4Th grade guided reading level

16 Of The Best Chapter Books For 4th Graders - Guided Reading Levels Q, R, And S

Learning at Home

ByMama Manages July 11, 2022July 22, 2022

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I was a 4th grade reading interventionist for two years, so I’ve had so much fun compiling this list of the best chapter books for 4th graders. In fact, this list was supposed to be just 10 books, but I couldn’t stop adding more of my favorites.

I decided to sort my list, just like the others, by guided reading level. Of course, you may have a struggling reader who is not on grade level, or a kiddo who is a year or more advanced. Not to worry; I have lists for other grade levels and topics, too.

Here are my other book recommendation posts:

Best Chapter Books for 2nd Grade Girls
Best Chapter Books for 3rd Graders
Best Fall Books to Read by the Fire
Our All-Time Favorite Picture Books
My 4 Year Old Can Read! Is that Normal?!
18 Outstanding Books for Middle School Boys

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from your clicks. Check out my full disclosure here.

1 How to Help Your 4th Grader Choose their Chapter Books

2 Best Chapter Books for 4th Graders on a Guided Reading Level Q

3 Best Chapter Books for 4th Graders on a Guided Reading Level R

4 Best Chapter Books for 4th Graders on a Guided Reading Level S

How to Help Your 4th Grader Choose their Chapter Books

These are the best chapter books for 4th graders; on average, they’ll read between a Q-S in the 4th grade. If your child is reading below grade level, don’t be afraid to check out my lists for 3rd and 2nd grade; you’ll still find some that will interest an older child.

If a child is super interested in the content of a book, they’ll sometimes be able to access books that are one reading level higher than you’d expect.

The reverse is also true, if the content bores them completely, they may not be able to read as well. That’s because motivation plays an important part in reading endurance and decoding ability.

For example, my daughter’s current guided reading level is an S. She’s a strong reader who will be entering 2nd grade soon. She’ll make quite a few decoding errors if she attempts to read a book on a guided reading level T. However, she absolutely loves fiction with a female protagonist and an element of fantasy or magic – books like Matilda by Roald Dahl, for example. She will push past her decoding mistakes and manage to have strong comprehension with books that fit this niche.

However, if she’s got to read nonfiction about animals like crocodiles or sharks, she will sometimes comprehend less of what she’s reading, even if it’s technically on grade level. This is normal behavior.

In other words – prioritize interest over exact reading level. The goal is to be in the ballpark on the reading level, and then choose the highest interest books for your child. This will foster a love of reading for your kiddo!

If there’s a book that I want my daughter to enjoy that’s outside her normal wheelhouse, I’ll often read the first few chapters with her at night. Sharing this family time together allows her to be more open minded about new books.

Best Chapter Books for 4th Graders on a Guided Reading Level Q

Kids at the beginning of 4th grade read at a level Q, on average. If you think your child reads more or less on grade level, start with this collection between August and November and see how it goes!

Best Chapter Books for 4th Graders on a Guided Reading Level R

On average, 4th graders read at a guided reading level R around the winter holiday.

Best Chapter Books for 4th Graders on a Guided Reading Level S

By the middle of spring, most 4th graders who are on track are reading at a guided reading level S. Here are some of my favorite choices.

I hope you found something to read with your kiddos from this book list! Good luck, parents and teachers!

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Mama Manages

📚 Making Sense of Reading Levels plus booklists for every Grade

Books to Read • Mom Stuff

August 30, 2021

by Beth Gorden

Anyone else completely confused by reading levels? There are guided reading levels, Lexile numbers, and Book Levels like the library uses. I found this especially confusing when my kindergarten and grade 1 students were beginning to read. I assumed you just get a beginner reader, but guess what – it’s NOT that easy! Many beginner readers are actually for 3rd graders! YIKES! Don’t worry, I can explain reading levels, give you book recommendations by grade, and take all the work out of finding your child the best books to read by reading level!

Making Sense of Reading Levels

What Level Books should my Child be reading by Grade!

I think one needs a masters degree in nonsense to make sense of reading levels! Seriously there are 3 different systems used: Lexile, Book Level (like most libraries) and Guided Reading (Scholastic) that parents must try to understand. And if you google it, there isn’t much useful information out there either.

I even talked with my local librarian who gave me a lot of misinformation, ugh! So I did deeper research so I could pick out readers for my kids.

Reading levels by grade

I don’t claim to be an expert on reading levels by any means, but for all you confused parents here is some help from a mom that was just as confused as you are!

Note: All kids read at their own pace and this is just an average generalization. Please work on reading books at your child’s reading level. For kids who are great readers, they may be reading at books above their reading level.

Don’t miss our hugely popular family Monthly Stories for Kids

Kindergarten Reading Level

Kindergartners are just beginning to read using some basic sight words and decoding simple words. In the library look for books labeled 0.1 – 1.3. For those using the Scholastic Guided Reading level, look for A, B, or C. (That is 25-75 in Lexile). Remember they need 30 minutes of daily reading; practice makes perfect!

50 Books for Kindergartners to Read by Themselves
45 Must Read Books for Kindergartners (Read Aloud)

First Grade Reading Level

1st Grade students are decoding more words, learning rule breaker rules, and adding more and more sight words. Through the course of the year they can be anywhere from a 1.0 – 1.9 for readers at the library. For those using Scholastic Guided Reading that is B-I or Lexile 50-275. Remember they need 30 minutes of daily reading; practice makes perfect!

100 Books for 1st Graders to Read Themselves
Favorite 1st Grade Read Aloud Picture Books
17+ 1st Grade Read Aloud Chapter Books you won’t want to miss!
Top 25 Chapter Book Series for 1st-3rd Grade

2nd Grade Reading Level

2nd Graders are reading well independently. Although they may start their year in advanced readers, most are ready for simple chapter books by the end of the year. Just like Kindergarten and 1st graders, they need lots of practice to continue advancing. Even though 2nd graders are reading well on their own, they still need time reading aloud to an adult who can help them correct pronunciation, flow, and check reading comprehension to ensure no issues creep up. At the library look for books labeled 1.6-2.9. Using a Guided Reading system look for H-M or 225-450 in Lexile.

Best 2nd Grade Reading List
2nd Grade Read Aloud Chapter Books
Top 25 Chapter Book Series for 1st-3rd Grade

3rd Grade Reading Level

3rd Graders are comfortable reading simple chapter books on their own. They continue to need lots of practice and time reading aloud as well. At the library look for books 2.2 – 3.9, Guided Reading level L-P, and Lexile 400-650.

3rd Grade Reading List
Top 25 Chapter Book Series for 1st-3rd Grade

4th-8th Grade Reading Level

Although at this point most kids are reading chapter books that are no longer labeled with a reading level, I wanted to give you some tools in case you feel the need to further assess what your child is reading.

4th Grade Book List – 3.3-5.5 Book Level, O-T Guided Reading, 600-850 Lexile
5th Grade Reading List – 5. 0-7.4 Book Level, S-W Guided Reading, 800-1000 Lexile
6th Grade 6.7-8.6 Book Level, V-Y Guided Reading, 950-1050 Lexile
7th &8th Grade 8.0-9.0 Book Level, X-Z Guided Reading, 1035-1100 Lexile

Find out any Books Reading Level

You can find out any books reading level (Lexile, library Book Level, and Scholastic Guided Reading) by checking AR Book Finder.

Free Printable Reading Logs

Monthly Reading Log – this free printable has ‘traditional’ monthly themes
Bookshelf Free Printable Reading Logs – super cute and fun for kids of all ages!
Pencil Free Printable Reading Logs -print reading worksheet and color a pencil for each book you read
Frozen Free Printable Reading Logs – kids will have fun tracking their reading and the books they’ve read with this motivating free printable for kids of all ages
Princess Free Printable Reading Logs – students will have fun tracking their reading with these free printable reading logs
Super Hero Free Printable Reading Logs – using a favorite theme of kids will encourage kids to read
Cars Free Printable Book Logs – children will have fun tracking the books they’ve read with these clever free reading log
Summer Free Printable Reading Logs – students will be motivated to read this summer with these ideas
Reading Comprehension Bookmarks – this is a great tool for making sure kids are understanding what they are reading
Reading Levels by Grade – how to pick the right books for every reading level and tons of printable book lists too

Book Report Idea

Looking for other ways to help kids work on reading comprehension and summarizing a book they read? Try these free resources:

Handy Reading Comprehension Bookmarks (any book: fiction or non fiction)
Book Report Template
Book Report for Kids
Pizza Book Report Idea
Sandwich Book Report Idea
26 more clever Book Report Ideas
Library Scavenger Hunt – help kids learn to navigate a library, the Dewey decimal system, book genres, and so much more with this pack of free printable scavenger hunts for kids!
Bookshelf Reading Log – to help encourage kids to read!

