Chapter+7

I’m feeling more familiar with the different reading levels through the work I’ve done implementing reading workshop, leveling books, and taking classes on the subject. A tool that my first-grade colleague, the speech-language specialist in our building, and I devised helps me when I confer with students about what they need to move up a level. The tool has pictures with a word or two reminding the student (and me!) what they should be doing at that level. For example, at the emergent levels of A, B, C the chart has picture prompts like a finger pointing under words and a mouth getting ready to say the first sound. In the higher levels, the pictures and words indicate they should be about to look for evidence and retell in order. The charts go through the end of first grade (about to level H or I). Stephanie B. and C., I like the example on page 93 of possible questions and prompts to use with readers at that level. I’m thinking there is a way to combine the visual prompts I have and add questions and prompts to it like on page 93. By the way, if anyone would like copies of the charts, please email me at ssabourin@fruitportschools.net. (Or, I can send them to Linda and Erin and have them forward if possible??)
 * __﻿Chapter Seven: Helping Students Move from Reading Level to Level__**
 * 1) 1. Most of us have had students who get stuck at a reading level. Many times a student just needs a few more skills to "bump" them to the next level. If we want to help our students move to the next level, it is important that we are familiar with reading levels. How familiar are you with different reading levels and what tool could you devise for yourself to use as you confer?
 * Respond Here:**

Sara Sabourin


 * (Erin Here:) Sara, thank you so much for your generosity in sharing these visual support charts for the levels. They have been a very powerful resource in our work throughout the county after you shared last year! You, Holly and Theresa created tools that are helping hundreds of kids - and their teachers as well! **

http://maisdreadingworkshop.wikispaces.com/Text+Level+Documents** Or would it be better to have people email you to request them? Up to you! :) **
 * Would you like me to post them on the Reading Workshop wiki, under the page "Text Level Documents"? **

Chapter 7 from Bobbi Friend #1 I am familiar with the reading levels. We use the Fountas and Pinnel levels in our school district, and all the teachers that use reading workshop have our books leveled the same way. I am not, however, familiar with the new skills needed to move into the higher levels at the middle school where I will be teaching. After being in third grade for twelve years, teaching sixth grade is going to be very different. I need to spend some time prior to the start of the school year becoming more familiar with the new challenges the higher level texts will present to my students. I will use that information to develop my whole class studies as well as my mini-lessons for my teaching. I know that I cannot do everything at once so I think that initially I am going to use my readers workshop material for teaching, and then develop units as needed as the year progresses. Once I know more of the strategies and skills needed for the higher reading levels, I will create a conferring form that addresses those specific strategies and skills.

I am investigating Founta and Pinnel. My materials and those in our resourse room a leveled according to the STAR TEST and Dibels. Our reading series came with leveled material to be used during small group teaching. Am I using this material as well as I should to support and move my students up and onward? I don't think so. As I prepare for this year I will be studying the leveled materials to be mor aware of their progression. Take the knowledge I glean and use it during cofenrring. My method of instruction has to fit the needs of my student(s).

Margaret Fox

I am familiar with the reading levels, but, as Bobbi stated, not always familiar with the skills readers need to move to the next level. I absolutely love the conferring menu Level L example on page 93. What an invaluable tool to utilize to find the areas holding students back from moving to the next level! It can also help prepare readers new to the level for what is ahead. Just as with the overview sheets, however, I wish examples for each level would have been included in the text. In a time where I am fully implementing readers workshop, and teaching a split classroom with a new grade, having the materials would have been extra helpful. I could always modify these as needed, but having a baseline for each level would be convenient.

Stephanie Cooper

Like every aspect of teaching reading I am still learning and this includes the differences in reading levels. We use Fountas and Pinnell’s reading levels and I feel I understand more what the specific skills a reader needs at each level based on assessments. Similar to everyone’s comments I love the conferring menu that Serravallo and Goldberg gives us for Level L. I don’t think I know the reading levels well enough to create a menu for each reading level. I would love to have these menus for each level. Garth

I am also familiar with the reading levels and have also been using them for years. I am very familiar with the characteristics of the texts at each level, but not as familiar with the reading skills the student needs to be able to handle that level of text. The chart on p. 93 would be a great tool to have right there with me when I confer and plan for small group instruction. Yetta Goodman created a similar chart called "characteristics of learners" to describe what skills readers would be using when reading the different levels from the Richard C. Owens leveled books. After convering their levels to F and P levels, I often used this information when leading guided reading goups. However, it was very broad, and I think F and P have something more specific. Even though it would be beneficial to go through the process of thinking about the skills a reader needs at each level, I teach k-5, and can't just focus on a few levels! I'm wondering if F and P or the Teachers College has anything already produced with descriptors of what skills a reader has the opportunity to apply in each level. I think there might be something like that in the LLI system, but I'm not sure. Does anyone know if that tool exists? ~Stephanie B.

