Not about the Level, All about the Student

Listening to the podcast between Dr. Betsy Baker and Dr. Heidi Anne Mesmer about text complexity, I started thinking about leveled readers and leveled texts.  As an aunt, it was helpful to know what reading level my nieces were at, so that I could by them books that they would be able to read independently.  It was convenient to walk into a book store, seek out the Level 2 books and find one that fit my nieces’ interests. 

 

Now that I am preparing to be a teacher, I see that there is a lot more to developing readers than just matching them up with their appropriate levels.  As Dr. Mesmer said on the podcast, “leveling is a nice place to start,” and she continues by telling us that when choosing a book for a student you want to find one that is challenging and stimulating; it should be one they can read and want to read.  

So how do we find a book that is both challenging and stimulating?  We can start with the leveled books; but, as indicated by the article Let’s Start Leveling about Leveling by Kath Glasswell and Michael Ford, it is up to us as teachers to use our professional judgment to use these texts in a manner that will promote reading proficiency.  The key is actually to focus on the student, not the book, and what that student needs – work within their zone of proximal development.  Don’t be rigid in the student’s level.  If he needs more comprehension instruction, then put him in a small group with others that need comprehension instruction.  If he needs to develop self-monitoring strategies for meaning, then put him in a group with others who need to develop these strategies, even if they are not in the same level.  Whatever the needs of your students are, be sure that you have built your book collection to include various text styles as well as many different topics so that you can engage students based on their interests.

So now you might be wondering, how do I determine what type of instruction to use?  Gretchen Owocki and Yetta Goodman help us to answer that in their book Kidwatching: Documenting Children’s Literacy Development.  Chapter 6: Oral Reading and Miscues, tells us that a miscue analysis helps a teacher to understand a student’s reading strategy, and it shows which problem solving strategies they are using to decode a text.  The miscue analysis is not just for the teachers though.  It is important for the student to also reflect on her miscues and the strategies she is using to create understanding.  Going over it together will help the student to know her own processes and will build her confidence.  The teacher can then determine which small group activities will benefit the student the most and can help her to select appropriate texts, choosing not based on level, but based on her needs.