A Parent's Guide to All Reading Levels

Reading Levels Checklist
When your child begins bringing home leveled reading books, you will notice hand-written numbers in the upper left and right-hand corners. One number shows the number of the book in the set (ex. ¼ means book 1 out of 4 books). The other number will be the reading level over the number of words in the book (ex. 3/25 means the book is a reading level 3 and there are 25 words in the book). Our district expectation is for Kindergartners to read between levels 3-6 or beyond by the end of the school year.

Below are the typical behaviors of children reading on these levels:
Text Levels 1 – 4
• -Points word by word, matching voice to print
• -Relies on background knowledge and meaning and structure cues to read text
• -Relies primarily on illustrations to create meaning before print
• -Uses text language patterns to support reading
• -Locates familiar and new words
• -Uses beginning letters to articulate first letter sound in unknown words
• -Responds to changes in sentences patterns
• -Self-monitors (one on one word matching, errors in meaning/structure)
• -Self-corrects on own when words are incorrectly read
• -Uses periods when reading
• -Reads familiar text fluently
• -Comprehends text (retells story and makes connections)

Text Levels 5 - 8
• -Moves away from finger pointing as eyes take over the process
• -Attends equally to print and illustrations to create meaning
• -Knows many high frequency words and reads them automatically
• -Constructs meaning as text unfolds to make predictions
• -Uses beginning/ending letters (and chunks) to problem solve unknown words
• -Self-monitors to realize when reading doesn’t make sense or sound/look right
• -Rereads to search, confirm, or to problem solve
• -Makes multiple attempts when self-correcting (problem solves)
• -Uses exclamation points and question marks (for phrasing and meaning)
• -Reads familiar text fluently
• -Comprehends text (retells story in sequence and makes connections)
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Text Levels 9 - 12
• -Relies more on the print than the illustrations to create meaning
• -Expands high-frequency words and reading vocabulary
• -Uses meaning, structure, and visual cues when self-monitoring reading
• -Uses known words and word chunks to problem solve unknown words
• -Holds onto meaning while problem solving unknown words
• -Problem solves unknown words using chunks, beginning/end/middle of words
• -Self-monitors when reading (does in make sense, look right, sound right)
• -Self-corrects independently (without being told/asked to)
• -Understands the meaning of quotation marks and commas
• -Comprehends texts (retells story in sequence and makes connections)
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Text Levels 13 - 16
• -Uses print as major source of meaning
• -Reads a large number of sight words
• -Reads longer texts with greater accuracy
• -Sustains comprehension and interest in longer texts
• -Uses onsets, letter clusters, chunks, syllables to problem solve unknown words
• -Self-monitors when reading (does it make sense, look right, sound right)
• -Self-corrects independently (near or at the point of an error)
• -Builds understanding of new punctuation
• -Reads and comprehends a variety of texts including nonfiction and fiction
• -Reads familiar and unfamiliar texts fluently
• -Comprehends texts (retells story in sequence and makes connections