I am pretty familiar with the reading levels and our reading series also came with many leveled books to suppliment our small group time and to use to send home as a support. I know that I need to work on how to instruct my students to read more difficult books. I also need to familarize myself with characteristics of each level of reading so I can help my students learn the skills they need to move on to their next levels. Ronda

We use 2 leveling systems. Our school library and classroom library are leveled with the AR system. Our running records and leveled library are leveled with the F&P system. Lots of levels, lots of characteristics, and I'm not an expert at any of them. I understand how the levels work, and I have been able to group students successful with the proper books. Startegies? A whole seperate queastion to be answered. I know basic strategies but I need more guidance with matching strategies and skills to help students move up in levels. I've seen those poor kids that sit there, reading the baskets of books over and over and just not moving. I feel I have a better idea of how to help them now. Like many of my colleagues here I have to ask also: WHERE IS THE INFORMATION I NEED? That chart on p.93 for Level L has to accompanied with A-Z doesn't it? Does the F&P book "Guided Reading" that has been mentioned so many times have this information for us? Mike

Sara gave a wonderful link to level work and Erin also has much of this material posted on the Reading Workshop wiki. Please check these resources out since I think they will be very helpful for you. Linda

In our break-out session this past week at the ISD we discussed the issue of knowing the skills for each level and what to teach to move students forward. While I know the levels fairly well, the skills needed to help students progress is something I need to become better at using. The chart on page 93 of the book for level l is wonderful and similar pages for all levels would be helpful. As others have stated, I will be checking out the Fountas and Pinnell materials to see if that information is available.

Sue Ronning

I always feel I could be more familiar with the reading levels. I like to use the Fountas & Pinnell. To give info specific to strategies and text features of each level --VERY HELFUL--.what I like to do is practice the skill on the level they are proficient at and then try it in the next level. Have a small group with students how all are on ther verge of that next level. KDN

I am not very familiar with the reading levels. As I mentioned in a previous response, I have received some hand-outs that list what skills students need to know at each level. I know I will rely heavily on these lists as I become more comfortable with what is learned at each level. TGaribay --- I see using book introductions more during individual conferences as well as in a guided reading group. I used to think that this method scaffolded children too much, gave away too much of the book. I thought they weren’t being independent enough if I was doing most of the talking. As Calkins and others mentioned in the //Art of Teaching Reading//, the book introduction should be a large chunk of the lesson (was it 80%??). The authors in this book also note the “teacher does a lot of the talking” (page 98). I’m seeing though that this method is important in order to give readers the needed information (such as key vocabulary, concepts, character names, etc) to move up in levels. Mike, I like how you refer to this strategy as helping to “front load a lot of information for the reader” in order to help them be successful.
 * 1) 2. To help move your students to the next level, you have several methods to choose from: strategy instruction and book introductions. Comment on how you might use these.
 * Respond Here:**

The strategy instruction would be most effective in individual conferences or in a strategy group. Researching what the reader is doing and knowing what is needed at the next level would serve as my focus for giving him/her that needed boost. I like how the authors and Kathleen Tolan encourage students to have a “transitional collection of books” that encompasses a few books from the new and old levels (page 95). Sara Sabourin

Chapter 7 from Bobbi Friend #2 To move readers to new levels and to gear our instruction towards progressing our students from one level to the next, we need to be acutely aware of the specific strategies students need to be successful readers of more difficult text. One difference listed in the chapter is that one level has only three or four main characters, while the next level may have many more characters to keep track of. Teachers of reading should never be concerned about moving children from one level to the next, but more about developing strong readers with independent reading lives. Using either method for moving readers to a new level should only be used to push our readers as they are ready to progress, not giving them skills to use so they can beat the system. Strategy instruction is a powerful teaching tool, whether it is used to move to new levels or simply to increase a reader’s ability to attack text. The other method, book introductions, is also a good way to help reader’s progress in their reading overall, not just to move on to a higher level.

Moving students on to the next level takes work on my part. Developing my understanding of material from one level to the next. Developing strategies based on challenges the student(s) may face is important. I think my charges would be will to move when the can not that I have a deep understanding of them and the material. Book introductions are like a preview to a movie. Having lots of choices is also important. Bobbi, your statement about book introductions was great. We need to help them see the whole. picture.

