By Connie Briggs

Leveled books have an essential place in any reading program. Designed to build on each child’s strengths, levels help teachers meet students where they are as they teach students to read with differing backgrounds, experiences, and paths to proficiency. 

While there has been some recent discussion about the effectiveness of using leveled texts in literacy classrooms, my last blog busted myths surrounding text levels and set the record straight on three important points. High-quality leveled books provide rich teaching opportunities, levels are for teachers, not children, and books can be arranged in a reliable text gradient for assessment and instruction. 

Today’s blog will focus on using leveled texts in your literacy education. 

High-Quality Instruction Includes a Variety of Text Types 

A comprehensive literacy program should include many types of texts for building foundational literacy skills and content knowledge, beautiful trade books for read-alouds and discussion,  large-print books for shared reading, self-selected fiction and non-fiction books for independent reading, and a validated gradient of leveled texts for direct and small group instruction in all the important dimensions of important reading as evident in decades of reading research.  A child may read a controlled text, such as a leveled book, for a short time during the day, but also needs to read various complex texts. 

Remember, children will notice many other words beyond those taught in phonics lessons, in many other contexts, such as labels or environmental print, content area books, and self-selected books or books read to them.  

Look Beyond the Level: Refocus Your Classroom Library  

We know that levels are for teachers, not children. Organize your classroom library by topic, author, genre, illustrator, series, award-winning books, or any other way that helps children self-select books that interest them. Children should never be required to read independently ‘on a level’. Foster a love of reading! Children can read a range of books from simple to more complex based on many factors.   

Teach for Strong Phonics Skills with Every Book

Use leveled texts in direct, small-group instruction for 15-30 minutes daily.  Emergent readers also need an explicit, daily phonics lesson (usually the whole class) and it is the teacher’s job to connect the isolated skills learning to any other type of reading across the day.  Literacy teachers need a strong understanding of the linguistic system and the school’s phonics curriculum to closely observe what skills and strategies students have mastered and what they need to learn next.  This information guides a teacher’s decision-making in the reading of connected text and in choosing future texts for instruction.  

 Embrace your leveled texts and have fun igniting a love of reading in your students! Leveled texts are just one tool in your toolbelt as you meet each child where they are and help them learn to read. 

Connie Briggs is an Engaged Emeritus Trainer and Professor Emeritus at Texas Woman’s University