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Confused about reading levels of books


skueppers
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I'm confused about reading levels, and am hoping someone with more knowledge of how this works can explain it to me.

 

My kid can read books that have a wide range of "levels" associated with them. The main factor in determining whether she can read it isn't the "lexile level" or "grade level equivalent," but the number of words on a page, whether or not there are pictures, and the overall length of the book. Here are some examples of books she's read recently:

 

Young Cam Jansen and the Dinosaur Game (Lexile: 370, AR: 2.5)

Little Horse on His Own (AR: 2.9)

Jenius: The Amazing Guinea Pig (Lexile: NC860, AR: 4.8)

Dinosaurs Before Dark (Lexile: 240, AR: 2.7)

African Animals, Ann Squire (AR: 5.1) - This one has the most complicated vocabulary, but is shorter than some of the others; it doesn't conform to my general perception that it's the number of words on the page, pictures, and overall length that determine difficulty for her.

 

I'm pretty sure my daughter's perception of how difficult these books were to read is the order I've listed them in. I don't feel like the difference in reading level between the easiest of these books and the most challenging is 2.5 grade levels -- perhaps half a grade level, the way my daughter evaluates the difficulty of reading material. There are tons of books she would not be able to read that would be rated 4.8-5.1 in the AR system.

 

Is there some other system of evaluating books for elementary school children that would work better with the way my child perceives difficulty? Of course, I can easliy determine whether she'd be able to read a book by looking at it, but it would save me a lot of time if I could look up whether a particular book would be likely to work for her.

Edited by skueppers
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I don't really worry much about reading levels printed on books. Most reading level formulas involve the length of words and the length of sentences and these don't always correspond with actual ease of reading.

 

In my mind, it matters more about the child than about a reading index... If my child is really interested in a book, she'll be eager to tackle something more challenging. If she's never encountered the subject before, it'll be more difficult. If there are pictures to help lead her, she'll find the book easier. If my child has a low tolerance for frustration, a more difficult book will be trickier. If my child has a short attention span, she'll need a shorter book - or a book with shorter chapters...

 

I know there are leveled readers and some people take them very seriously, but I figure -- what's the worst thing that will happen? If it's too tricky, she'll set it aside or persevere without fully understanding. And then she'll come back to it later. If it's too easy, she'll read it quickly. It's not really a big deal either way.

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I just have them use the 5 finger test.

 

They open up the book to a page in the middle and start reading. When they get to a word they don't know, they hold up a finger. If they get to 4 or 5 before the page is done, then it is probably too hard and they should pick another book.

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I just have them use the 5 finger test.

 

They open up the book to a page in the middle and start reading. When they get to a word they don't know, they hold up a finger. If they get to 4 or 5 before the page is done, then it is probably too hard and they should pick another book.

What a great tip!

 

Thank you :D

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She sounds fairly similar to my son who is the same age. I have actually found the AR level stickers on the library books to be helpful in initial selection of a book - if it says grade 2 or 3, it will probably work as an independent fun reader for him. If it says 4 (the level he actually *can* read at), I will use it for our "reading time", where I challenge him with slightly harder material and have him read aloud. For example, he's most comfortable with a 3rd grade level science or history book, but we're reading Charlotte's Web slowly (one chapter a time), which I believe is level 4.9? He needs help with a few words, but he can read it and comprehend it.

 

The biggest thing we've had to work on is reading stamina. A chapter book would overwhelm him at first, even if the words on the page were very easy for him to read. Finding something that interested him helped a lot. We first got a lot of good progress with Boxcar Children #1 (sparked his interest), and then various Clone Wars books (which tend to be pretty advanced, but he loves them).

 

I don't fret about reading level. If I'm just getting "book basket" type books, I tend to go for the 2-3 level range. I only look closer at reading level and just overall "How difficult will this be for him" when picking our "reading time" book that he reads some aloud. I want him to be challenged with that book. The rest are just fun, and it's ok if they're easy! Easy books will build up his reading stamina. He also likes picture books still, so I try to make his "book basket" type books be picture books at this point. Even if the words and sentences are harder, the pictures make it not seem as difficult to him. Whereas a picture-less chapter book is a lot of words in one spot and not as interesting.

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The time when I get frustrated with the lack of a rating system that's widely applied and useful for me is when I want to do something like reserve library books for an upcoming unit of study. It would be really helpful if I could figure out before I actually went to the library whether the book was likely to work for her!

 

I can easily tell if the book is at a good level by looking at it, but that's not always practical. Sigh.

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