Embassy Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 When choosing books at a certain level do you go by the lexile level or the grade level that is listed for the book? Sometimes they differ greatly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohannaM Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I'm curious about this as well. I can't figure out how they determine the grade level markings so for now I'm leaning towards using the Lexile measure. It, at least, seems to have some sort of objective criteria that resulting in increasing difficulty (word frequency and sentence length) as the level goes up. Johanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 A lot of the lexile levels I've seen listed for books are, in my humble opinion, completely bogus. They list some works I consider more difficult as easier and vice versa. Many of them seem to lack common sense so after initially looking at some, I never looked again. I know children's books pretty well, so I just give my kids things I think they can read. And I read to them things I think they can understand and enjoy. So that's probably not a lot of help for you. But I do think when the grade level is listed that is, at least, more consistent than the lexile levels I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 This is a link to the Scholastic Book Wizard. You can put almost any book in and get the grade level or Lexile Level. They have a couple of other systems. You can also search by level and area of interest to create a book list. http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do I use this a lot to judge where my son is reading and find more challenging books for him. This site explains about Lexile Measures and has a book search feature as well. http://www.lexile.com/ For grade levels: 1.1 means the first month of first grade, 1.9 is the ninth month of first grade, 8.5 is the fifth month of eighth grade. If you use these measures you can slowly step up your child's reading level. I prefer the grade to lexile measure; it has been a more accurate way for me to find appropriate books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Every year, I determine what my child's lexile level should be based on their grade. Then, when I get my SL IG, I go through and write down all the lexile levels I can find for the books my kids will be reading. If they need a few more challenging ones thrown in, then I find some by using lexile.com. I know at one point, I had found a link that would tell you your child's lexile level based on their standardized test scores, but for the life of me, I can't find it anymore. I have noticed a huge variation in the levels of books that have the same lexile level. It's not perfect, but it is a helpful tool. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I just use grade level, but it doesn't have to be exact anyway. The literature books I have picked out for this year range from 2.something to 7.3 (he's reading the 7.3 right now). The point is to read good literature, but I do make sure I have plenty of more difficult works (ie, the 7.3) in there to stretch his reading. Not everything has to be that level though. Last year, he couldn't have handled the 7.3 book, so knowing that it was 7.3 was a good thing. I would have needed to stop somewhere in the 4s or 5s. Grade level is easier for my brain to comprehend. Lexile scores are just random numbers to me. If I converted them to grade level, I'd be doing an extra step that doesn't need to be done, because I can see the grade level right there in the Scholastic Book Wizard. :D Use whatever makes sense to you. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I used to use Lexile but I have found grade level to be much more useful. The Scholastic Book Wizard linked above is extremely helpful. It will show the reading level and the interest level. The lexile score ended up being too inconsistent. Going by grade level isn't perfect but much better than lexile IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I used to use Lexile but I have found grade level to be much more useful. The Scholastic Book Wizard linked above is extremely helpful. It will show the reading level and the interest level. The lexile score ended up being too inconsistent. Going by grade level isn't perfect but much better than lexile IMO. Well, this is good to know. I will have to start looking more closely at grade level. I just bookmarked The Scholastic Book Wizard. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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