Once you have books for your classroom library, it’s time to start the daunting task of organizing them all so they can be accessed and returned to the library by students. How do you do that? Let’s find out how to level books in your classroom library.
First Things, First
Before we begin, we need to address the ongoing debate of whether or not classroom libraries should be sorted by reading level. I would never tell a student that they could not read a book because it’s outside of their reading level. However, I do think that having some sort of leveling system in your library is helpful if you are trying to provide students with books that they are able to be successful with. With that in mind, I like to have a balance of leveled books and themed books in my classroom library. Students can shop from both types of books and are never told that they can not read a book because it is outside their level.
Figuring Out Your Reading Program
Now that we’ve covered that, let’s get to it. In order to level your books by reading level, find out what reading program your school uses (DRA, Fountas and Pinnell, Lexile, Reading Recovery, etc.). If you’re not sure, ask your grade level partners, another teacher, or your school’s Reading Specialist.
Finding The Level of A Book
Then start looking at your books. If you have books that are part of a leveled reading series, they will have a reading level on the back which may or may not correlate with the reading program your school uses. For example, the book above is labeled as a Guided Reading Level A. If my school used Reading Recovery, I would label my books with numbers and not letters. In this case, use a reading correlation chart like the one below to figure out what reading levels in one program correspond with in another program.
If you have other books that aren’t part of a leveled reading series, there are different apps you can use to find out the reading level. The Literacy Leveler app and the Scholastic Book Wizard app are both pretty effective in helping you level your books.
Of course, there will be some books that you can’t find the level to. And that’s where you have to use your judgement. I like to use the criteria from Fountass and Pinnell or Lucy Calkins’ Reading and Writing Project to establish what the main characteristics of each reading level are. Then I read through a book and decide which level it fits in best.
Clearly Labeling Each Book
Once your books are leveled, make sure you clearly label them so your students know where to return their books. You can do something as simple as put a label on the back and write the level, or if you’re looking for a complete system, check out my entire pack of library labels here!
This post is part of a three post blog series. Click to read more about:
How to Get Books for your Classroom Library
How to Organize Your Classroom Library
