FAQ about Reading Workshop My child is in Level M. What does that mean as far as a grade level that I can understand? Several different systems exist today for organizing reading levels. The one used in the American Section is called Fountas and Pinnell. It was developed by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell to support their guided reading method and has been adopted by reading programs in many schools including the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. In this system, reading text is analyzed and classified or leveled according to various parameters, such as word count, number of different words, number of high-frequency words, sentence length, sentence complexity, word repetitions, and illustration support. There are 26 levels one for every letter of the alphabet. This helps guarantee that children are reading books that are just right for them. Although schools can adjust which reading levels are appropriate for which grades, here is a chart which gives you a rough idea of the Fountas and Pinnell levels per grade. Recommended grade Fountas and Pinnell level K A, B, C 1 C, D, E, F, G, H, I 2 I, J, K, L, M 3 M, N, O, P 4 P, Q, R, S 5 S, T, U, V 6 V, W, X, Y 7 Y,Z 8 and above Z How is the child s level determined? When can my child change levels? To determine your child s level initially, the teacher will do an assessment called a running record. Students read a leveled text chosen by the teacher. They read part orally to determine fluency, and they read the rest silently. After the student has finished reading the text, the teacher asks the student to retell the text. The teacher will also ask questions to see how deeply the student has understood the text. Was he able to infer things that were not stated directly? If the initial text is too difficult or too easy for the student, the teacher will start again with a different text until the appropriate level is determined. Children are then assessed periodically and are moved to the next level when they are ready.
I think the books you are having my child read are too easy, can he go up a level or two? Sometimes it may seem like your child s level is too easy because a just right level is one at which the child truly owns the reading. He reads fluently and expressively to himself without difficulty. His comprehension is good, and he is able to infer things that aren t stated directly in the text. At this level the student should be able to read more deeply, question, and interact with the text. This is work that is beyond basic comprehension. In order for the teacher to know that the student is indeed reading and progressing, he meets with the student and confers with him about his book, his reading strategies, and his goals. Also, each student has a reading partner, another student in the class with whom he discusses what he is reading. Finally, his jottings (Post-It notes) and reader response also help the teacher know how the student is interacting with the text and when he is ready to change levels. What are the components of reading workshop? Why do the students spend their time reading in class? Can t they do that at home? 1. The teacher does a mini-lesson, a short presentation of the reading strategy or goal that the students will be focusing on especially during workshop time as they read. Sometimes this lesson is in the form of a read aloud when the teacher can model the strategy for the children. 2. The students login and read with a specific purpose in mind. During this time the teacher confers with selected students or groups of students about their reading. It is during this time that the teacher is able to observe the students reading habits and help them progress. 3. The teacher might interrupt them briefly in the middle of the workshop to remind them of the goal for the day or to comment on some the work she has observed. 4. After reading partners are established, at the end of workshop, students often get together with their reading partners to discuss what they have accomplished in their reading. Why do the children have to login? In the beginning of the year, students reflect on their reading lives and set reading goals for the year. Often these goals include increasing stamina, the length of time one reads in one sitting or speed, how fast one reads. Sometimes it might be trying different genres or becoming better at inferring. Whatever the goals are, the login sheet helps students analyze and see their progress. Reading partners look at each other s sheets from time to time and discuss progress and next steps. Obviously, the login information needs to be fairly accurate if the student is going to really benefit from its contents. Can my child read his own books from home? Sometimes my child comes home with library books that don t seem on the same level as the ones s/he is reading in class. Is that OK? How can my child find leisure reading books on his/her level?
