I feel the same way. My mom never censored what I read and nor did I censor my children. Especially when they tried to make a big deal out of Harry Potter!!!!! If we start changing the game of reading, we won't have readers!!!!! That's the problem now. Let the kids be free!!!!!
Happy to read this article, which has thrown light on how the school library shelf arrangment should be. This article is useful because i am reshaping my books collection and trying to arrange it exactly the same way it is mentioned here. Lot of work but satisfying. It's nice to hear "It is our belief that levels have no place in classroom libraries, in school libraries, in public libraries, or on report cards.
Learn About Leveled Reading
That was certainly not our intention that levels be used in these ways. I basically ignore the level letter until a patron demands to know. Thank you for this large dose of common sense. My undergraduate students are confused by the contradictions they see between what they learn in college and what they see in classrooms. We all need to clearly understand that choice is a central feature of independent reading and that our job as teachers is to help children make these choices. Absolutely agree with interest driving book choice. If the book is too hard for a child to read independently , then parents can read WITH the child.
My only addendum is that when a child is learning TO read, levels are important as it allows teachers to help children read books where they have SUCCESS as independent readers. Enjoyment listening to books. Not children phonetically deciding words!! When teaching my Library Media students, I always stress the importance of checking the reliability of sources. One of the concerns is whether an article is biased based on an agenda or personal profit.
Regardless, any reading program OR reading placement can be done "right" or "wrong". Leveling a student and informing others of a child's level is unkind, and a breech of confidentiality. Our philosophy is to see where our students excel, where they struggle, and the level where they will obtain the most growth. One example - we had a student who continually surprised us with his high reading level as he quickly read through the Harry Potter series.
Once I conferenced with his teacher and discussed his reading assessment, it became apparent that while his choices were impressive, he was acrually needing books at a much lower level. He was simply checking out the books, but not reading them. My role as a librarian is to encourage students where they are, and to provide a quality selection of materials on many reading levels. While our library's collection is leveled, the books are arranged in a traditional library method. Many of our teachers encourage students to read a variety of texts, and allow a "free" book selection.
Many times students are reminded that we want students to read what is appropriate for them to help them become a better reader where they are. While we would love for students to read for the love of it, many students need encouragement, motivation and reinforcement. I always refer to to the analogy that, while I love my job, I would not go to work each day if I wasn't paid.
Shared on social media, with our teachers, and with librarians in our district. Thank you for affirming what many of us already knew. Librarians have traditionally supported choice through readers' advisory, long before the advent of your system. It would appear that your system is influencing school librarians in a negative way, likely through the administration of common core and assessment. If you feel strongly you could release something addressed specifically to administrators and teachers. With school libraries constantly subject to defunding and elimination, the librarians are likely doing what they think they must in order to survive.
It would help the kids, who need to experience the same reading autonomy and self-determination that we ourselves expect. This is an eye opener for me! Good article and will be making some changes in my room. This article has certainly made me realize the changes that I need to make in my classroom and in my thinking about growing readers.
I love learning from this community! Satisfied both needs and I loved watching them take their time choosing. This post needs to be shouted from the rooftops! Does anyone who has been to New York know if this is true? I agree with Matt that schools that use this system should be made aware of this. As someone who works in a public library we are constantly asked for books at a specific level. When we provide books at the particular level, the response is usually disappointment and that the book is too young for the child.
We try to steer them towards other books that interest the child. However there are always those parents who are rigid and insist that the school says books at a particular level are what the child is supposed to read. Children who are so restricted are not going to develop a love of reading. Yes, I agree with a majority of your comments.
- Why Use Reading A-Z Leveled Books.
- Conscience of the Company;
- File Cabinet.
If the subject is interesting, they will probably look up the meaning to words they don't understand at least that is what I did and still do. Administrators need to wake up and stop cow-towing to what the latest craze is. The job of the teacher is then to guide the child to books around their level, but most importantly expose them to books on topics the child is interested in. Never discourage when a child reads below or above their level. Don't restrict children to their reading level.
Leveled libraries are what's going to turn off kids from reading. They should be exploring all the books on book shelves. Shame on any school district who just focusses on a reading level. It is done once in September and a second time in February. The September evaluation gives a general starting point for the teacher we don't hold the student to the exact level, because we don't want to turn them off, which could happen and then in February to see how progress is going.
We always send the results to the next year's teacher. It's a system that works and the year can get off to a good start. What I like about this article is what many districts and teachers don't get. It's just a general level of the student. It's not the "end-all" evaluation. It is very time consuming and what happens is the other students are losing valuable instruction time.
We learned this our first year and now with the help of our reading teachers spending up to two full days in our classrooms, they get done quickly and the year begins. Children need to adjust coming back after being off. Every administrator out there should read this article. Children are smart, years ago they all knew which group of kids were in the "bottom group" and here we are doing it again. You're an "L", You're and "N". They all know what letter is "higher" in the alphabet.
