Deepening Content in Leveled Reading

Each minute within the school day is precious. Not only are teachers under pressure to meet a required number of standards each year but they are also under pressure to achieve specific test scores in many places. As a graduate student studying elementary education, I am well aware of these pressures I will soon face as a teacher. 

I have had the opportunity to read with students in the classroom,  but I don't often read with students from leveled books. One time in particular I was reading with a student, and noticed the majority of the books in the student's book box were at a much lower grade level than the actual grade the student was in.  Because the books were at a lower grade level, the content was much too easy for the student to comprehend. The student was simply having a difficult time with actually reading the text. 

In the article, Let's Start Leveling about Leveling, by Kath Glasswell and Michael Ford, the authors state,"teachers need to demonstrate dual commitments by ensuring students' access to both age-appropriate material that challenges their thinking and texts that match their independent reading level." With not a moment to spare in the school day, we must think about the books we are providing to our young readers, especially struggling readers. When a struggling reader is provided with a leveled book with content that he or she may not be able to engage with, the reader will quickly lose interest in that text. 

By deepening the way we think about the content we present in our leveled reading, we can take advantage of every moment in the school day, not lose precious time because the reading level and grade level don't match up.