Reading lexile levels for books
About Lexile Codes - Lexile
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Skip to main contentLexile measures helps you find books at the right reading level to match your child’s reading abilities, putting them on the path to success in school, college and careers. Our quantitative text complexity metric should serve as a starting point, as there are other factors to consider. To help you find books that are also aimed at your intended usage and are written for your child’s age, many books also receive Lexile codes.
You’ll see the two-letter code listed in front of the Lexile measure. For example, some children’s books seem simple, but are better when adults read them out loud to children. A book like this might get a two-letter designation — AD, or Adult Directed — which appears before the Lexile measure. A book labeled “AD580L” means that the book’s text can be read and understood by children reading at or near a Lexile measure of 580L, but that the content may be geared towards younger children.
Examples of the AD code, as well as the other text codes, are listed below. In addition, Spanish titles with Lexile measures can also receive these codes.
For each of these codes, more information and examples can be found below.
- AD: Adult Directed: Better when read aloud to a student rather than having the student read independently.
- NC: Non-Conforming: Good for high-ability readers who still need age-appropriate content.
- HL: High-Low: Content to engage older students who need materials that are less complex and at a lower reading level.
- IG: Illustrated Guide: Nonfiction materials often used for reference.
- GN: Graphic Novel: Graphic novels or comic books.
- BR: Beginning Reader: Appropriate for emerging readers with a Lexile reader measure below 0L.
- NP: Non-Prose: Poems, plays, songs, recipes and text with non-standard or absent punctuation.
Picture books are often labeled AD, or “adult directed,” because they are usually read to a child, rather than a child reading them independently.
Picture a parent reading a book to a child on the sofa, or a teacher reading a book aloud to the class. Although these books seem like easy reading, some picture books can still present a challenging independent reading experience to an age-appropriate reader for reasons of text difficulty, book layout or design.
Take the example of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (HarperCollins Publishers), a beloved read-aloud book for preschoolers. However, it has a Lexile text measure of 740L, which is around the average reading ability for a child completing fourth grade. When you look closely at the text, you can see why it gets a “higher” Lexile text measure than the intended audience. The sentences are long and contain fairly high-level vocabulary such as “mischief,” “private,” “gnash” and “rumpus.” The parent or educator would help the preschooler sound these words out and decipher these long sentences. Therefore, the book is coded AD (adult directed) and the measure is AD740L.
Additionally, picture books can have design elements that may visually complicate reading for a child. Factors such as font size, typeface, page layout, legibility and the relationship between pictures and text may significantly impact reading comprehension. The story and illustrations in Where the Wild Things Are are perfect for young children. But the lines of the text are close together and the sentences are spread over multiple pages, often in long horizontal lines. These design elements may challenge a child’s ability to read the book independently even if the text difficulty is well matched. Initially, a more advanced reader may need to read the book with a child.
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NC: Non-ConformingSometimes, high-ability readers have trouble finding books that challenge their reading skills but still have age-appropriate content. The NC code helps identify these books, which have received a higher Lexile text measure but are appropriate for a younger audience.
For example, Seymour Simon’s Amazing Aircraft (SeaStar Books) is coded NC900L. Its spine reads “grades 1-3,” but its Lexile measure is higher than a typical early elementary school student’s ability range. This book might be hard to read for most students in grades 1-3, but engaging and challenging for students with above-average reading abilities. Therefore, the book is coded as NC (non-conforming) and would be appropriate for a student in grades 1-3 with a Lexile reader measure at or near 900L.
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HL: High-LowA text designated as “HL” has a Lexile text measure much lower than the average reading ability of the intended age range of its readers. Librarians and booksellers sometimes refer to young adult books with disproportionately low Lexile measures as “high-low” books, meaning “high-interest” plus “low-readability.” These books receive an HL code. Fiction HL books are often useful when matching older (grade seven and beyond) struggling or reluctant readers with text at both an appropriate difficulty level and an appropriate developmental level.
Despite their short sentences and basic vocabulary, HL books are designed to appeal to readers at a more mature developmental level. For example, Beth Goobie’s Sticks and Stones (Orca Soundings) is classified as a young adult book and measures 430L — the average Lexile reader measure for second graders. The book’s characters are high-school students who struggle with the many challenges that face high-school students such as dating and gossip. Therefore, the book is coded HL430L.
