Invisible emmie fountas and pinnell level

#Invisible emmie fountas and pinnell level how to

At the other end, IвЂ™ve seen strong readers held back by their level вЂ“ being made to stay at a level when they can really take on much more challenging and interesting texts because theyвЂ™ve been identified at a level lower than where they are really reading. Instead of clamoring to read the new Mo Willems book, or an enticing picture book displayed at the library, children quickly dismiss books if they are not on their level and start to look down on children who are at a lower level. Do we want kids who can identify what kind of reader they are or who can tell us what level they are?ДЄnother thing that IвЂ™ve seen is a high level of competition and comparing in classrooms where children know their levels. I want my kids to say things like, вЂњIвЂ™m a reader who loves Mo Willems, who likes to read books that are about real things and who canвЂ™t wait to see what new books arrived at the library.вЂќ Perhaps asking your students this question might give you some insight into what kind of readers they are becoming. What happens when children are told their level? Often times that becomes the way a child defines himself as a reader вЂ“ bragging вЂњIвЂ™m a level M.вЂќ or, with head hung low, вЂњIвЂ™m only a level E.вЂќ How do you define yourself as a reader? What would your answer be if someone asked you, вЂњwhat kind of reader are you?вЂќ I would guess that no adult is going to identify herself as a level. If children have access to lots of books that are вЂњjust rightвЂќ from guided reading and conferences вЂ“ carefully selected by teachers for that student вЂ“ and teachers are teaching kids what makes a вЂњjust rightвЂќ book, then shouldnвЂ™t we be giving them the opportunity to practice this when choosing books from the classroom library, the public library, a bookstore or when out with their families? We want to create real world readers who can assess whether a book will be a good choice independently. What happens when that child goes to the book fair, the public library, the bookstore or to a pile of books at a yard sale? Real readers in the real world donвЂ™t use a level to choose their books. IвЂ™m very concerned about the authenticity of teaching children to use the level of a book as a guiding factor.

#Invisible emmie fountas and pinnell level how to

I think teachers have to teach children how to choose just-right books for themselves, not teach children to rely on a leveling system.

If our goal is to teach children to be independent, self-motivated, voracious readers вЂ“ then arenвЂ™t we doing them a disservice by labeling books in our classroom with levels? This is going to encourage mindlessly choosing a book because вЂњitвЂ™s a JвЂќ вЂ“ not looking and thinking if itвЂ™s a good match. I started thinking about teaching independence and how that connects to this quote. Fountas and Pinnell, Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, page 152.

Students need to learn how to choose books based on their own assessment of readability, interesting topics or plots, favorite authors, and general appeal.В You can teach students how to assess the appropriateness of texts they find interesting for their present reading levels.вЂќ The levels should be very unobtrusive (if not totally invisible) in your classroom. вЂњWe do not recommend that students use the levels of a gradient to choose books for independent reading. The levels on books are for teachers, not students. They never intended levels to be used by students. Fountas and Pinnell intended for levels to be used by teachers, as a way to help teachers analyze texts and select вЂњjust-rightвЂќ books for small-group reading instruction and as a support for teachers to guide readers in choosing books. We also need to know about the childвЂ™s interests, strengths and weaknesses, what strategic actions they are using, how they are constructing a reading processing system, etcвЂ¦ But I am concerned howВ these levels are being used in classrooms across the country. But the level of text is only one thing we can use as a resource when making decisions. Thanks to Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell for designing a text gradient based on Reading Recovery levels, teachers have strong support and guidanceВ when they are matching books to readers. Lately IвЂ™ve been thinking a lot about leveled texts and their purpose and place in the classroom. Do your students know their reading level? Why? Why not?