What does level A / 1 or B / 2 look like?

·         The story has one idea or a simple story line.

·         The words and pictures are directly related.

·         The actual placement of the words on each page is consistent.

·         There is more space between words to encourage and support one-to-one word matching and to provide opportunities to notice and use known but commonly confused words ( in/on, I/A, the/a, me/my, it/is/in, etc.)

·         High-frequency words, or sight words, are used and repeated often.

One example of a level B book is Cat and Mouse by Beverley Randall.  In this story the cat is chasing the mouse through a shed or garage.  They go over and under different things.  The text on one page says:

      “Mouse ran under the ladder. 

       Cat ran under the ladder.”

And the picture shows a mouse and a cat running under the ladder.

Common Errors:

What if your child says “run” instead of “ran”?

      This is where you can reinforce correct language and structure.  You can ask, “Does that sound right?” or “Is that the way we say that?” or “How should you say that?”, and repeat what your child said.

What if your child is mixing up “over” and “under”?

      This is a perfect opportunity to practice using meaning and visual – or actual text – cues.  You can direct your child to the picture and say, “Does it make sense to say that the mouse ran over the ladder when you look at the picture?” Also, instead of using the good ol’ “sound it out” we want to encourage them at this level to get the word started.  Remember, these are beginning, inexperienced readers – a little at a time J. 

Instead, say “Look at the beginning of that word.  What sound should your mouth make?” or “You said _______.  Can that word be _______?  How do you know?” or any combination or variation of the two.  We want them to use, at least, the initial sound (get the word started), the picture (make it make sense), and language (make it sound right).

What does level C / 3-4 look like?

·         The story is still simple and the subject will be familiar.

·         The book may be a little longer and have a few more words, but there are still only a few lines of text.

·         The pictures are very supportive.

·         Patterned and repeated text with more high-frequency / sight words.

·         There is more variety in the language used to provide opportunities to attend more to the print.

An example of a level C book is The Bus Ride.  In this story, different animals got on a bus that went fast until a bee got on, and then all the animals got off.  The text from one page says:

      “The hippopotamus got on the bus.

       Then the bus went fast.”

A number of high-frequency words are included in the text, and the picture shows a hippopotamus getting on the bus.  The same sentence is repeated throughout the book until the end when all of the animals get off the bus.  A reader still has the support of the picture and a repetitive text, but he or she must also be noticing the actual text more and more as well as thinking about meaning – what would make sense.  

Common Errors:

What if your child says “hippo” instead of “hippopotamus”?

      This is when you want to encourage your child to look through the word and think about what the word would look like – “What else do you know or would you see in that word?”.  We, again, don’t want them to “sound it out” but rather to think about what we would expect to see at the end of “hippo” or the other letter sounds we would make if we see the word “hippopotamus” and if the word in the book could be that word or if we have to try something else.  We still want them to use the initial sound, but we want them thinking and looking beyond that. 

What does a level D / 5-6 look like?

(This is the goal level for the end of the 1^st 9-weeks grading period.)

·         The stories are slightly more complex but still simple to understand.

·         The pictures continue to be supportive, but more attention to the print is required.  (For example:  puppy/dog; kitten/cat;  house/home)

·         A few more lines of print (2 to 6), more words, and longer sentences.  Longer sentences will encourage and develop phrasing, expression, and fluency during re-reading when the book has become familiar.

·         More endings to words (-s, -ing, -ed) to further develop looking through words (For example:  paint/painting; come/comes) and correct language structure.

·         There is still sufficient space between the words that we want to begin moving away from pointing to the words.  Using a finger is still useful when encountering a “tricky” word – it helps focus the eyes the look for familiar parts and chunks.