Comments on: Concerns About Book “Leveling”

By: Leveling The Library? | Inquiry Live in the Classroom

Leveling The Library? | Inquiry Live in the Classroom — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 14:37:06 +0000

[...] shouldn’t be limited by labels.” Ok, I can get behind that, that makes sense. This post by Larry Felazzo deals with the same topic and is worth a read, as are the comments that follow it. This post on the [...]

By: Craig Seasholes

Craig Seasholes — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:50:25 +0000

While appreciating the instructional value of understanding and using books based on proximate reading levels, I lost my job over my insistence in the value of a school library being organized by content and not being “leveled.” I take support in this article, and comments, and in a strong position statement from the BCTLA http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/Book+Levelling+and+School+Library+Collections.pdf and continue to find the discussion and reading advocacy work important. I invite correspondence on the topic and have proposed to present on the topic at AASL in 2011 seasholes@gmail.com

By: Melissa Techman

Melissa Techman — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:29:44 +0000

While I agree completely with the need to place readers in books they can actually read, I find the lexile system the least helpful. Any system which overlooks the content and focuses only on words as decodable commodities is flawed, in my opinion.
In our case, thank goodness for the Library of Virginia’s efforts to make the lexile system more user-friendly, by screening for content.
In training, a fellow librarian heard the Lexile rep say lexiles should be used by teachers, not attached to students. He also said that at most 30% of a classroom library should be leveled.
I can see the value of lexiles for teachers who have no knowledge of Guided Reading levels, and no idea of what a “just right” book might look like for their students, but I’m glad my child’s teacher has a much richer background and bigger box of tools.

By: Angela Maiers

Angela Maiers — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:54:58 +0000

Larry-
Great Post. Left my response in video here:
http://www.angelamaiers.com/2009/09/minilesson-a-different-look-at-reading-levels.html

By: Nancy Devine

Nancy Devine — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 01:38:42 +0000

I’m with Kristen on this. Kids must be able to read the texts they’re asked to read. Imagine trying to learn biology from a text way beyond your reading level.
Richard Allington’s work does a great job of explaining this.

By: Kristen Swanson

Kristen Swanson — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:41:05 +0000

I think that having students read books that are at their independent level is essential for building literacy and reading success. Much of Richard Allington’s work (What Really Matters in RtI provides a good overview.) discusses the negative impact that struggling readers face every day because the textbooks and literature used in their classes is not accessible to them. It actually results in struggling students receiving less education each day, widening the achievement gap. It is absolutely essential for all readers to have books that are on their level. It is our job as teachers (Book publishers listen up!) to ensure that there is engaging content at all levels. I am very passionate about this area of education, and I would love to talk with you more about it. I really enjoy your blog and I am a big fan of your work.

By: Melissa Techman

Melissa Techman — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:39:57 +0000

Lexiles give a rough idea of a range for where to start helping a child choose a book. My guess is that by the 2nd week of school, most teachers have an intuitive idea of the child’s reading that probably won’t be helped by knowing their lexile level.
Many states have started promoting and mandating use of lexiles. In our state, Virginia, it is tied to a way to level the state standardized tests. Too bad that Guided Reading, the more respected leveling method by Fountas and Pinnell hasn’t lobbied legislatures the way the Lexile people have!
Here is a comment from the middle school blog of NCTE:
http://nctemiddle.blogspot.com/2007/03/matching-readers-to-texts.html
The backgound knowledge of the possible reader does not affect the lexile, nor does the content of the book So, for example, Toni Buzzeo’s picture book The Sea Chest gets the same lexile number as Truman Capote’s true crime work In Cold Blood.
Lexile measures are a starting point, but they don’t get you very far. Helping a reader find a book that fits his interest and is accessible is an art not a science. It’s the knowledge of the teacher or librarian and the ability to connect and discuss with the student that really count.

By: Deven Black

Deven Black — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:20:17 +0000

I, too, have struggled with the need for and usefulness of book leveling. While does make it easier for my students to find a book they can read without too much struggle, it also limits their choice of topics, etc. I get around this by having parallel sorting schemes. I sort half of my library by reading level and half by topic or genre (poetry, mystery, etc.) I do not worry if books drift from one schema to the other as students read them and replace them in the library. One of the ways we get back into the swing of things after the winter and spring breaks is to re-sort the library. This also gives students the opportunity to “find” books that capture their attention.

By: Sean Banville

Sean Banville — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:39:34 +0000

Hi Larry. We use a cool site called LibraryThing (http://www.librarything.com/)at my College. The students really like it. Even those reading beginner-level graded readers use it. Students write a few words about a book they liked. A cloud forms and students can float around and find recommended books suited to their tastes. As my students are at the same level (more or less), the site is more geared to genre preference. I wouldn’t be surprised if it could be used as a leveling system.
Hope this helps.
Sean

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:37:00 +0000

I teach elementary and probably have a different view on this than middle or high school teachers. I meet with guided reading groups everyday (in the upper grades I met with them several times a week) and they get new books, at their level. So, they have books that are at their instructional level available to them to be reading all the time. As to the books they choose from my classroom library or the school library, I want the world available to them. Some students will challenge themselves because of a personal interest or because they have seen friends reading something and loving it. Others will choose books that are too easy out of laziness. I meet with kids in reading conferences in order to address any concerns I have about their choice of books. But I want them to be able to choose and not be limited by reading level.