Margaret Fox

I agree with Bobbi and Margaret in that teachers must be familiar with the challenges posed by each level (another area in which the conferring menus would be helpful) to teach students the skills and strategies they will need for success. I can easily see myself using strategy instruction frequently to help students cross the bridge to the next level. I should be well aware of areas in which a reader struggles by the time they are ready to move to a new reading level. I would focus my instruction on a skill where the reader is weak, but that will be necessary in their new level. I also love the idea of book introductions and see myself using them as needed based on the book selection of the child. The example given in the text regarding //Bud, Not Buddy// is a perfect example. I would need to make sure the child understands the era and culture of the time for him/her to be successful in reading. An introduction would also be a great teaching strategy if a student has selected several books in a series that has not yet been read aloud in the classroom. The background knowledge gleaned by my introduction can get the reader started with some helpful schema for his/her reading. Stephanie Cooper

Book introductions work well with my students. Drawing their attention to things like the title, pictures, the blurb on the back and the start of the book are good cues for my students as they start a book. It also helps to draw attention to items that change, for example in the Magic Tree House series, the setting significantly changes when Jack and Annie travel in the treehouse, but many times my students will miss that. Pointing out those setting changes help my students understand the books and cue them into looking for those type of changes in a book. Direct, explicit strategy instruction is something I also use with my students. As was previously mentioned, knowing the skills and strategies that are needed for each level helps drive my instruction with each child. Using the research portion of the conferences to see what skills my students need is something I am looking forward to using. Sue Ronning

I have used a form of book introductions in the past, but not for individual students. Before we began a new basal story, I would go through the story doing things similar to what the book stated. If background knowledge was needed, it was discussed. I always go over new vocabulary words to increase comprehension. Looking at text features is always something helpful to do. We would also look at the pictures and predict what might happen. I can see how all of these strategies will be important when moving a student to another level. As Sue mentioned, knowing the skills and strategies for each level is key in being able to drive my instruction with each student. TGaribay


 * 1) 3. It is important to remember the authors' final statement in this chapter. We are not teaching skills just to move levels. When we confer with students we use 3 main lenses. This chapter deals with one lens. We also look at the individual readers' strengths and weaknesses and skills in relation to the objectives of our minilessons. Share your thoughts about this.
 * Respond Here:**
 * On page 99 the author says, It is crucial that this chapter is not misunderstood as a promotion of teaching skills only pertaining to reading level." I couldn't agree more. I hear comments in the lounge every year about students who are stuck in a level and the teacher is discouraged and wondering why, but the more important question we as teachers should be asking is what can I do to help this child move to the next level not only in his reading but also in his thinking about literature. I don't believe in teaching only the necessary skill to pass the next level test, that to me is teaching to the test. I believe I need to surround my students with even more books and have more quality book talks and think about which method of instruction would be most helpful to this student. --Jodee Tuttle**

Readinglevels can be a blessing and curse because sometimes I get too focused on the level and not so much on the student. Similar to the old saying “we don’t treat the disease we treat the patient,” I try to remember that we don’t teach the reading level we teach the reader. I appreciate the authors giving us the reminder that a young reader shouldn’t feel anxious about reading levels and teachers shouldn’t perseverate too much on a student being “stuck”. There is way more to reading than a level. We all have had those remarkable students who comprehend stories with such high levels but their fluency is slow. Does this mean they should remain at a certain level?... certainly not. I try to rely on my teacher experience and good judgment to help me get students off a level he or she might be “stuck” on. Garth

I agree that we aren't teaching skills just to move levels. We are trying to develop strong readers and thinkers in any literate context. However, we do use the leveling system to assess, anaylze, teach, and evaluate their lreading and our teaching. So I agree with Jodee's statement that we need to be asking what we can do to help the student move to the next level. When we talk about a student getting stuck in a level, my experience has been that it's often that the student has difficulty with the level of the words, not the level of comprehension skills required at that level. I have several 4th and 5th graders who have difficulty with the readability of a level O, but they use comprehension skills expected at a level O when independently reading a lower level book or listening to a read aloud. They are learning how to apply the more sophisticated comprehension skills through the mini-lessons, book clubs, and partner reading of more difficult texts in their classrooms. However, they struggle with reading the words independently. And since we have an expectation of 97% accuracy before moving onto the next level for independent reading, students tend to move forward with comprehension skills, but get stuck at the word level. This is why a majority of my interventions focus on strategies for reading unfamiliar words. They have to be able to increase their sophistication of figuring out an unfamiliar word before they are able to progress through the readability of the levels. ~ Stephanie B.

I use a level system for many purposes but also remember too that they are all individuals that can be stronger in some areas than others. Although we want them to have confidence and low anxiety levels by making sure they are ready for the next level. We need to do our best to support them with strategies that can help them in their areas of difficulties but can't get stuck on the fact that they can't move up if they aren't at a 97% accuracy or maybe take longer to read their words to comprehend. I think teachers shouldn't get so stuck on the levels but should teach to the individual student's strengths and weaknesses and use the levels as a guideline. Ronda

We are not just doing this to move level—or t o pass the Iowa or the MEAP. This is an on going issue we have as teacher. We teach to pass on the joy of reading and all that that opens up. But the cold facts that love alone in these days will not keep the schools open or the scores high enough to receive a good AYP score. So the sad truth is we walk the tight rope of striving for the love of reading and praying the scores will be enough so we can continue to teach what we love.