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IG: Illustrated GuideThe IG code is applied to books that consist of independent pieces or sections of text such as in an encyclopedia or glossary. These text pieces could be moved around without affecting the overall linear flow of the book. Nonfiction IG books are often used as a reference resource rather than read in their entirety like a storybook. Their distinguishing text characteristics include:
- technical vocabulary, definitions and pronunciation guides in parentheses or contrasting type
- integration of illustrations and diagrams into the text
- pull-quotes, factoids and other categorical marginalia
- the presentation of each discrete topic on one to two pages
These text characteristics do not necessarily impact reading comprehension or developmental appropriateness.
Instead, the IG code conveys an idea of the kind of book and what the book typically will be used for in the classroom or library
Birds of Prey by Dr. Gerald Legg (Franklin Watts Library) is coded IG. Separate paragraphs are arranged upon the page, functioning more like multiple-sentence captions. A particular reading order is neither indicated by the layout nor important to comprehension. Thus the book measure is IG980L.
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GN: Graphic NovelThe GN code indicates that the book is a graphic novel or comic book. The text of GN books appears primarily in voice or thought bubbles integrated into comic book-style illustrations. Graphic novels tend to contain a larger percentage of dialogue than most other genres of books. They also typically lack some of the required text conventions of dialogue, such as putting “she said” after a quoted sentence, because illustrations are used to indicate spoken text. The impact of picture support on reading comprehension is not captured in the Lexile measure of a graphic novel.
To Dance: A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel (Aladdin), written by Siena Cherson Siegel and illustrated by Mark Siegel, is coded as GN610L.
Also see this article from Edutopia about the instructional value of using graphic novels and comics in the classroom.
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BR: Beginning ReaderBeginning Reader (BR) is a code given to readers and text that are below 0L on the Lexile scale. In some cases, for readers, a BR code is followed by a number and L (e.g., BR150L). A Lexile reader measure of BR150L indicates that the Lexile measure of the reader is 150 units below 0L. The lower the number following the BR code, the more advanced the reader or text is. The higher the number, the less complex the text is or less skilled the reader is.
Note that Beginning Reader (BR) is the only Lexile code that applies to both readers and text. All other codes apply only to text. Learn more about the Beginning Reader code and the recent enhancements to more precisely match beginning reader to text.
Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann (Random House) is a BR book with a Lexile measure of BR50L.
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NP: Non-ProseSome books don’t receive Lexile text codes because they aren’t prose. These books might feature poems, plays, songs, recipes and text with non-standard or absent punctuation. The NP code is for any book comprising more than 50% non-standard or non-conforming prose. NP books do not receive a Lexile measure, merely the NP code.
An example of a book coded NP is Maurice Sendak’s Alligators All Around (HarperTrophy). The text of the book is not in complete sentences and lacks punctuation entirely. The text difficulty of such a book cannot currently be assigned a Lexile measure.
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Have more questions about finding the appropriate book for your child?
Visit the Lexile® Find a Book tool or our Lexile Support Center.
Introduction - Reading and Lexile Scores
What is a Lexile Score?
A Lexile score is a standard score that matches a Grade 1-12 student’s reading ability with the difficulty of the reading material.
When the reader's score and that of the reading material are the same, the student is expected to read with 75% comprehension – difficult enough to be challenging without undue frustration and to encourage reading progress.
Scores range from 200 to 1700.
Lexile measures are a measure of text difficulty. They do not address age-appropriateness, student interest or the quality of the text.
Google does not use Lexile scores, and while in the past Google Advanced Search used to rate websites as beginning, intermediate or advanced reading level - Google no longer offers this feature. However, an alternative way to search and obtain results with reading levels marked is here: Choosito.com Search.
This site http://www.lexile.com/ will let you enter your lexile level range and find a list of books that not only meet your lexile requirements, but your interests, i.e. social issues or technology, and your age range. However, the age range is limited to 18 years and younger.
You can also see if a particular book is listed to learn the lexile level.
Sample Lexile Texts
Examples of Reading Levels
This Lexile map shows texts matched to levels of reading ability. The literature titles and reading selections are examples that range from 200L to 1700L on the Lexile scale.
Lexile Grade Level
Lexile-to-Grade Correspondence
Student's Guide to Lexiles
This guide gives Grades 1-12 students practical information about Lexiles—what they are, what they mean, and how students can use them to find reading materials that match their reading abilities and interests.
Perhaps you already recognize the term “Lexile” as the reading level number for an article in an EBSCOhost database search. Or maybe you know that a Lexile is a measure of your reading ability based on your score from a reading test.
