At parent conferences I spoke specifically about the importance of children reading books every night. I also spoke about the need for children to read books that are at their level. Here is a list of websites that you can use to find books at your child's level. At the bottom I have included a chart to convert your child's DRA (number) level to the Fountas and Pinell (letter) level.
http://www.enterprisecharter.org/content/Books/leveled_book_list.pdf
http://hanover.k12.va.us/rpes/reading/Leveled%20Book%20List%20_summer_.pdf
http://www.ofcs.net/userfiles/613/Leveled%20Book%20List%20H%20to%20M.pdf
http://www.ofcs.net/docs/Leveled%20Book%20List%20O-T.pdf
DRA Fountas and Pinell
20 K
24 L
28 M
30 N
34 O
38 P
40 Q,R,S,T
50 U,V
60 W,X
When choosing books for your children please consider the following.
Lexile level is the level of difficulty in reading the words on the page. It is based on the frequency of words, number of syllables per word, number of words per sentence.
DRA level, Razkids level, etc. – are based on text complexity- manipulation of time, amount of background knowledge required, number of (main) characters, development and complexity of characters, inference, figurative language, and interconnectedness of chapters (what happens in later chapters makes more sense if you think back to what happened earlier).
For deep comprehension to occur, and for children to become passionate lifelong readers, they need to think of reading as more than just saying the words on the page. They need to pay attention to the details of the story because the author has put them there for a reason and if your child is not paying attention they will miss important information. They need to think beyond what the writer has said, and think about what the author didn’t say- they need to be proficient at inferring meaning. And they need to carry that meaning throughout the story to piece together an understand of the characters and the plot to understand the author’s true intent in writing the book. They need to empathize with the characters in the story so they can experience the true meaning of the story.
When children read high school or adult literature, they may understand the events of the story if the text is accessible to them (ie. If the Lexile level is at their level). However, they are not building the skills necessary for deeper comprehension, skills that the DRA and Razkids measure (see above). This leads to a superficial understand of stories and the belief that stories are nothing more than a series of events that may or may not be connected.
Here are a couple of good sites.
www.goodreads.com
http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/ -good for finding the level of a specific book
I have listed some of my personal favorites at the bottom of this page. Make sure you check the level and read the summary of the book to see if your child would be interested and if the content is appropriate.
Following Characters into Meaning
Reading comprehension is about more than just understanding the sequence of events in a story. Good stories include lessons and themes that help readers to understand their world and their place in it. In our first reading unit “Following Characters into Meaning”, a lot of attention will be placed on visualizing settings and empathizing with characters. Students with good skills in these areas are more apt to experience stories as the main character might. This connection makes the story more enjoyable and encourages thoughtful reading.
Thoughtful reading means that students are trying to understand a character’s motivations, traits, struggles, relationships and changes. Understanding these things helps the reader to understand the lessons and themes of the story. These lessons and themes are the ideas that can have an impact on how children understand and respond to the world around them.
In the unit “Following Characters into Meaning”, students will learn these skills and have a chance to discuss and practice applying them in their own reading. We will begin by learning about inference, theme (including lessons and internal story), and symbols. Then we will study visualizing and empathizing to get the students into the world of the story. In studying the characters, we will look at characters’ actions to infer the kind of person that they are, we will look at how they respond to struggles, how other characters react to them, and what objects they hold near. We will learn the difference between inference and prediction, and learn to hold the whole of the story in our minds to connect beginning, middle and end of the story to increase comprehension.
Throughout the unit, I will be reading The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate. As I read, students will be recording their thoughts on Thinkmarks. These strips of paper make each child’s thinking visible, they will inform me how a child interacts with text.
Some of my favorites
(I have listed a few that I have not read but have heard really good things about)
Giver, The
Becoming Naomi Leon
Where The Red Fern Grows
Walk Two Moons
Freak the Mighty
Music of Dolphins, The
Holes
Bud, Not Buddy
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,The
Cassie Binegar
Bridge to Terabithia
Taste of Blackberries
Journey
Great Gilly Hopkins, The
Shiloh
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Rules
Hatchet
Charlotte’s Web
Because of Winn Dixie
Hundred Dresses, The
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Amber Brown Goes Fourth
Journey to Jo’burg
Chasing Redbird
Janitor’s Boy
Circle of Gold
How to Steal a Dog
Esperanza Rising
Jacket, The
Giver, The
Watsons Go To Birmingham – 1963, The
Loser
There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
I, Amber Brown
Mississippi Bridge Logan Family Series
Encyclopedia Brown (Series)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Number the Stars
Little House on the Prairie
Poppy (Series)
Chronicles of Narnia Series, The
Cricket in Times Square, A
Spiderwick Chronicles
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
James and the Giant Peach
Maniac Magee
The One and Only Ivan
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg