Book lists by dra level
Printable leveled book list - The Measured Mom
PSPKK123May 18, 2017 • 74 Comments
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Looking for a leveled book list you can take to the library? Keep reading!
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IMPORTANT UPDATE: As I learn more about the science of reading and how our children learn to read, I have come to the conclusion that leveled books are not the best reading material for brand-new readers. Instead, they need a steady diet of high quality decodable books so they learn to pay attention to the letters and sounds right from the beginning. I will keep this post here, but I wanted to share this important insight.
Today’s post is for the parents who want to support their child’s beginning reading efforts at home – but they visit the library and don’t know where to begin.
Let’s talk easy reader book series.
- My First I Can Read
- Step Into Reading
- Hello Reader
- Ready to Read
- I can Read
And that’s just the beginning! The maddening thing is that each collection of books – and even books within the same series – are wildly different when it comes to reading level.
What’s a parent to do?
The first thing to do is understand guided reading levels. These are the levels that many teachers use when they teach small reading groups.
Level A
Level A books are hard to find at the library, because they’re very, very simple. In fact, teachers usually have to order these books from special publishing companies. But if you hunt, you can find a small collection at your library, such as the books listed above.
Level A books typically have predictable language patterns, high frequency words that are used over and over, and a single line of text per page.
Please note: As stated above, I no longer recommend using these early leveled books with brand new readers. They simply don’t have the phonics knowledge to read the words, and using only leveled books can lead to the bad habit of guessing.
Level B
Level B books are very similar to A books, but they may have two lines of text on a page. There is a direct correspondence between the text and the pictures; the print is clear and easy to read. Like level A, level B books are in short supply unless you special order them.
Level C
Level C books are longer than level B books, but they still have only a few lines of text per page. The pictures are still very important in supporting meaning. Some level C books use pattern and repetition.
Level D
As you move into level D, you will notice that the stories are slightly more complex. The illustrations support the text, but children will need to pay more attention to the print.
Words often contain more inflectional endings, such as ing, ed, and s.
Here I am again! We want all readers to pay attention to print from the very beginning. You can see that these early levels don’t require much of that at all because kids can use pictures and predictable text to “read” many of the books. Contact me via the support tab if you’re looking for quality decodable books.
Level E
As we move to higher levels, the amount of text gradually increases. Level E books have 3-8 lines of text per page. Stories are more complex, and repeating patterns are less frequent. While the illustrations are helpful, students will need to do more problem solving to figure out new words.
Sigh. When I originally wrote this post I wrote that kids would need to do “more” problem solving to figure out new words. Now I understand that they should be sounding out words from the very beginning so they can orthographically map the words.
Not sure what that means? Contact me via the support tab.
Level F
Since level F texts are slightly longer than level E, the print is smaller. Text carries more of the meaning, and children need to use sight word knowledge as they read. Unlike lower level books, level F books have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Level G
These books contain more challenging ideas and vocabulary, and the sentences are longer than lower level books. Level G books introduce children to new vocabulary.
Level H
Level H books are very similar to level G, but the vocabulary and language continue to get more complex. There is less repetition as the books continue to sound more like stories.
Level I
Level I books have a more complex story structure. Illustrations provide low support, and there are more sentences on each page.
Level J
I have found level J to be a magical level.
Many, many wonderful books are written for children at level J. Even better – many come in a series. At this point your child is starting to read fluently and maybe even read in his head. Level J books often have short chapters, include dialogue, and have a clear font with space between the lines.
Level K
Level K books are simple, but slightly longer than level J books. Chapters are short. The books include illustrations on most pages, but they are not essential to understanding the text. Layout is still reader-friendly; level K books have a large, clear font with clear spaces between the lines.
Update
As stated many times in the above post, I no longer recommend the early levels (about levels A-G) for early readers because kids really need to sound out words as they learn to read.
It’s all about helping them permanently store the words in their sight vocabulary. Research tells us that this happens when kids match the sounds to the letters (fancy words: phonemes to the graphemes), and it’s hard for them to do this when they’re not looking at the words at all, but rather looking at pictures to solve words.
I know that many teachers still use the early levels with young readers (I certainly did until diving deep into the research led me to reconsider).
But if you are teaching brand new readers, let me encourage you to use decodable text instead. Search “decodable” in the site’s search bar. In the future I’ll be adding free decodable texts to this website.
Free Reading Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade
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Filed Under: Reading, Leveled book lists Tagged With: first grade, second grade, kindergarten
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How to Determine the Reading Level of a Book
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Fountas and Pinnell, Lexile Level, Primer, Pre-primer, Beginning Reader are all terms you may have heard if you have a young reader in your house. Seriously, what does it all mean? Is there actually a way how to determine the reading level of a book? If your child can read The Cat in Hat, which is a level J in Guided Reading, can she independently tackle Diary of a Worm, which has a Lexile Level of 510L or is she ready for Keena Ford and the Second Grade Mix-Up, even though that one has a DRA of 30?
Through this post, I am going to attempt to elucidate and explain reading levels. So scroll through to find the system that your child’s teacher uses or pour yourself a large cup of coffee and sift through all of the various ways educators, librarians, and book publishers level and categorize books for young readers.
Reading Levels Are Like Starbucks Sizes
I admit, I don’t visit Starbucks unless I have a gift card.
I am also that person who goes to Starbucks and still tries to order a large iced tea. The barista calmly asks if I would like a venti or a trenta and then explains that I need to choose between Passion Tango, Matcha Green, or Guava White Tea. Then comes the question of sweetened, unsweetened, or added lemonade.
For the young reader, finding a book that can be read independently can be as tricky as remembering all of the variables in a Starbucks order. Little readers who are not familiar with reading levels or taught to find a “good fit book” often go for books that are too easy and boring, too difficult and frustrating, or, like my kindergarten son, books that have too many unreadable Star Wars planet names like Kashyyyk. If a child knows her reading level, she can find books that contain sight words she knows, plot lines that are not too advanced, and vocabulary that is manageable.
Explain the Levels, Please
There are many different ways that books are leveled. Here are the three most popular methods for how to determine the reading level of a book.
Developmental
Children become readers by moving through different developmental reading stages. These stages range from the emergent pre-reader to the expert fluent reader. Typically, the emergent pre-reader is between six months and six years of age, while the expert fluent reader is 16 years and older. The developmental categories are broader categories than many of the other leveling systems.
Letter Levels
When I taught first and second grade, I found letter levels to be the most kid friendly way to organize a classroom library. If your child’s school levels books using Fountas and Pinnell, Reading A-Z, Scholastic Books, or Guided Reading Levels, then books will be leveled using a letter system. While it would be nice, these leveling systems do not always correlate. A book that is a Reading A-Z Level P, is not always a Level P using the Guided Reading Levels.
Number Levels
Books can be leveled through such systems as Lexile Numbers, The Direct Reading Assessment (DRA), and Reading Recovery.
These systems measure texts by complexity and a reader’s skill level and then assign a number.
I Have My Child’s Reading Level, Now What?
Throughout the school year, your child’s teacher will probably perform reading inventories or assessments with your child. These will determine your child’s reading level.
If you homeschool or your child’s school does not use leveled reading, then use a simple test called the “five finger test” to roughly determine your child’s reading level. Have your child choose a book and open to the second page. Ask your little one to read the text out loud. If your child struggles with independently reading five or more words on that page, the book is too difficult and is not a good fit. You should also ask some comprehension questions to make sure that your young reader understands what she is reading. When a book passes the five finger test, use one of the links below to determine that book’s reading level.
Once you have the reading level, take a look at these five helpful websites, apps, and charts that will help you and your child find or level the perfect book:
- Book Wizard : Type in the title of a book to retrieve the Guided Reading Level and grade level.
- Lexile Find-a-Book :Visit this site to find the Lexile Number for a specific book or to generate a list of books with a particular Lexile Number.
- Reading A-Z Level Correlation Chart : This is the best conversion chart out there for reading levels.
- Reading Levels Explained : Check out this very clean and user friendly site if you are still feeling overwhelmed by all of the reading level systems.
- Literacy Leveler app : Download this app and then use it to scan a book’s ISBN to see its Lexile, DRA, and GRL.
Levels Should be Helpful, Not Stressful
Reading levels should not feel restrictive. They should be used as helpful tools and not as a draconian system that kills the love of reading. Encourage your child to read books on her level, but don’t be upset if she chooses to reread an old favorite or picks up a nonfiction book that has some advanced vocabulary. Imagine how horrible it would be if adults had to always adhere to a reading level.
I am well aware of the fact that some of my beach reads are probably a fourth grade reading level, with a Guided Reading Level of Q, 820L, and DRA of 40. I may not always be challenged as a reader, but it is still fun to sip my trenta Passion Tango unsweetened iced tea and enjoy a book simply for the fun of reading.
Need some books to practice leveling? Help yourself to 50 Must-Read Books for Beginning Readers, 20 Must-Read Books for First Graders and Second Graders, The Best Chapter Books for Kids: Engaging with Words, and 70 Must-Read Books for 3rd Graders.
School reading list for the summer surprised parents
Not only is the list itself huge. Why is there so many "adult" works in it? On what basis is literature selected? About this "RG" talks with a teacher of Russian language and literature of the Moscow school N 57, editor-in-chief of the magazine "Literature" Sergei Volkov.
Sergey Vladimirovich, how do literature teachers make reading lists for the summer?
Sergey Volkov: There are several approaches.
Some teachers make a list of what will be taught in the classroom: so that the children are ready, so that they find books in advance and can bring them to class. On the other hand, it is understandable: if a child reads all the main works in the summer, then by the middle of the school year they will lose their "first impression" sharpness for him. And repetition may no longer interest him. Therefore, the second strategy is not to reveal all the cards, but to give something that may be simply interesting to the child, which will broaden his horizons, books "around the program." Therefore, extended lists appear, from which you can choose something on vacation and read for pleasure.
So you don't have to read everything?
Sergey Volkov: No. The logic of the list you were sent is clear to me. It is built on the intersection of two strategies. The teacher acted honestly: here is the main literature, and here is the additional one, here's what to read in the summer, and here's what you need for the lessons.
And the mandatory "set" here is relatively small.
Please note that teachers are not free in many ways, because they must pass works that are included in the standard and programs. All lines of textbooks are oriented to the standard. And they have such works that children at the age of 12 may not be interested in, but which the teacher must go through.
Another problem: in the same 7th grade there are only 2 literature lessons per week, 68 lessons per year. Many books during this time you will not read and will not discuss plainly. And the programs are massive. On the other hand, the teacher knows some other books that can "hook" the child so that he starts reading. And he also wants to touch on these works. When? Sometimes this happens at extracurricular reading, during class hours, or even in conversations at breaks. Well, there is Yuri Koval on the sent list. How without it? He is beautiful. And even if it is not in the program, it is necessary to slip it to the children.
So the teacher has to get out.
Do you still have questions about the content of the list?
Sergey Volkov: Yes. In my opinion, including poems in this list, even if they are historical ballads, means "shooting past." All the same, seventh graders will not read them on their own. In the summer it is not necessary, it will be enough to read for the lesson of literature. And the list would immediately decrease - look, among the "hundred works" that horrified the parent, there are many poems.
You also need to understand that the list presented is focused on the program of Tamarchenko and Streltsova, this is a program for humanitarian-oriented classes, not for general education. There are such classes in gymnasiums and lyceums, and there are more reading lists in them.
Understand that a teacher is not an enemy who has loaded a child with unnecessary reading. For him, the list problem is very difficult. On the one hand, I want to give a lot so that the child sees this "sea" and can choose from it.
On the other hand, someone may be discouraged by these volumes. And if parents perceive the list for the summer as a heavy gravestone, this, of course, is sad. If parents disagree with something, if they have questions, these questions should be asked. First of all, the teacher. The school is now open to dialogue. Many educators are active on social media. We have phones, e-mail - ask.
Some works from the school list are seriously studied by students of the philological faculty: Schwartz, Astafiev, Bedier, Cervantes... For example, can 12-year-olds master such a serious novel as Don Quixote?
Sergey Volkov: Many works at school are given "for growth". In middle school, children develop very differently. Some already read serious literature and experience it, while others are only fascinated by comics or science fiction. And such a large list gives a chance to "hook" everyone. We must be aware that a significant part of the school curriculum is generally not written for children.
"Don Quixote", "Crime and Punishment", "War and Peace", "Dead Souls", "Eugene Onegin" were written for no 9-graders, nor for 10th graders. They are written for the adult reader. And when a teacher gives a large and complex list of references, he - there is such a hope - understands what he is doing. It focuses primarily on a specific class, on its capabilities and interests.
Cervantes is studied in the 7th grade, of course, not in full. From the novel, children read only selected, brightest chapters that made the image of the protagonist eternal. "Don Quixote" in the arrangement for children has existed for a long time. Getting to know him is a good thing. Many times I witnessed how in the seventh grade the chapters of the novel were read with interest, how the children wrote vivid works on them.
In general, if children are not told that something is difficult, then they absorb serious literary works like a sponge.
To include poems in this list, even if they are historical ballads, means to "shoot past".
Seventh-graders will not read them on their own
We had a great teacher, Zoya Alexandrovna Blyumina, working in the 57th school: she read Pasternak's Second Ballad, a very complicated poem for adults, to the fifth-graders. Read aloud in class. One, two, three. The children did not understand everything, they simply repeated after her, felt the rhythm, the magic of words, these poems began to live in them - and they themselves asked: "Let's read Pasternak."
When I was a student and my son was just born, the teacher of Georgian literature gave me, a young parent, an automatic credit. But with the condition that I read to my son, when he grows up, the poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin." Then, of course, I easily promised it: if only they would set the test. And when the son grew up, he remembered this word. And he began to read the poem translated by Zabolotsky as a child. Difficult syntax, fancy words, unusual rhythm. It seems that nothing is clear, but the son demanded more and more.
And not because he is some kind of special - just beautiful and strong fascinates. Then the same trick was repeated with the second son...
So the encounter with a complexly organized work can have a very beneficial effect on children. The main thing here is not to force, not to "shove" something forcibly, but to allow the child to swim in it, to give as much as he can learn.
How to teach a child to love literature?
Sergei Volkov: Is it possible to teach a person to love? The maximum that you can, be interested in yourself, read, enthusiastically talk about it, read aloud ... When a child watches an adult living in literature, he asks himself: what did he find in these books? This is how interest is born.
One day a schoolboy realizes that he suddenly gets pleasure from reading and discussing an interesting book. This is a special magic, we must own it at least partially. There are no exact recipes: here you need charm, charisma, and technological know-how.
And a schoolboy should also read in the summer:
- "The Song of Roland"
- W. Scott "Rob Roy"
- N. Aseev "Blue Hussars"
- E. Baratynsky "Ring"
- G.R. Haggard "Fair Margaret"
- A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky "Test"
- The Arthurian and Knights of the Round Table novels
- G.K. Chesterton "Sapphire Cross"
- A. Daudet "The Extraordinary Adventures of Tartarin of Tarascon"
- M. Druon "Tistu - a boy with green fingers"
- I. Efremov "On the edge of the ecumene"
Opinion
Efim Rachevsky, national teacher of Russia, director of the education center No. 548 "Tsaritsyno":
- The list of literature for the summer is recommended, not mandatory. Teachers compose it on the basis of the educational program adopted at the school. And that, in turn, is based on the exemplary program recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science.
The situation, in my opinion, is absurd. All the necessary works in a good way can be read during the school year. And the lists for the summer are a tribute to a tradition that has been going on since the days of the USSR. The Soviet Union had the longest holidays in the world. And, as they say, "the less busy the troops, the faster they decay." Therefore, teachers loaded schoolchildren with literature so that the children "did not relax."
What should a parent do when they see this list? First of all, don't panic. Choose with your child the most interesting works for them and read for your pleasure. No one will force them to master the entire volume. I won’t reveal a big secret if I say that few teachers ask on September 1 whether the students have read the list of literature for the summer. The fact that the guys will master the entire list, no one expects from them.
Julius Gusman, film director:
- I think that Miguel Cervantes' Don Quixote is not only correct, but must be read in the sixth grade.
I myself read it in elementary school - in the second grade, and everything was clear to me. This book is much better than the "garbage" that is lying around in our bookstores. Thank God Don Quixote is on the sixth grade reading list. You can be calm for the compilers of extracurricular reading programs for schoolchildren. A very smart choice.
Pavel Lungin, director:
- I think it's too early to read "Don Quixote" in the sixth grade. I remember that I first picked up this book at about the same time and did not understand it. And he remained in my memory as a rather boring and incomprehensible book. I didn't understand the whole game. I tried to return to Cervantes later, but, to be honest, I did not return. It is generally very dangerous to start reading some works too early. Therefore happy are those who read Dostoevsky in adulthood, and those who returned to War and Peace after school. Although the question is, of course, debatable. If you close your eyes and pretend in the sixth grade that "Don Quixote" does not exist, then no one will pick it up later.
It's such an eternal contradiction. It is necessary to expand one's knowledge of culture and literature, but, unfortunately, the pleasure from culture and from books is "smeared" at an early age.
Alexander Kabakov, writer:
- I read Cervantes' Don Quixote at about the same age. Don Quixote is one of the world's greatest novels. The book is great for everyone. A wonderful idea in itself for a hero who finds himself in a crazy future, being more normal than everyone else. In fact, from the characters of "Don Quixote" a huge number of other characters of all world literature have grown. Suffice it to recall Prince Myshkin from Dostoyevsky's The Idiot. Don Quixote is the universal pattern of the novel. I think that "Don Quixote" is one of those books that you need to re-read many times. The first time in the sixth or seventh grade, and then as an adult. The book is simply a must-read. Postponing the first reading of different, as it seems to many, "adult" works is wrong, because in this way you can postpone all literature, including War and Peace.