Plus, here are some great ideas for Creating a Reading Nook where kids will want to curl up and read a book!

About the author

Beth Gorden

Beth Gorden is the creative multi-tasking creator of 123 Homeschool 4 Me. As a busy homeschooling mother of six, she strives to create hands-on learning activities and worksheets that kids will love to make learning FUN! She has created over 1 million pages of printables to help teach kids ABCs, science, English grammar, history, math, and so much more! Beth is also the creator of 2 additional sites with even more educational activities and FREE printables - www.kindergartenworksheetsandgames.com and www.preschoolplayandlearn.com

standards for grades and quarters

Reading is a key skill that opens the gate to the land of knowledge for a child. Thanks to this skill, children learn about the phenomena and events of the world around them, get acquainted with the characters and actions of people, meet new problems and ideas. This skill helps them to broaden their horizons and ideas about the world, develops critical thinking and trains cognitive abilities - attention, imagination, memory. Reading is the foundation for further successful learning.

To understand how well a child develops this skill, it helps to check the reading technique. Reading technique is a multifactorial test that characterizes the development of a skill from different angles. In the technique of reading are evaluated:

reading speed,
reading method,
reading awareness,
correct reading,
expressiveness of reading.

A difficult reading skill consists of both a technical and a semantic component and is aimed at achieving the main goal - understanding and assimilation of the information read.

Reading technique parameters

Let's consider all the components of reading technique in more detail.

Reading speed - the number of words read in a certain period of time. Often, parents focus on the formation of fluent reading, while the child makes many mistakes, does not understand and does not remember what he read. It is not necessary to force only speed, slower conscious reading and a gradual increase in tempo are better than fast mechanical reading with errors and inaccuracies.
Way of reading — syllabic reading or reading the whole word, smoothly. With the development of the skill, the child has a gradual transition from syllabic reading to smooth reading in whole words.
The correct reading of is characterized by the absence of errors and hesitation. Inattention, problems of diction lead to inaccurate reading, indistinct articulation and, as a result, to a distortion of meaning. Pay attention to the correct reading - this will be the key to competent writing.
Reading awareness involves reading comprehension, awareness of the idea and meaning of the text, and in the future - this is the ability to catch the subtext, humor, irony, the attitude of the author. Interfering with reading comprehension can be low reading speed, distorted reproduction - guessing words, changing the shape of words, not reading endings.
Reading expressiveness - the use of pauses, finding the right intonation, the correct placement of stresses. The expressiveness of reading is inextricably linked with awareness. When understanding what is read, it is easier for the child to observe the necessary pauses, select the correct intonation and place logical stresses.

Reading speed standards for elementary school

GEF standards determine the desired reading speed for a child by a certain point in learning, help to understand whether the development of a skill is successful or whether additional attention is required. Standards - indicative values; it is important to take into account the individual psychophysiological characteristics of each child and evaluate the growth of his personal indicators.

Grade 1 reading speed standards

Reading speed standards in grade 2

Reading speed standards in grade 3

Reading velocity

Reading speed, to which it is necessary schools, is reading at the speed of conversational speech, 110-120 words per minute. The human articulatory apparatus has adapted to this speed over time. And most importantly, the reading should be conscious, correct, expressive.

How can I test my child's reading skills on my own?

Have your child see how well they read already. Children usually love to know how many centimeters they have grown, and they may also be interested in knowing their progress in reading. Warn about the upcoming test and ask the child to read quickly.

The control of reading technique in sensitive children who, due to their temperament, can hardly tolerate various tests, can be carried out imperceptibly or in the form of a game. Do not create unnecessary excitement around the upcoming test, do not arrange a test in the form of an exam. If the child is worried, stutters, transfer control to another time.

Verification process:

Prepare a clock with a second hand or use the stopwatch on your phone, and choose the appropriate text.
Ask the child to take a seat.
Show him the text and ask him to read it aloud.
Track the time from the moment your child starts reading. Not all children are able to immediately start reading on command, which leads to inaccurate results.
Usually, one minute is noted for checking, but some experts recommend taking 2 minutes for monitoring, since not all children are equally quickly included in the work. Divide the result obtained in 2 minutes in half.
Do not correct or interrupt while reading. It is better to discuss the mistakes made after the child has finished reading.
Assess the speed, correctness, awareness and expressiveness of reading.
Retest and compare results. Reading technique may differ depending on the child's fatigue, health status and mood.

