After introducing the Leveled Research Library to several of my colleagues, I am repeatedly asked, "How do you level research books?" “What level would this book be?” These questions really get me talking, because I love looking at nonfiction books! They are so neat with the photographs, the fonts, the little caption boxes, and all the added nonfiction features to comprehend. It is no wonder that children love reading them! The fact of the matter is though, children aren't learning enough from nonfiction texts if they are not reading the words too.
We all have the students who go to the school library and come back with a nonfiction book that is more than you would ever sit down and read because it would be information overload. All they do is look at the pictures, which is helpful in getting a child to use the pictures when reading. However, I want multiple reading strategies to be used at one time. I want them to be practicing doing both, using the pictures and getting meaning from the words on the page. A research library will naturally do both, along with so much more. (That is for another blog post.)
We all have the students who go to the school library and come back with a nonfiction book that is more than you would ever sit down and read because it would be information overload. All they do is look at the pictures, which is helpful in getting a child to use the pictures when reading. However, I want multiple reading strategies to be used at one time. I want them to be practicing doing both, using the pictures and getting meaning from the words on the page. A research library will naturally do both, along with so much more. (That is for another blog post.)
To keep it basic when leveling books, I use the following key when talking to teachers about book levels:
Red: These books are the lowest level and will have only one sentence every 2 pages.
Red: These books are the lowest level and will have only one sentence every 2 pages.
Yellow: These books have two sentences every 2 pages and the words are more complex to read.
Green: These books have 3 or more sentences every 2 pages that come together to form one good sized paragraph per page.
Blue: These books have 2 to 3 paragraphs every 2 pages.
This is the very simple key I use when reviewing books. I am not big on extra jargon, but I will give more information in this post for those that want more of an explanation. I call it differentiated instruction on leveling and implementing a research library for all classroom teaching styles. Ha!)
While preparing for a conference, I had to figure out how to communicate to others about what I was doing in my classroom. In the beginning, I would just look at a book and choose its level based on some features or what I had already seen time and time again. For the conference, I was a little more detailed in some key features to look for in leveling nonfiction books. Even now, I am still perfecting the system, but as you begin to build and create a leveled research library for your classroom, you will see these features as well as notice some others that I have not experienced yet in my classroom.
A More Complex Explanation for Leveling Research Books
Red: These books are the lowest level and will have only one sentence every 2 pages. If they have more than one sentence per page, I will declare them a yellow level. The font is larger than regular text. The red level is to assist students with starting the research process and to practice writing sentences.
Yellow: These books have two sentences every two pages. The words could be more complex to read and they are printed in a big font, like the red level. Students will learn to use a glossary at this level, because some words may be bold. The books are simply written with no extra captions or fancy nonfiction text features, such as insets or complicated diagrams.
Green: These books have more than 3 sentences every 2 pages and they will usually form one paragraph per page. They will contain more vocabulary words and have limited captions for pictures. Sometimes, they have fancy text features, which can be confusing to some students, but as long as the text every 2 pages does not exceed a paragraph, they are a green level book.
Blue: These books are currently the most difficult to read for this leveling system. A true blue book will have 2 to 3 paragraphs every 2 pages. They can have captions with the pictures and other fancy text features. Students may have to use other nonfiction text features such as the index, the glossary, and the table of contents to navigate the information. These books are still able to be read during silent reading time. I do use these books will a question template to support the writing for some students, but mostly I use them with a detail template for researching with single or multiple resources. These books are great for researching in upper elementary grades.
Red: These books are the lowest level and will have only one sentence every 2 pages. If they have more than one sentence per page, I will declare them a yellow level. The font is larger than regular text. The red level is to assist students with starting the research process and to practice writing sentences.
Yellow: These books have two sentences every two pages. The words could be more complex to read and they are printed in a big font, like the red level. Students will learn to use a glossary at this level, because some words may be bold. The books are simply written with no extra captions or fancy nonfiction text features, such as insets or complicated diagrams.
Green: These books have more than 3 sentences every 2 pages and they will usually form one paragraph per page. They will contain more vocabulary words and have limited captions for pictures. Sometimes, they have fancy text features, which can be confusing to some students, but as long as the text every 2 pages does not exceed a paragraph, they are a green level book.
Blue: These books are currently the most difficult to read for this leveling system. A true blue book will have 2 to 3 paragraphs every 2 pages. They can have captions with the pictures and other fancy text features. Students may have to use other nonfiction text features such as the index, the glossary, and the table of contents to navigate the information. These books are still able to be read during silent reading time. I do use these books will a question template to support the writing for some students, but mostly I use them with a detail template for researching with single or multiple resources. These books are great for researching in upper elementary grades.
The main objective of the Leveled Research Library is to scaffold students through the research process to become independent and authentic researchers. The final goal is for a student to be given a topic, be able to find multiple resources on their own, be able to gather information from these resources, organize that information, and publish that topic in their own words with properly cited sources.
As teachers, we are short on time and overloaded with concepts to teach for mastery. Teaching students how to research takes a large chunk of time that is rarely available especially in the elementary grades. Once the process is taught, research from The Leveled Research Library becomes supplementary material in the classroom. Students can research once their classwork is finished. The library will provide many opportunities for the students to create reports and hone their writing skills each and every day. Mastering the art of writing takes time and having a Leveled Research Library in the classroom will scaffold students to learn how to research and so much more.
-LE
As teachers, we are short on time and overloaded with concepts to teach for mastery. Teaching students how to research takes a large chunk of time that is rarely available especially in the elementary grades. Once the process is taught, research from The Leveled Research Library becomes supplementary material in the classroom. Students can research once their classwork is finished. The library will provide many opportunities for the students to create reports and hone their writing skills each and every day. Mastering the art of writing takes time and having a Leveled Research Library in the classroom will scaffold students to learn how to research and so much more.
-LE
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