A leveled book is merely a book that has been assigned a gradient for readability. The gradient may be:
Leveled books may be:
Certain publishers have leveled book programs created especially for them. These contain pre-leveled titles and are usually accompanied by a Teacher's Guide. Typically, they include book titles that are not "well-known" but are designed to be read quickly, easily and successfully by children who are learning to read.
Leveled book programs include multiple copies of titles (4-6 each) for use with guided reading/small groups. They may have a leveling system that is unique to that publisher.
The TMC has many titles contained within leveled book programs (these have a TMC Text call number prefix) located at the Leveled Book Station. We also have many of the Teacher's Guides for certain programs. We have cataloged them individually for ease in choosing a title or titles for the child with whom you are working.
NoveList Plus has full text book reviews for children's and young adult literature (fiction and non-fiction) and also includes reading level indicators (Lexiles) for readability.
For instructions on using NoveList Plus more detailed than provided above, visit the NoveList Plus Page, the Help Videos page: Using NoveList. Or, watch a specific help video linked below.
Video 1: NoveList Overview
Video 2: Basic Search for a Title
Video 3: Advanced Searching in NoveList
Video 4: Teacher Resources in NoveList
Remember that if you find a book on NoveList you will have to check our online catalog to make sure that Milner Library owns that title (there is an embedded Library Catalog link in the record for a particular book).
To compare the Lexile to the grade level equivalency use the Readability Comparison Chart linked below.
The Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Book List, K-8+, 2010-2012 by Fountas & Pinnell (F&P) includes thousands of titles that have been leveled for you. The alphabetical gradient is located in the front cover of the book and gives you a grade-level range for the ranking. The front half of book sorts books by title and the back half of the book sorts books by level.
To use:
1. Consider the relevant grade level in school.
2. View the suggested alphabetical levels in the front cover of F&P for the appropriate grade level (usually a range of 3-4 levels per grade level).
3. Either go to the front half of F&P to find books by title and the corresponding level. Or, go to the second half to find books by level.
4. Search Milner's catalog to check if we have a particular title. Watch a video to see how.
5. If a book isn't in F&P, check NoveList Plus for a Lexile Level equivalent.
Alongside these leveled readers, sorted into bins based on an "A-- S" leveled book range, there are print-outs that explain how to choose an appropriately-leveled book for your needs. Please note that many books not within these bins are leveled. To find these, use either option one or two mentioned above.
If you would like to search for an appropriate leveled book from one of these bins online, use the following process.
Hi Lo Books are High Interest and Low Readability. They are “different” in that they contain age appropriate content for middle level and secondary students, but are typically written between a 2nd and 4th grade readability. We only have ONE series – the Bluford Series -- which comes with an accompanying TMC Pro Teacher’s Guide.