But do you know what the number really means?
How Can Lexiles Help Me Find Reading Materials?
Lexiles can help you find books and articles based on your individual reading ability and interests. For example, if you are a 980L reader, you should be able to read and understand most texts at this level. It is best to find materials within a range of 100L below and 50L above your Lexile measure. Texts below 980L will be easier to read; texts above 980L will be more challenging.
I don’t know my Lexile measure. Can I get a Lexile measure from EBSCOhost, based on the magazines I like to read?
If you or your teachers do not know your actual Lexile measure, you can use a school library or public library EBSCOhost database to estimate your reading ability. Log into EBSCOhost on your library’s computer and choose a database with Lexiles, such as Primary Search, Middle Search Plus or MAS Ultra.
On the Basic Search screen, check Full Text, then type in a magazine name in the Publication field. Click Search. EBSCOhost will bring up all of the articles from that magazine. Each article will have a different Lexile measure, which will give you a general idea of the magazine’s reading level.
Lexile Framework for Reading GL Education Group (April 14, 2011)
Examples of Reading Levels (Framework)
This Lexile map shows texts matched to levels of reading ability. The literature titles and reading selections are examples that range from 200L to 1700L on the Lexile scale.
Lexile Framework for Reading for Parents and Educators
The educators and researchers at MetaMetrics created the Lexile Framework for Reading to transform the world of education with a research-driven, scientific system to help all readers navigate the path to success in school, college and careers.
Reading
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How to read books in English
Choose books according to your level of knowledge
You shouldn't read Dickens in the original if your level is Elementary, but you shouldn't take Beginner level books either. In the first case, the language will be too complicated for you, and the abundance of unfamiliar words will force you to constantly refer to the dictionary. Because of this, you will lose the thread of the narrative and, as a result, will stop reading.
In the second case, the text will be too simple for you, and you will not endure any new vocabulary for yourself. By the way, if you have not studied for a long time, we recommend that you evaluate your current level of English proficiency.
Choose what interests you
Don't torture yourself with classics if you like detective stories, and vice versa. Currently, you can find adapted literature for every taste, not to mention non-adapted.
Use a dictionary
As a rule, adapted books come with their own mini-dictionary where you can look up unfamiliar vocabulary. If you read non-adapted literature, use any dictionaries convenient for you, but never use online translators! The best dictionaries are those that give multiple meanings of a word, and provide context for each.
So you looked up the meaning in the dictionary. But this is not the end of the job. Write these words in your notebook and review them regularly. It is also very useful to make up your own texts or sentences with new words: this way you put the words in context and remember better.
If it is not possible to do this in writing, try to do it at least verbally.
Which words to look up in the dictionary?
Method 1. Look up the meaning of all unfamiliar words. This method is suitable for reading texts that require accuracy: instructions, technical documentation, and the like. Also in this case it is better to use specialized dictionaries - in chemistry, electrical engineering, etc.
Method 2. View the meaning of the main words only.
What is the base word? This is a word without which it is impossible to understand the meaning of the sentence. For example:
That man was eating a turkey sandwich.
In this case, the word sandwich is the main one, because the meaning of the sentence becomes clear: " That person ate ... sandwich ". Of course, some of the meaning eluded us, but nevertheless, we understood most of it.
The word turkey is secondary because, as we have already seen, the meaning is clear even without it.
It only carries additional information: " That man was eating a turkey sandwich .”
This is more suitable for when you read just for fun. Of course, here you can use the first method if you have the time and desire.
Method 3 (hardest but most useful) . Look up the meaning of words in an English-English dictionary, for example, www.ldoceonline.com or www.macmillandictionary.com
Also (especially if you already have a confident level of English) try to understand the meaning of words from the context.
Complete reading assignments
Almost all adapted books have assignments for each chapter. If possible, try to fulfill them - this will help you better understand and remember what you read, plus repeat new vocabulary.
Audio books and books with additional audio materials
If the book has audio, be sure to work with it. Listen as the speaker pronounces the words, watch the intonation.
Try to read aloud, repeating after the speaker.
Read regularly!
It is much more useful to read, albeit a little, but regularly. Even half an hour of reading a day will greatly expand your vocabulary and improve your English level in general. The more you read, the easier it will be for you to understand the texts.
Which books should I choose to read?
