Reading
Levels N-S
Children reading texts at level N are reading a variety of texts which includes historical fiction. With historical fiction texts, readers will have to pay close attention to the setting and how it contributes to the story.
When children begin reading books at level O, they have access to more series books and special types of fiction like mysteries and sports stories. Children reading at this level continue to learn new words especially academic and technical words.
Readers reading books at level P and Q, read about characters who change over an entire book and often have internal struggles. When proficiently reading a level Q texts, children understand characters’ perspectives that may be different from their own. At these levels, children demonstrate smooth, fluent reading when reading aloud.
Texts leveled R and S vary in length and type. In level R texts, authors may introduce different structures such as flashbacks to enhance the story. Your child will continue to think deeply about characters and how the setting influences the story.
This reading level information is based on the Literacy Continuum (2016).
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About Level N Books
Books leveled N, may have the following:
* Content that requires your child to take on perspectives from diverse cultures
* Deeper meanings that your child can apply to important social issues
* Characters that may be multidemsional
* More variation in sentence length and structures
Some of our favorite N level books:
* Animal Dads by Sneed Collard and Steve Jenkins
* We the Kids by David Catrow
* I am Amelia Earhart by Brad Meltzer
* Elephants (Nartional Geographic)
* Junie B. Jones Dumb Bunny by Barbara Park
Scroll down to learn specific steps to help your child if they are reading these types of books.
About Level O Books
Books leveled O, may have the following:
* More abstract themes that are familiar to most readers
* Some challenging themes
* Language that creates suspense
* The perspectives of more than one character may be shown in some texts
* Italics may be used to indicate a character’s thoughts
Some of our favorite O level books:
* I am Jackie Robinson by Brad Meltzer
* I am Martin Luther King Jr. by Brad Meltzer
* Flat Stanley and the Haunted House by Jeff Brown
* Ramona and her Father by Beverly Cleary
* Alison the Art Fairy by Daisy Meadows
* Amber Brown Goes Fourth by Paula Danziger
Scroll down to learn specific steps to help your child if they are reading these types of books.
About Level P Books
Books leveled P, may have the following:
* Persuasion that is encouraging your child to view the topic/certain way
* Ideas and themes that require your child to consider a perspective that may not be familiar to them
* Many ideas and themes that require your child to have an understanding of cultural diversity
* Language and events that convey a mood that can affect how your child feels about the topic (happy, curious)
Some of our favorite P level books:
* Summer According to Humphrey by Betty Birney
* Deadliest Animals (National Geographic)
* Alone in the Night (Pet Rescue Adventures) by Holly Webb
* The Lost Puppy (Pet Rescue Adventures) by Holly Webb
* 125 True Stories of Amazing Animals (National Geographic)
* Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dad Pilkey
* Aesop’s Fables by Jerry Pinkney
Scroll down to learn specific steps to help your child if they are reading these types of books.
About Level Q/R Books
Books leveled Q/R, may have the following:
* Many words with figurative meaning
* Some idioms (ex. I put my foot in my mouth)
* New content that engages and interests your child and expands their knowledge
* Complex ideas on many different topics that require your child to draw on real or vicarious experiences
* Settings that will require your child to accept elements of another world that could not exist in the real world (Level R)
Some of our favorite Q/R level books:
* Humphrey’s Mixed-Up Magic Trick by Betty G. Birney
* Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
* Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
* Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
* A is for Abigail by Lynne Cheyney
Scroll down to learn specific steps to help your child if they are reading these types of books.
About Level S Books
Books leveled S, may have the following:
* Moral lesson near the end of the story which is could be explicitly stated or it could be implied
* A range of graphics that provide additional information to the print
* Characters who are revealed over a series of events, chapters, or even over a book series
* Some dialogue with an unidentified speaker which requires your child to infer who is talking
Some of our favorite S level books:
* One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
* Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
*The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
* Geronimo Stilton: The Amazing Voyage and the Kingdom of Fantasy #3
Scroll down to learn specific steps to help your child if they are reading these types of books.
Remember: the levels are a tool for describing texts.
Providing access to books from a variety of levels, a variety of topics, and a variety of genres will be beneficial as your child learns to become a more proficient reader.
How to Help Your Child When They are Reading at These Levels
If you notice your child needs help using all the information from the text:
* You can prompt your child by saying things like, “Try that again.”
* Prompt your child to think about what is happening on the page and how it goes with the page before.
* Remind your child to think about what’s happening in the chapter and how it fits with what they’ve read so far.
If you notice your child needs help reading dialogue in a way that shows they understand the punctuation, the context, and the characters:
* You can tell your child that when they read dialogue, they to pay attention to punctuation and read the dialogue with the punctuation in mind.
* You may need to model this for your child by reading some dialogue in a character voice and paying attention to the punctuation to determine how the character might say it.
If you notice your child needs help monitoring their reading and making corrections:
* Remind your child to check to be sure their reading makes sense, sounds right, and matches the print on the page.
* You can ask your child questions such as:
Was that right?
What did you notice?
You made a mistake on that page. Can you find it?
If you notice your child needs help with using a variety of word solving strategies to figure out tricky or new words:
* Show your child how you notice a part of a new word. You can use your pointer finger to cover part of the word and only show the part that is known. Show them how you look at that part and think about what the whole word can be.
* You can encourage your child to look for something that might help them.
* Point out that a word (or phrase) doesn’t make sense if we think about what it usually means. Encourage them to think about another meaning that could work.
If your child needs help with reading fluently:
* Remind your child to listen to how their reading sounds. Encourage them to make their reading sound interesting and smooth.
* Show your child how you change your voice at periods, question marks, and speech marks.
* You can give your child an index card or small piece of paper and tell them to slide the card/paper from left to right under a line of print and read as the words above the card.
* Encourage your child to put their words together so it sounds like talking.
If your child needs help sharing their ideas about a book:
* Ask your child what they thought about the story/text?
*Ask your child what the author wants is to think/feel/believe about the story/character/information.
* Ask your child if they changed their opinion about some aspect of the text as they read to the end? And why?
* Prompt your child to think about something they know that would help them talk about what is happening in the story in certain parts (character’s actions or motives, story theme, perspectives, etc.).
* Encourage your child to show/describe something the character did/said that they thought was a good idea or a place where the character did/said something they didn’t agree with.
If you want to help your child understand the book:
* Prompt your child to think about why the setting is important to the story.
* Encourage your child to think about the description of the character(s) and what other characters say about the character to understand the character better.
* Ask your child to think about how the character may change (at the beginning) or how the character has changed (at the middle or end).
* Prompt your child to tell what the whole book is about. (Show them how to think about this, if needed)
* Periodically stop and ask questions such as, “what are you thinking?”, “what happened?” and “what do you think will happen next?”
* Ask your child “what picture did you have in your mind that helped you to think about what happened in this part of the story?”
* Encourage your child to think about something they know that would help them talk about what is happening in the story. Prompt them to use that to understand (the character, the situation, the mood of the story, the message, etc.)
* Connect the text to similar texts your child has read.
* Encourage your child to share the big problem at the heart of the story and why it is important.
* Ask your child what feels important about the problem the characters are dealing with.
* Prompt your child to think about the relationships in a story and how those change.
Want to know more about supporting your child’s strategy use?
Check out the Strategic Action Series.
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