Exploring Text Level Difficulty and Matching Texts for reading Achievement
Abstract
This qualitative multicase studies research design focuses on the topics of textlevels and guided reading practices. Why is it so important for children toread the right books at the right level of difficulty? How do teachers useassessment data to match books to readers? Can we engage and motivate childrento read and want to read more with books at varied levels of difficulty? Mostof the research related to levels of reading difficulty began with Betts (1946)and his focus on the learner and reading achievement. Betts notes that maximumlearning begins at the level of instruction where children are challengedintellectually. Research shows (Stanovich, 1986; Allington (2005) it isimportant for children to read the right books at the right level to achievethe greatest growth in word knowledge, fluency and reading skills, and not riskfalling behind their classmates. Specific activities for instruction includedadministration of assessments, selection of texts at independent, instructionaland frustration levels and implementation of four block lesson records. Primaryassessment tools included interest inventories, informal reading inventory andrunning records.References
Afflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and using reading assessment K-12, (2nd ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Afflerbach, P. (2010). Essential Readings of Assessment. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Allington, R. L. (2010. Essential readings on struggling learners. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Allington, R. L. (2006). What really matters for struggling readers, (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Allington, R. L. (2005, June/July). The other five “pillars” of effective reading instruction. Reading Today, 22, 3.
Barr R., Blachowicz, C. L. Z., Bates, A., Katz, C. & Kaufman, B., (2013). Reading diagnosis for
teachers: An instructional approach., (6th ed.).
Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2012). Words their way: word study for phonics, vocabulary and spelling instruction, (5th ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson Education.
Betts, E. A. (1946). Foundations of reading instruction with emphasis on differentiated guidance. New York, NY: American Book Company.
Bogdan, R. C. & Biklen, S. K. (1992). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods, (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Clay, M. M. (2005). An observation survey: of early literacy achievement.(2nd ed.) Birkenhead, Auckland NZ: Heinemann.
Cunningham, P. M., Hall, D. P. & Sigmon, C. (1999). The teacher’s guide to the four blocks. Greensboro, North Carolina: Carson-Dellosa.
Fisher, D., Frey, N. & Lapp, D. (2012). Text complexity: Raising rigor in reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Ford, M. P. & Opitz, M. F. (2008). Guided Reading: Then and Now. In Fresch, M. J. (Ed.), (2008). An essential history of current reading practices (pp. 66-81). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Harris, T. L., Hodges, R. E., (Eds.). (1995). The literacy dictionary: The vocabulary of reading and writing. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Hildebrandt, D. (2001). “But there’s nothing good to read” (in the library media center). Media Spectrum: The Journal of Library Media Specialists in Michigan, 28, 34-37.
Holcomb, E. L. (2012). Data dynamics: aligning teacher team, school and district efforts. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
International Reading Association (2010). Standards for Reading Professionals, Revised 2010: reference for the preparation of educators in the United States. Newark, DE: Author.
Johns, J. (2008). Basic reading inventory, (10th ed). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
Leslie, L. & Caldwell, J. S. (2011). Qualitative Reading Inventory-5. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Lipton, L. & Wellman, B. (2012). Creating and leading cultures of inquiry. Bloomington, IN:Solution Tree Press.
McKenna, M. C, & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 43, 626-639.
Mesmer, H. A. E. (2008). Tools for matching readers to texts: research-based practices. New York: The Guilford Press.
Pinnell, G. S. (2002). Scholastic guided reading program, blue edition. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
Reutzel, D.R. & Cooter, R.B., Jr. (2012). Teaching children to read: The teacher makes the difference. (6th Ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson Education.
Schmoker, M. (2010). When pedagogic fads trump priorities. Education Week, 30(5). Accessed at www.edweek.org on June 30, 2013.
Stanovich, K. (1986). Matthew effects in reading” Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 2(4), 360-407.
Tullock-Rhody R. & Alexander, J.E. (1980). A scale for assessing attitudes toward reading in secondary schools. Journal of Reading, 23(2), 609-614.
Resources
http://www.arbookfind.com/default.aspx
Book levels using Accelerated Reader book finder info.