Cambridge University Press Series:
- Cambridge English Readers (Starter to Advanced)
- Cambridge Experience Readers (Starter to Advanced) - suitable for teenagers
Oxford University Press Series:
- Dolphin Readers (Beginner to Intermediate)
- Classic Tales (Beginner to Intermediate)
- Dominoes (Beginner to Intermediate)
- Oxford Bookworms Library (Beginner to Advanced)
Books published by Iris Press, English Club series . A good series of books for different levels, you can find literature for both adults and children.
Each book comes with audio, vocabulary and assignments.
Only select books originally written in English (English, American, possibly Australian). Don't take translations.
Productive reading and learning English!
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How to read books in English correctly so that they are useful and enjoyable: a detailed guide / Sudo Null IT News0001
Reading is one of the top ways to improve your English and enjoy reading books in the original.
But the thing is that reading in one's native language and in the second one are different. In this article, we will give a detailed guide on how to read in English, so that it is fun and beneficial.
Step 1. Choosing a book
Here you need to consider a few basic nuances. The story itself is the foundation. And everything else you can do only if you feel like immersing yourself in the world that the writer is talking about.
1. You must like the style and the author
It seems to be simple and banal. You like fantasy - you choose fantasy. If you like to read detective stories or dystopias, feel free to take them.
The benefits of reading literature in English largely depend on pleasure. This is where psychophysiological mechanisms come into play. When you like something, the body's hormonal system releases dopamines and endorphins, which, in addition to feeling joy and good mood, also stimulate memory and cognitive abilities.
The more emotional involvement in the story, the better the language constructions and lexicon will be perceived. In the scientific publication Journal of Education in Black Sea Region in 2016, published the results of a study , which proved the influence of the perception of reading literature in a foreign language on the result of its study.
2. The complexity of the vocabulary of the book should correspond to your level of language
There are already a huge number of collections of literature in English on the Internet according to the level of language proficiency.
We also made a few of these. Here are times , here is two times .
The mechanics are simple:
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First, evaluate your current language level. In any appropriate way. For example, using in our test .
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Choose a book by level and according to your preferences. It is clear that only fairy tales and stories for children are suitable for the Beginner level, but with Intermediate you can already pick up quite interesting books.
It only takes a few minutes to check if a book is right for you. Read one or two pages.
You should understand approximately 80-90% of all vocabulary. Let's explain why this is so.
If all the words are known, you will not be able to improve your vocabulary. And in the course of reading one book, a student can learn from 50 to 200 new words, which significantly develops the vocabulary even at high levels of language proficiency.
If there are more unknown words, you will not be able to fully understand the plot.
An interesting story will turn into a textbook that is neither fun nor useful.
Even if you love Tolkien, you won't be able to read The Lord of the Rings in the original at an Intermediate level. Highly artistic turns and abundant use of rare words create a chic atmosphere, but do not contribute at all to understanding. But students with Advanced will enjoy the book.
3. The size of the book should match your reading speed
Even if your English is at the Advanced level, it doesn't mean that you can read it quickly.
More important. Reading speed is not only the number of words that you can skim through your eyes in a minute. It is also the percentage of understood information.
You can run through 1000 words per minute and understand absolutely nothing. Or you can do it like this:
To check the real reading speed, take the test on any portal that you like. Our author passed here .
You need to read at such a speed as to provide the required 80-90% understanding of the text.
It is perception that is primary, and the number of words read at the same time is secondary.
But it is the speed of reading that should be taken into account when choosing a book. If you read more than 300 words per minute, you can easily master any book - even if it's 1000 pages long.
But if your maximum is 50-100 words per minute, then you need to choose short stories or novels.
If you are afraid to take on large-format literature, you can start with small works at easystoriesinenglish .
They are specially selected for students who are learning English as a second language. And even if you read slowly, all the stories can be mastered in half an hour or an hour. What you need to get started.
Step 2. The process of reading
So, the book was chosen, but that's only half the battle. It is important not only to read that , but also to read as .
It is important to understand that you are reading a book for pleasure.
And only then is it a tool for pumping the language. Not vice versa. This is not about grammar and word order, this is about the complex perception of the language.
But in order for reading to bring both pleasure and benefit, you need a few simple steps:
1. Underline or mark unfamiliar words or those whose meaning you are not sure. If you read in an e-mail, mark them with a color. The main thing is that the reader allows you to edit the book file or make notes from above.
Tip . Before looking up unknown words in the dictionary, try to guess their meaning from the context. In most cases, this is not difficult to do. The only exceptions are highly specialized terms, slang and phrasal verbs - then you won’t be able to guess.
