readers can successfully self-select books. We must foster children's ability to choose.

I look forward to learning from your comments. Please include any resources that have informed your understanding, so we can all learn.

Donalyn Miller has taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grade English and Social Studies in Northeast Texas. She is the author of two books about encouraging students to read, The Book Whisperer(Jossey-Bass, 2009) and Reading in the Wild (Jossey-Bass, 2013). Donalyn co-hosts the monthly Twitter chat, #titletalk (with Nerdy Book Club co-founder, Colby Sharp). Donalyn launched the annual Twitter summer and holiday reading initiative, #bookaday. You can find her on Twitter at @donalynbooks or under a pile of books somewhere, happily reading.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
While I was visiting an elementary school library in Chicago last spring, a group of third graders came into the library to return and check out books. The children wore index cards clipped to their shirts. On one side of the card was the child's name. On the back, layers of sticky labels with...

# data[].attributes.headline
Guided Reading: the Romance and the Reality

# data[].attributes.subject
Guided Reading: the Romance and the Reality

# data[].attributes.headline
Thinking Outside the Bin: Why labeling books by reading level disempowers young reader

# data[].attributes.subject
Thinking Outside the Bin: Why labeling books by reading level disempowers young reader

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A child enters the library, looking for something to read. She wanders the aisles, glancing at book spines, running her finger along the shelf, and lingering at a display of new titles. "Can I help you?" asks the librarian, following with more questions about her tastes: What was the last book you read? What was your favorite part? What TV shows or movies do you enjoy?

The librarian is engaging in readers' advisory-matching readers to books. Effective readers' advisers understand that their success depends on familiarity with a range of books, as well as with their patrons. The librarian may spend several minutes talking with a child, observing body language for clues, and walking together through the stacks while offering suggestions. Professionals know that readers' advisory doesn't end when a patron walks out with books in hand. The next time this librarian sees the child, she'll inquire about the selections, which titles the student enjoyed (or didn't), further refining understanding of the reader.

That process is often different from the hunt for "just right" books in classrooms and collections in which books are organized by reading level. Rather than having a conversation about interests, children in leveled classrooms and school libraries are often directed to color-coded bins or shelves labeled by level. "Your books have a green sticker on the cover," a student may be told.

In classrooms across the country, reading instruction, assessment, and labeling of material have impacted how people search for and engage with books, sometimes resulting in restricted reading choices-even for independent reading. That, as Betty Carter, professor emerita of children's and young adult literature at Texas Woman's University, noted in a July 2000 SLJ article, is a "formula for failure."

What's wrong with "just right" books?

The move toward leveled or "just right" books stems from research showing that children's reading comprehension improves when they read texts at-or slightly above-their reading level. What that level is, how it's determined, and how reading instruction is implemented varies from school to school, district to district, and state to state. Two of the most common methods for leveling books are Lexile and the "A to Z" gradient found in Fountas and Pinnell's Guided Reading system.

"Research says that students should spend most of their time in 'just right' or 'at their level' books, but that research does not say to limit students and what they would like to read," says Pernille Ripp, creator of the Global Read Aloud and author of Passionate Learners: How to Engage and Empower Your Students (Routledge, 2015).

Most educators and researchers agree that student choice is a huge part of reading motivation. Does restricting kids to a prescribed level do more harm than good? Yes, according to Ripp. "Those levels, to quote Fountas and Pinnell, are 'a teacher's tool, not a child's label.' But that's exactly what levels have become-labels that restrict our readers and tell them that their reading identity needs to be based on an outside influence-the teacher-and not their own intuition," she says.

Donalyn Miller, author of Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits (Jossey-Bass, 2013), has called leveling "educational malpractice." Schools have gone too far, she believes. "There is a lack of fundamental understanding by many educators about the limitations of leveling systems and their role in children's reading development," she says. "Matching children with books solely by reading level removes the teacher's responsibility for knowing much about children's literature or teaching children meaningful strategies for self-selecting books beyond level."

Helping youth develop the skills needed to find interesting, appropriate reading material, without leveling, was the focus of Linda Wedwick Haling's doctoral research and led her and coauthor Jessica Ann Wutz to write Bookmatch: How to Scaffold Student Book Selection for Independent Reading (IRA, 2008). Now an assistant professor at the Center for Reading and Literacy at the College of Education at Illinois State University, Haling believes that "the readability formulas have some usefulness. But ultimately, they never account for...what the reader brings to the experience. A reader's 'match' to a book is going to change with what prior knowledge the individual brings to that specific topic. What's most important is teaching kids how to match themselves to 'just right' books. In the real world, books are not leveled."