If reading is put off, then it will be very difficult to take up these books at a later age. If a person at the age of thirty picks up Don Quixote for the first time in his life, then he simply will not be able to read it to the end.
Elena Postnova, candidate of philological sciences, member of the Union of Artists of Russia, mother of a fifth-grader:
- A list of references is a good "cheat sheet" for a parent. Every summer my son and I sit down and choose books from him together. Now the child is fascinated by the stories of Jack London, before that he read Stevenson's "Treasure Island" and other books. I'm thinking of offering him The Adventures of Oliver Twist by Dickens. All the works from the school list are the best examples of world literature, the most worthy examples that adults would do well to re-read. But to master the entire list over the summer is a utopia. Therefore, teachers give a lot of choice, and every family can find something for themselves.
And everywhere - very different traditions. Somewhere the guys read "Eugene Onegin" already at the age of 12, and somewhere they don't even sit down to read a book.
Prepared by Ksenia Kolesnikova and Natalia Sokolova
The Guardian compiled a list of 100 major books of the 21st century - Read on DTF
Literary critics of The Guardian compiled a list of 100 major books of the 21st century, which included both debutant authors (for example, the Irish Sally Rooney - "Salinger for the Snapchat Generation") and Nobel laureates in literature (Kazuo Ishiguro, Svetlana Aleksievich, Bob Dylan, Alice Munro). Reviewers did not ignore non-fiction, memoirs and comics. In the words of the poet Lev Oborin, it turned out to be "a delicate balance of pop, engagement and diversity." Knife translated the list into Russian.
- "I hate my neck", Nora Ephron
- Broken glass by Alain Mabancou
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
- Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara
- Chronicles.
Volume 1, Bob Dylan - "Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
- Darkmans, Nicola Barker
- Blockade, Helen Dunmore
- "Light", M. John Harrison
- Visit Home by Jenny Erpenbeck
- Bad Blood by Lorna Sage
- Tic Tac Toe by Malorie Blackman
- "Priest", Patricia Lockwood
- “Adults in the house. Unequal Struggle with the European Deep State”, Janis Varoufakis
- God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
- The Cost of Living, Deborah Levy
- Tell Me How It Ends, Valeria Luiselli
- Coraline in Nightmareland by Neil Gaiman
- Harvest, Jim Crace
- "The Story of Your Life" by Ted Chan
- Spirit Level by Richard G.
Wilkinson and Kate Pickett - "The Fifth Season" by N. K. Jemisin
- Signs of the End of the World, Yuri Herrera
- "Think Slow... Decide Fast" by Daniel Kahneman
- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Olga Tokarczuk
- Endless Days, Sebastian Barry
- "There is nothing to envy", Barbara Demick
- The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff
- Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware
- Scandalous Diary by Zoe Heller
- Hobby, Javier Marias
- The Devoted Gardener by John le Carré
- Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
- "Seven Studies in Physics", Carlo Rovelli
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- How to Write Books by Stephen King
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
- Mother's Milk by Edward St.
Aubyn - Sorrow House, Helen Garner
- Dart, Alice Oswald
- The Beauty of the Husband, Ann Carson
- Postwar, Tony Judt
- The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
- Underland, Robert McFarlane
- "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
- Women and Power by Mary Beard
- True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
- Little Island, Andrea Levy
- Brooklyn Colm Toybin
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
- "Why be happy when you can be normal?" , Janet Winterson
- Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
- Persepolis, Marjan Satrapi
- "Chain of Man", Seamus Heaney
- Levels of Life, Julian Barnes
- Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit
- Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankin
- "Money Ball.
How Math Changed the World's Most Popular Sports League by Michael Lewis - Atonement, Ian McEwan
- Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
- "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith
- Beauty Line by Alan Hollinghurst
- Greenway, Anne Enright
- "Experience", Martin Amis
- "Hare with Amber Eyes", Edmund de Waal
- Outline, Rachel Jask
- Fun House, Alison Bechdel
- “King of all diseases. Biography of Cancer, Siddhartha Mukherjee
- The Argonauts, Maggie Nelson
- Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
- A Death in the Family, Carl Ove Knausgaard
- Rapture, Carol Ann Duffy
- "The Bear Crossed the Mountain" by Alice Munro
- Capital in the 21st Century by Tom Piketty
- Ordinary People by Sally Rooney
- Goon's Troop Visit, Jennifer Egan
- Noon Demon: Anatomy of Depression by Andrew Solomon
- "The Tenth of December" by George Saunders
- Sapiens.
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