Rog and Burton's article Matching texts and readers: Leveling early reading materials for assessment and instruction described a book leveling system that was created for a school district in Canada. It varies from level 1 books that contain 1-2 words per page to level 10 books consisting of full pages of words. I found this article to be very informative and enjoyed reading it because I've always wondered how to choose books for particular students. Everyones reading levels vary so much so it was helpful to see books categorized based on specific characteristics. The article also characterized each level by the reading strategies accomplished by the student in order to reach the next reading level. "Just right" books were also addressed and the authors explained how important those types of books are for students because it's the best way to receive reading instruction. Below is a way one teacher decided to organize her students' "just right" books- each numbered bin is for one of her students and she helps them decide which books should go in their bin.
Will you use student bins to organize children's "just right" books?
Do you remember your teachers picking books for you to read or was it all free choice?
I think that organization of books based on reading level is a crucial component of an effective classroom. We don't want to waste extra time trying to determine appropriate books for each child in the class. That time could be better spent reading! I think I would like to implement the "bin system" in hopes of saving some time and frustration. Thanks for sharing the photo!
ReplyDeleteI will definitely use student bins to organize books! I think this is a great way to organize books, and helps the students differentiate what books they can read depending on their reading level. It also gives each student a variety of books to read that are "theirs" for the week.
ReplyDeleteOrganizing "just right" books is a great idea and can be extremely beneficial! I plan to use this idea in my future classroom. In elementary school, I remember my teachers picking books for me to read but they also gave me free choice sometimes as well.
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