Way to go teachers, making kids feeling bad about themselves. This is a very interesting article. How was it decided that children should be reading at C level by the end of kindergarten to be considered to be at grade level, and so on. We are finding that the levels do not correspond with the gov't program of studies. To read about how "Levels have no place I am just curious about how this has happened. A great article, right from the horse's mouths, so to speak. Putting a "Level" on a report card would be a disaster.
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Talk about "labeling" a child. Some administrators are out of control with this. It's time they were "taught a lesson". My preference is to use the level as a starting point for students to find something that is good for them. They use the "5 Finger Test" to see if the book is a Good Fit for them. I tell them that the levels are like shoe sizes: I do have some teachers who have been very strict with the levels. I believe it is due to the AR quizzes that we used for years.
- EL LIBRO DE LOS DESEOS (Spanish Edition).
- Leveling Guide.
- Leveling Guide!
- A Guide to Leveled Books | theranchhands.com;
In my school, we are required to report each child's reading level, using this system, on our data wall for our literacy specialist and administrator, every month! If letters aren't changing enough over the months, we are expected to develop a plan for how to make it happen. Exhausting and not helpful for learning, in my opinion, especially with the time it takes away from instruction. Further, I've seen countless books within individual levels that are vastly different in their level of challenge for readers.
I completely agree with you about making kids feel bad about themselves. Many teachers feel the way you do, but are required to assess the levels and use leveled texts to teach, no matter how gross some think that it is and would not do otherwise. As a retired school librarian i can certainly relate to Cassie's comment. I always let the students take multiple books our if their teacher insisted on interfering with their choices. We want to get them to read not make a chore of it. I would have been dragging my parents to school if Anyone tried to stop me from reading anything I wanted to read because even as a very young child I was an avid reader.
Keep reading that way. I still do and I'm in my 50's. Levels might help the beginning or frustrated reader, but interest has to be there as well. I would argue that matching a book to a child is about figuring out how that child takes in information, how that child processes that information and how that child perceives the world. When you mirror those qualities of a child with the voice in a book, you have a winner. You create a reader. As a children's librarian in a public library in Maryland, I saw family after family come into the library guided by the Fountas and Pinnell letter their child had been assigned.
Fountas and Pinnell Say Librarians Should Guide Readers by Interest, Not Level
Other families came in with the Accelerated Reader level their child had to use. It's time to take another look at children and stories. It's time to give children stories they want to read. They are great places to begin the wonderful journey into the wonder of story. Yes, it is true. I'm using Lucy Calkins and having an internal battle about this topic. They are supposed to read "just right" leveled books for instruction. I've rationalized it that students may read based on interest for books not used for instruction, but for our lessons, they need to be at their instructional level to grow their reading ability.
Dr Jim Field says. I'd like to see Fountas and Pinnell take some responsibility for what their actions have produced.
If someone does something and it has deleterious effects, even ones beyond their intentions, I think its incumbent upon them to try to make amends. This leaves me very bewildered. I agree with the idea of letting kids read what interests them, but I have also run into the issue that fourth graders want to read what is popular, but the books are too hard and many kids can't read or understand them.
When I tactfully try to say this or steer kids in another direction after having them try to tell me about the book or read a page out loud, the kids get very upset. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. The world of education has always been about the latest way to measure the "results" of the teacher and to show progress toward a "goal". For those of us who are not in the classroom , we have to remember that education is now a data driven business that has to produce specific results. I am an adult services public librarian with an education background so I like to keep in touch with what is going on in the field.
From what I see Levels etc. Parents are often told by teachers that this is the best way to get the "right" books in the hands of their children quickly and without much work on their part. Some of my best interactions are with these library users since they often show a tremendous interest in what they are looking for and are willing to do the work to get the information they need.
School Library Journal
Back in the dark ages 's when I was in grammar school I had trouble with the librarians on the county bookmobile who kept trying to give me books they thought were for my age level and not my reading level sixth grade fourth year college and I had to keep "retraining" the new staff to understand what I wanted to read was very much different than what they kept trying to give me. My parents let me read anything I could get my hands, which resulted in a very wide range of interests across a wide cultural spectrum. Levels and other measuring tool have a purpose but we a librarians must make sure we are the gate way to the diverse and crazy world that we now live in but parents must become involved in what their children are learning in school.
I am a teacher and agree that students should not be made to feel badly about themselves and labeling them a particular letter. I believe there is a way to use a leveling system without pigeon holing students. However, I would ask how students are able to develop as readers if they don't have consistent access to books at their reading level.
Of course we want students to have access to all kinds of texts but they also need plenty of time accessing books that they can practice the actual act of reading. Otherwise, how will they get better? Guided reading is an instructional practice where the responsibility for reading success is gradually turned over from teacher to student.
Through the use of carefully leveled text, young readers are strategically introduced to new reading challenges. Early-intervention programs are designed to help beginning readers who show early signs of reading difficulties. The goal is to provide enough specialized instruction for these children to return them as quickly as possible to on-grade-level performance. Select the product information you'd like to include in your Excel file and click [Export to Excel]. Please login to add to cart. Capstone Library librarians teachers parents Advanced.
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