Ideally, all the books your child reads should be at or close to his level. Books from home are fine as long as your child can really read them. Students are taught how to identify books that are just right for them. In the library students are freer to browse the shelves, and although the teacher will try to guide their choices, children can check out what they choose with very few exceptions. Hopefully, students will eventually apply the method they have been taught and select books from the library that not only interest them, but also that they can really read. Between the books selected during library time and the books that the students can select from during class time, they should have more than enough reading material. Why shouldn t my child read her just-right books right before bed? Children should be reading while they are alert because they need to do critical thinking and apply their reading strategies while they are reading their just-right books. The type of reading that occurs right before they go to sleep is usually not conducive to the type of work they have to do in their books, especially in the upper primary grades where students have to do reading responses. Should I correct my child if s/he makes a mistake while reading aloud with me? Correction is a delicate matter. Not all children learn through correction, especially if they are being corrected many times. They will forget most of the corrections if there are many consecutive corrections. You may choose to correct your child if the error will impede comprehension of the story and you limit the number of times you correct him. The best way to help is to encourage the child to learn to identify the errors independently. The teachers do this by telling students to ask themselves these questions: Does that look right? Does that sound right? Does that make sense? Ask these questions, and then reread what the child read as you scan through the word or sentence with your finger from beginning to end. Can he correct himself? How many times should my child read the same book? Repeated readings of a book help all students to improve their reading rate, fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. It is very important to reread books in the lower primary grades. Students should be rereading their books 3-5 times in levels A-F Students should be rereading their books 2-3 times in levels G-K Students should be rereading their books in levels J-Z if they need to improve rate, fluency, accuracy, or comprehension. How often will my child be getting a new book? The frequency that students receive new books depends on both their reading level and their teacher s management system for what is called book shopping. Students in the lower primary grades will be getting new books and also more books frequently because the books at levels A-L are shorter.
With the phonics books, there are so many books to read, we just can't keep up. Which is more important? Both are important and help your child improve in different ways. Contact the teacher to find out which he or she wishes you to prioritize for your child. My child is not really reading. He has memorized the text. Is this really reading, per se? Children develop important concepts of print that are integral to the emergent stages of reading by memorizing their books. They learn about left to right directionality, letter, word and sentence spacing, and they gain basic sight words by memorizing their books. Although, they are not reading independently yet, they are developing the important building blocks they will need to be able to read independently. I have other books I would prefer to read with my child. Why do I have to read the ones sent home? The books sent home are on your child s independent reading level. This means that for the most part, s/he should be reading these books independently. Research has demonstrated that this will help to improve reading ability. This is your child s homework to reinforce the reading strategies learned in school. Of course, it is also beneficial to read with your child, so if very occasionally, you are short on time and would prefer to read a different book aloud you may; however, most of the time they need to be independently reading their justright books. What is the purpose of being able to recognize a particular word in a text when the child can't read the whole text? The purpose is to teach children that even if they can t read every word yet, the child can still engage with a book and develop a reading life. Looking at books before they can actually read teaches children many emergent reading skills. Identifying a word in isolation also helps them to build up their sight word vocabulary, which students will need to be able to read more text. I don t think my child is really ready to read. Why is there pressure to start reading in Kindergarten? In Kindergarten, we refer to just looking at pictures and words in a text as reading even though the children aren t able to really read the words yet. We also teach the children to retell familiar stories before they can read so that they develop a sense of story structure, which is critical to their future reading comprehension ability. It is important that children start paying attention to print early in order to develop concepts of print for reading. The purpose of shopping for books, looking at pictures and words in them, and retelling the story is to develop the emergent reading skills they need to be able to eventually read independently. The teacher said that ideally my child should read each book three times. When there is not enough time between classes to read each book three times, what should we do? Read at least one book two times if your time is limited. Your child should keep the books s/he didn t get to for the next time the students book shop.
How much time should the children be reading at home / grade level each day? Ideally: K & 1 5 to 20 minutes 2 & 3 15 to 30 minutes 4 & 5 30 to 60 minutes Our family schedule doesn t permit my child to read every day for extended times. Is it okay to read more at one time to make up the difference? Your child must make up the difference. However, your child will probably progress through levels at a slower pace if s/he isn t reading every day. Just like an athlete who is better off working out a little every day rather than a lot once or twice a week, your child will make more progress reading a little everyday even if it is just for ten minutes.