Which text is suitable for verification?

Both fiction and non-fiction texts appropriate for the child's age are suitable for this purpose. The text should be unfamiliar, but understandable to the child, have educational and educational value. The texts of V. Bianchi, L. Tolstoy, N. Nosov, B. Zhitkov, K. Ushinsky, V. Dragunsky are suitable. The text for verification can be found in special manuals or in a textbook on the Russian language and literature.

You should find the text that is located on the spread of the book so that the child does not have to waste time turning pages. Choose text without an abundance of punctuation marks and distracting illustrations. It is not desirable that the passage contains common complex sentences and dialogues. The font must be large enough and legible. The text should not have a technical focus and contain terms incomprehensible to the child.

Test score

Speed score

Count how many words the child read in one minute. When counting words, pay attention:

prepositions, conjunctions, particles of 1-2 letters are counted as one word;
when wrapping, the word is counted as 2 words;
if the word is written with a hyphen, look at how many letters are on both sides of the hyphen: if there are more than three, we count it as 2 words, for example, "long, long", if less than three, for example, "somehow", - as one .

Compare your score with the recommended range and your child's previous performance.

Comprehension score

Determine how well the child understood what they read. If the student reads slowly and has read only a couple of sentences, let him read the passage to the end. Ask your child a few questions about the text. Ask what or who he read about. Ask the child to identify the main idea of what they read and retell the text.

For a deeper check of the meaning of the reading and learning, use special teaching kits.

Correctness assessment

Pay attention to whether the child reads what is written correctly, whether he pronounces words clearly, whether there are hesitations and corrections, whether he alters words, whether he changes endings, whether he places stresses correctly. Discuss the mistakes with the student.

Evaluation of expressiveness

To assess the expressiveness of reading, the child is offered a familiar text. Listen to whether the child observes pauses and other punctuation marks, whether he changes intonation, whether he highlights the main idea.

Improving reading technique

Poor results in reading technique are not a reason to be upset, but only a signal that additional efforts need to be made to improve the skill. You can work with the child on your own or contact a specialist who will analyze the weak points and select the appropriate exercises. Conduct additional activities with the child in the mode of "sparing reading" without pressure. It is more important to observe the regularity and frequency of classes: 10-20 minutes daily.

How can you motivate your child to read:

Reward your efforts with stickers, stars.
Mark progress visually - create a success board so your child can visually see their progress
Conduct activities in the form of a game, such as "going to the library" or "reading to your favorite toys. "
Choose books and texts that are interesting for your child.
Let the child read to pets, they are grateful and accepting listeners. Reading to them, the child is not afraid to make a mistake, he relaxes and overcomes the fear of failure.
Have a reading competition between peers and siblings.

To improve the speed of reading will help:

Reading by syllabic tables.
Multiple reading. Read the same text several times, increasing the pace. From the second time the child will be able to read faster.
"Tug". An adult leads a finger along the line, setting the pace. The child tries to read at a given pace.
Tops and roots. The child reads the words, covering the upper or lower half of the letters with a ruler.
Reading in a book turned upside down.
Lightning. Alternating reading at a comfortable pace with reading at the highest possible speed for 20 seconds on the command "Lightning!".
"Sprint". Reading speed competition between classmates.
Work on expanding the field of view according to Schulte tables.
Reading with a window to eliminate "regression" - recurrent eye movements that lead to repeated reading.

For correct reading:

Work on clear diction, do articulation exercises.
Read tongue twisters and tongue twisters.
Invite the child to correct the deformed sentences: "The weather is good on the street."
"Imaginary word". When reading, the wrong word is pronounced, the child must correct it.

Reading comprehension

Wave Reading. First, the child reads aloud, then retells what he read.
Drawing up a plan for reading.
The student reads to himself at a comfortable pace, tells what he understood and felt, what he thought about
Discuss unfamiliar words and expressions.
Invite the child to draw a picture of the passage they read.
Ask them to tell you what they liked about the text, what they remember.

