Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Reading Levels - Lexiles better than Grade Levels?

OK, in concept, the Lexile Framework for Reading sounds great. But in practice, it's ain't great yet. Why? Because only about 16 states are using it. If you're in one of those 16 states, lucky you. Maybe you understand what BR means and those letters lead you to books that are just right for your little readers.

I'm not so lucky. Fortunately, I just found Scholastic's Teacher Book Wizard page, which is better than a translation of the Lexile scale; it's an online tool that can quickly help you find books your child is likely to like, or challenge him, or both.

In case the link above isn't "live," here's the full url:
http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewCustomSearchForm.do?RowsPerPageOptions=10&RowsPerPageOptions=50

If you've got kids, I bet you'll find it useful. Keep 'em reading!

PS: Thanks to Susanna Leonard Hill, award-winning author of Not Yet, Rose and several other children's books, for mentioning the confusion surrounding the Lexile Framework.

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