Bookmatch focuses on teaching children nine key criteria-collectively forming the acronym BOOKMATCH-to consider when selecting a title for independent reading: book length, ordinary language, organization, knowledge prior to book, manageable text, appeal to genre, topic appropriateness, connection, and high interest. It's a process that involves asking questions, interacting with the text, considering personal preferences, and allowing room for trial and error as kids strengthen their skills.

Carter agrees that more attention is needed on teaching children how to find books rather than relying on prescriptive reading systems. "If we are trying to help kids become independent learners, then they need to develop skills for finding their own books," she says.

Leveling the books, or the child?

In a 2012 article for Reading.org, "Guided Reading: the Romance and the Reality", Fountas and Pinnell cautioned that they "never recommended that the school library or classroom libraries be leveled or that levels be reported to parents." Using leveled texts in classrooms following the "A to Z" matrix, Lexile, or other systems, however, seems to contradict this advice, as educators report that more schools are leveling, with some districts mandating it. Teachers often discuss individual reading levels with their students, and some let students know one another's levels.

Miller says that this can be very damaging. "While children are learning the skills of reading, they must also develop a positive reading identity or they will not become lifelong readers," she says. "Removing, defining, limiting, or rejecting children's reading choices disempowers them and creates negative attitudes toward reading-and most likely, school."

Ripp agrees. "I think a few kids will be empowered by it, mostly if they are above grade level," she says. However, those with lower levels "would not be motivated," feeling so behind that they might never catch up.

Fountas and Pinnell advise against making reading levels known to individual students: "We level books, not children." Still, many lament leveling's overuse, to the detriment of literacy and considering the whole child. "Painting kids into a level can...break their desire to read," says Eric Neuman, a school librarian in New York City. "I have witnessed kids with low reading levels working their way through difficult texts because of how interested they are in the subject matter. I've also witnessed proficient readers mess up on passages that they're not interested in."

Supporters, however, view leveling as a motivator. It provides clear goals for improvement that can offer encouragement and structure. "[L]evels were instrumental in helping my eight-year-old overcome her reading struggles," says Jacqueline Miller of Darien, CT. "She could not read the [higher level] books that her friends were reading, and that was far more shame-inducing than knowing what level books were her 'just right' books," Miller says. "The leveled books didn't matter as much for my non-struggling reader. And they both read a huge variety of non-leveled books outside of school."

At the school library

Many school librarians have leveled collections to support curriculum and in response to mandates from district literacy specialists. Michael Bento, a school librarian in Burien, WA, labeled his books according to Fountas and Pinnell's "A to Z" gradient. It's a slow, time-consuming process, Bento notes, but he is pleased with the results. "Students and teachers now refer to this leveling system when looking for appropriate [material]," he says. "It makes it easier for us to help them if we are on board as well."

Neuman says that several years ago, he felt pressure from teachers to level the school library. He resisted and presented a compromise solution. Neuman installed Level It Books, an app for iOS that allows users to scan an ISBN and look up Lexile numbers for most texts. "If a student absolutely had to read something on their specific level, I could make that happen," he says. The New York City Department of Education also provides Follett's Destiny to school libraries to manage circulation, and Destiny includes reading levels for most titles, he adds. "So when kids check books in and out, I can see a level."

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), strongly discourages school librarians from labeling, according to the ALA Position Statement on Labeling Books with Reading Levels. "It is the responsibility of school librarians to promote free access for students and not to aid in restricting their library materials," reads the statement. It also notes that labeling by level can compromise student privacy and First Amendment rights as well as negatively affect browsing and motivational reading.

An ALA document clarifying the Library Bill of Rights states "While some parents and teachers may find housing books by grade or reading levels helpful in guiding developing young readers, a library should not use such labels as a classification system, or to promote any restrictive or prejudicial practice."

Public librarians have also reported requests from parents and teachers to adapt their collections to match classroom reading systems. Amy Martin, a children's librarian at Oakland (CA) Public Library, notes a scenario in which "a teacher brings [in] a class of 25 students, tells me a number or letter range for each one, and asks me to help each find one book at their level...in the space of a 30-minute class visit," she says. "This would not be difficult in a leveled collection....But in a public library, where books are categorized by type (picture book, easy reader, etc.), it's extremely difficult."

What's a librarian to do?