For expressive reading

Role-playing, staging.
Put on a "radio show".
Expressive recitation of poems.
Voice flexibility training. The ability to speak quieter-louder, higher-lower.
Conducting reading indicating the tone or strength of the voice.
Live Picture. One reads, the other reacts with facial expressions.

Improving reading skills in elementary school is very important. It is fluent and meaningful reading that activates the processes of thinking, attention, memory and is the basis for a child's successful education in the future. This detailed instruction on reading technique control will help you track and improve your child's skill development.

Russian language for students in grades 1-4

We develop thinking skills, prepare for the Olympiads and improve the results of the Russian language in an interactive format

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Reading technique.

Norms 1-4 class.

Since many parents stubbornly refuse to understand what is the point of testing reading technique in elementary school (grades 1-4), I give up and publish reading norms. At the same time, I ask you to carefully read not only the quantitative norm of words per minute, but also my explanations both in the table and below it.

Reading Speed Standards Grades 1-4

→ Number of words may vary slightly depending on curriculum. Increased rates are given in parentheses.
→ Grade 1: no mark is given, the student "did" or "did not do it". In the first half of the year, the reading technique may not be carried out.

Grade	at the end of the first half of the year	at the end of the second half of the year
1 cl.	at least 10 - 15 (20 - 25) wpm	by 2 -> less than 15 (25) words per minute by 3 -> 15-19 (25-34) words by 4 -> 20-24 (35-40) words by 5 -> from 25 ( 41) words
2 cl.	2 -> less than 25 (40) wpm 3 -> 25-29 (40-48) wpm by 4 -> 30-34 (49-54) words by 5 -> from 35 (55) words	by 2 -> less than 40 (50) words per minute by 3 -> 40-44 (50-58) words by 4 -> 45-49 (59-64) words by 5 -> from 50 ( 65) words
3 cells	by 2 -> less than 40 (55) words per minute by 3 -> 40-49 (55-64) words by 4 -> 50-59 (65-69) words by 5 -> from 60 (70) ) words	by 2 -> less than 65 (70) words per minute by 3 -> 65-69 (70-79) words by 4 -> 70-74 (80-84) words by 5 -> from 75 (85) ) words
4 cells	by 2 -> less than 65 (85) words per minute by 3 -> 65-74 (85-99) words by 4 -> 75-84 (100-114) words by 5 -> from 85 (115) ) words	2 -> less than 70 (100) wpm 3 -> 70-88 (100-115) wpm by 4 -> 89-94 (116-124) words by 5 -> from 95 (125) words

Other reading parameters 1-4 class

Grade	at the end of the first half of the year	at the end of the second half of the year
1 cl.		Reading is conscious, correct, simple words are read as a word. Words with a complex syllabic structure can be read syllable by syllable.
2 cl.	Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. Compliance with logical stresses. Words of a complex syllabic structure can be read syllable by syllable.	Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. With observance of logical stresses, pauses and intonations. Syllabic reading is undesirable.
3 cells	Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. With observance of pauses and intonations, through which the student expresses understanding of the meaning of what is being read.	Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. With observance of pauses and intonations, through which the student expresses understanding of the meaning of what is being read.
4 cells	Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. With observance of pauses and intonations, through which the student expresses an understanding of the meaning of what is read, and his attitude to the content of what is read.	Reading consciously, correctly, in whole words. With observance of pauses and intonations, through which the student expresses an understanding of the meaning of what is read, and his attitude to the content of what is read.

Criteria when setting an estimate for reading technique:

- reading by syllables or word completely,

- Availability of errors when reading,

- number of words per minute,

- expressiveness,

- awareness.

can be clicked to enlarge

As you can see, the number of words read is not decisive.

That is, parents need to understand that such a concept as reading speed is only one of the criteria for determining the level of reading technology . way of reading is being checked : the child reads by syllables or the word is read by him smoothly, in its entirety. It is mandatory to check reading comprehension , in other words, whether the student understands what he has read or not. To do this, after reading, a question can be asked about the text, most often “What did you just read about?” and requires a simple answer (a detailed retelling is not needed 😉)

The expressiveness of reading, the presence of errors and / or stammers are also taken into account. Sometimes there is a return to re-reading the previous word, this indicates a lack of awareness and is considered a mistake.

It should also be taken into account that the standards for the speed (rate) of reading may differ depending on the educational institution, the requirements for a student of a gymnasium will be higher, for a student of a correctional class - lower.

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