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/readers.html
Free Book Reading Resource
http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/
Book list by reading achievement level and author and title (For K to Grade 7)
http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewCustomSearchForm.do?RowsPerPageOptions=%5B10%2C+50%5D
(Scholastic) Find all levels of books from PreK to grade 12. Search by interest level and reading achievement level. Other categories: language, book type, unit topic/subject and genre/theme.
Helpful Children’s Literature Resources and Links
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/fry/fry.html
Useful readability and book finding resources
http://www.reading.org
International Reading Association Book Selection Resources including annotated Children Choices and Teacher Choices. This link provides further rationale for why matching books to readers is SO IMPORTANT.
Afflerbach, P. (2010). Essential Readings of Assessment. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Allington, R. L. (2010. Essential readings on struggling learners. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Allington, R. L. (2006). What really matters for struggling readers, (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Allington, R. L. (2005, June/July). The other five “pillars” of effective reading instruction. Reading Today, 22, 3.
Barr R., Blachowicz, C. L. Z., Bates, A., Katz, C. & Kaufman, B., (2013). Reading diagnosis for
teachers: An instructional approach., (6th ed.).
Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2012). Words their way: word study for phonics, vocabulary and spelling instruction, (5th ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson Education.
Betts, E. A. (1946). Foundations of reading instruction with emphasis on differentiated guidance. New York, NY: American Book Company.
Bogdan, R. C. & Biklen, S. K. (1992). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods, (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Clay, M. M. (2005). An observation survey: of early literacy achievement.(2nd ed.) Birkenhead, Auckland NZ: Heinemann.
Cunningham, P. M., Hall, D. P. & Sigmon, C. (1999). The teacher’s guide to the four blocks. Greensboro, North Carolina: Carson-Dellosa.
Fisher, D., Frey, N. & Lapp, D. (2012). Text complexity: Raising rigor in reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Ford, M. P. & Opitz, M. F. (2008). Guided Reading: Then and Now. In Fresch, M. J. (Ed.), (2008). An essential history of current reading practices (pp. 66-81). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Harris, T. L., Hodges, R. E., (Eds.). (1995). The literacy dictionary: The vocabulary of reading and writing. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Hildebrandt, D. (2001). “But there’s nothing good to read” (in the library media center). Media Spectrum: The Journal of Library Media Specialists in Michigan, 28, 34-37.
Holcomb, E. L. (2012). Data dynamics: aligning teacher team, school and district efforts. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
International Reading Association (2010). Standards for Reading Professionals, Revised 2010: reference for the preparation of educators in the United States. Newark, DE: Author.
Johns, J. (2008). Basic reading inventory, (10th ed). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
Leslie, L. & Caldwell, J. S. (2011). Qualitative Reading Inventory-5. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Lipton, L. & Wellman, B. (2012). Creating and leading cultures of inquiry. Bloomington, IN:Solution Tree Press.
McKenna, M. C, & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 43, 626-639.
Mesmer, H. A. E. (2008). Tools for matching readers to texts: research-based practices. New York: The Guilford Press.
Pinnell, G. S. (2002). Scholastic guided reading program, blue edition. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
Reutzel, D.R. & Cooter, R.B., Jr. (2012). Teaching children to read: The teacher makes the difference. (6th Ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson Education.
Schmoker, M. (2010). When pedagogic fads trump priorities. Education Week, 30(5). Accessed at www.edweek.org on June 30, 2013.
Stanovich, K. (1986). Matthew effects in reading” Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 2(4), 360-407.
Tullock-Rhody R. & Alexander, J.E. (1980). A scale for assessing attitudes toward reading in secondary schools. Journal of Reading, 23(2), 609-614.
Resources
http://www.arbookfind.com/default.aspx
Book levels using Accelerated Reader book finder info.
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/readers.html
Free Book Reading Resource
http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/
Book list by reading achievement level and author and title (For K to Grade 7)
http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewCustomSearchForm.do?RowsPerPageOptions=%5B10%2C+50%5D
(Scholastic) Find all levels of books from PreK to grade 12. Search by interest level and reading achievement level. Other categories: language, book type, unit topic/subject and genre/theme.
Helpful Children’s Literature Resources and Links
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/fry/fry.html
Useful readability and book finding resources
http://www.reading.org
International Reading Association Book Selection Resources including annotated Children Choices and Teacher Choices. This link provides further rationale for why matching books to readers is SO IMPORTANT.
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Published
2013-09-10
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