Martin focuses on creating a teachable moment-even for teachers-and doing her best to have her patrons leave satisfied. "When a parent or teacher asks me for books at a certain level, I start by explaining a little about how the public library organizes books and say something along the lines of 'Your school library may organize books by reading level; at this library, we organize them by book type,' and then give them a quick tour of the collection," she says. "I ask what kind of books they like, what other books they've read lately, and show them a couple samples and ask if they look too hard/too easy/just right. I get them to focus on one or two books, and then say, 'OK, let's see what level those are.' "

For school librarians in districts where leveling is the norm, supporting school practices and empowering student choice can be tricky. "The librarian ends up in a hard situation because they see kids who want to check out books that are above or below their perceived level," says Ripp. "Are they then supposed to go behind the teacher's back in allowing the students to check that book out?"

Haling says that it comes down to investing time in helping kids develop skills to select books independently. "We should trust kids when it comes to selecting their own books," she says. "They do have opinions and preferences, even if they're in first grade. They are capable of learning to match themselves to 'just right' books-without the teacher directing them to a labeled bin."

The key is more choice, not less, Carter believes. "Let them take out a lot of books so that somewhere in that pile they find something that satisfies them," she says. "But we have to keep that process going....When they come into the library the next time, talk about their choices: what worked; what didn't. They have to learn their own processes for selecting books, and if we keep narrowing the choices by artificial constraints, we aren't giving them that chance."

Pat Scales, past president of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and author of SLJ's "Scales on Censorship" column, denounced labeling library books by reading level in a March 2015 interview on the ALSC Blog. She advises public librarians to communicate with their school counterparts about reading lists, selection, and student privacy issues.

It's essential, Ripp adds, that librarians and educators step up as advocates for the freedom to read-even if that choice extends below or above a student's reading level. "If a child wants to check out a book, let them....Students are telling us in droves they don't like to read anymore because of these rules. So as school communities, we need to start listening to the students and let them read the books they want to read."

Kiera Parrott is the reviews director for School Library Journal and Library Journal and a former children's librarian. Her favorite books are ones that make her cry-or snort-on public transportation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Thinking Outside the Bin: Why labeling books by reading level disempowers young readers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A child enters the library, looking for something to read. She wanders the aisles, glancing at book spines, running her finger along the shelf, and lingering at a display of new titles. "Can I help you?" asks the librarian, following with more questions about her tastes: What was the last book you read?

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Foster a Love of Reading Through Choice

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Foster a Love of Reading Through Choice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We want our students to love reading books. We want them to go over to a book shelf, choose a book that interests them, and hurry to dive in. The ability to choose a book that interests them, as opposed to one that is assigned to them, is vital to growing that passion. Here are some ways you can foster that love through student CHOICE.

Do NOT level the classroom library

Choosing books by level is not an authentic way to choose books. It's not how we, as adults, choose them, so why would they? The classroom library should include attractively displayed books in a variety of genres that reflect cultural sensitivity and relevance to the age group. They should be organized by topic, author, illustrator, genre, and award-winning books that are organized into baskets or bins with the titles facing out so that students can sort through them. Forcing students to choose books by their reading level puts limitations on them. If they want to choose a book that interests them, but may be a little too easy or too hard, let them. Never take a book out of child's hands.

Help them choose

Initially, students may not know how to choose books well, so you will want to teach them how to think about selecting a book that works best for them. By listening to them during book talks and read-alouds, you will get to know what their interests are and be able to make recommendations. Let them examine the cover, back cover copy, and illustrations, or sample a bit of text and let them get a feel for the author's style. Think about how a book matches to your students' own reading backgrounds and experiences and whether they would need to listen to an audio version or another person read it to them.

Include personal space in your classroom design

Students are always searching for their own identity. In order to help them discover what they like or don't like they need their own space. It can be an individual desk, a cubby, even just a personal box where they can store their personal documents, reader's notebook, writer's notebook, independent reading books, etc. Give them a warm, accepting environment to call their own where they can lose themselves in the book that they chose for themselves.

Fountas and Pinnell believe the choice is at the heart of what it means to become a confident reader. "If you have an opportunity to choose what you read, and then to talk about it with others, maybe to draw and write about it, it builds your sense of yourself as a reader and your self-efficacy as a reader. That's where confidence really begins," (Fountas and Pinnell).

The Fountas & Pinnell Literacy™ Team

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Foster a Love of Reading Through Choice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We want our students to love reading books. We want them to go over to a book shelf, choose a book that interests them, and hurry to dive in. The ability to choose a book that interests them, as opposed to one that is assigned to them, is vital to growing that passion.