What Are Some Criteria for Leveling Books?
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/3/3/16338156/8195596.jpg)
No single aspect or characteristic of text can be used to evaluate reading material. In placing a text along a gradient of difficulty, many factors are considered.
- Length — Consider the number of pages, the number of words, and the number of lines on the page. Books for beginners will have just one or two lines on a page.
- Layout — Beginners need texts with a large font and clear
spaces between words and lines. Sentences begin on the left and print is clearly seperated from pictures. In more complex books, sentences begin in the middle of lines or are carried over onto the next page. Fonts become smaller. - Structure and Organization — Early books have simple plots and some repetition. Some books use repeating episodes or complex plots organized chronologically. As books become more challenging, more interpretation will be needed.
- Illustrations — Easier books provide pictures to support
the reader in gaining meaning and solving words. Picture support gradually decreases as you move up the gradient of difficulty. - Words — Beginning books use high-frequency words, text with regular spelling words, and content words reinforced by pictures. More challenging texts use multi-syllabic words and a wider range vocabulary to express meaning.
- Phrases and Sentences — The gradient begins with very
simple sentences and goes on to include longer, more complex sentences with embedded clauses. - Literary Features — Consider the complexity of the ideas.
What must readers understand about the characters, setting, and plot to read this book with understanding? Literary features such as flashbacks or metaphors may introduce a challenge. - Content and Theme — Books for young children will focus on topics and themes that are familiar to them. Complexity gradually increases to ideas and topics that children would not experience in everyday lives. Some sophisticated themes require maturity for understanding and may mean that a book is more challenging, even if other factors make it seem easy.
- link: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/what-leveled-reading
References
Clay, Marie M. Becoming Literate: The
construction of inner control. Auckland, New Zealand: Heinemann Education,
1991.
Fountas, Irene, and G.S. Pinnell. Guided Reading: Good First Teaching for
All Children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational, 1991.
Fountas, Irene, and G.S. Pinnell. Matching Books to Readers: A Book List
for Guided Reading, K3. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational, 1999.