2. Send underlined words to a special program to study them. Without additional software, you can still replenish your vocabulary, but with a program on your smartphone it will be easier - you do not have to remember the meaning of the word every time and you can learn it in just six repetitions.
3. Pay conscious attention to phrases, metaphors, allegories - in general, to everything that makes up the style of the book. And then try to use them in your actual speech or texts. You may not know how to accurately translate a phrase into Russian, but you should clearly understand in which case it can be used in English.
It also happens that you have read a sentence and understood absolutely nothing. This is fine.
Try to read it again. If the meaning also escapes after the second and third reading, it is better not to concentrate on it and skip it. If such misunderstandings happen once or several times throughout the book, then everything is in order, but if every page, then you need to moderate your ardor and try a simpler work.
Important! Refuse online translators. I would like to throw a complex sentence into some Google Translate, but you should not do this. Such instruments often distort the meaning of complex phrases.
To test this statement, let's take translations of the first paragraph from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Original:
When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.
Google translate
When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would soon be celebrating his eleventh birthday with a special lavish party, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.
Per. Grigorieva and Grushetsky:
There was a stir in Hobbiton. Mr. Bilbo Sumniks, the owner of Bags, announced his intention to celebrate his one hundred and eleventh birthday and promised a very generous treat.
Per. Muraviev and Kistyakovsky
Then Bilbo Baggins, the owner of Bag-on-the-Cliff, announced that he wanted to celebrate his forthcoming 111th birthday with grandeur, and all Norgord buzzed and got excited.
***
Official translations deviate slightly from style and flaunt localizations of character names and place names. But they are a choice of taste. But Google translates as literally as possible, but here it has a serious mistake. Eleventy-first is "one hundred and eleventh", not "eleventh". And such jambs automatic translation allows a whole bunch.
Step 3. Fixing the effect
We figured out the process. There are a few more points left.
If you want to not only enjoy reading in the original, but also improve your English, then is the most important thing - the stability of .
It is better to read 15 minutes every day than 3 hours once a week. In order for reading in English to pump knowledge of the language, you need to read every day. It's not that hard to find 15-30 minutes a day: on the way to work, during your lunch break, after dinner instead of social networks and YouTube videos.
If you read for more than an hour, the brain starts to get tired out of habit.
After all, it is difficult to perceive information in a foreign language in large quantities. Attention deteriorates, consciousness ceases to focus on words and phrases, the meaning of words is not immediately remembered. Instead of pleasure, it turns out violence against oneself. So stability is more important than intensity.
It often happens that a book seems good in Russian, but something is wrong in the original. This is normal, because translation is essentially localization in collaboration with a translator. Reverse situations also happen - the translation did not work, but the original cannon. Therefore, many people learn English in order to read texts in the author's language.
But there is one unique exception - Nabokov. The originals of many of his books are written in English, but at the same time he himself was engaged in their translations into Russian. The True Life of Sebastian Knight, Lolita, Pale Fire, Ada - feel free to read them if you want to feel the chic style and language of the writer.
But it is not for beginners - you can comfortably read Nabokov at the Upper-Intermediate level.
Tip . If possible, choose your favorite books that you have already read in translation. Then you will pay more attention to the language and style of the story.
Re-read the books after a few months. First of all, it will help to discover new facets of history and language - you can re-read the classics dozens of times and find something that you missed during previous readings. Secondly, this way you can repeat all the vocabulary you have learned at once (remember - from 50 to 200 words). This is much more interesting than just driving the entire list for repetition in the application.
Interestingly, on first reading, there are few jokes and cultural references hidden in the text. But on the second or subsequent ones, they suddenly become clear.
Here is the personal experience of the author of the article.
I first read Harry Potter in the original when I was a student. And then it seemed almost the same as in Russian. Recently re-read - and there was a lot of linguistic humor, which for the first time was not perceived at all.
For example, the well-known gag in English circles “Can I have a look at Uranus too , Lavender ?” from the fourth book. Well, Uranus and Uranus. But then why did Lavender blush and run away after Ron said that? But because Uranus sounds exactly the same as Your anus. And there already is, because of which to blush. You have no idea how many of these hidden jokes writers hide in books. Oh-oh-oh-a lot.
So reading in English can be both fun and a normal level of language proficiency. Indeed, in the future, the studied vocabulary and grammatical constructions will be used as if by themselves - exactly where they are needed. So choose a book and sign up for a free trial lesson with an EnglishDom teacher.
Online school EnglishDom.
