To:  All teachers 1-8

From:  Betty Lewis, Literacy Coordinator

DRAFT

ANWSU BENCHMARK TEXTS FOR GRADES 1-8

Note:  Please review this list.  These are suggested texts from a variety of sources.

Over this next school year, try the suggested benchmark text to determine if it is an appropriate benchmark.  The definition of a benchmark is:

            “A benchmark text is stable for the level and highly reliable; that is, the passage will be appropriate for the large majority of the studentswho are demonstrating similar behaviors at a certain point in time.  Accuracy is part of the picture.  The foundation of reading at any level or in any genre is being able to process the print with an acceptable level of accuracy.  Accuracy seems to be a contingent factor, meaning that it is necessary but not sufficient for comprehension.  We all know that sometimes students can say the words but not understand what they read; but they certainly can’t understand if they can’t read the words. 

            Establish your benchmarks by selecting four or five typical texts at each level on the gradient. (You might want to include both fiction and nonfiction.)  Select passages that are about 250 words.  (Short stories and short informational texts make effective benchmarks.)  It is important not to cut off the text mid-sentence or at some place that will destroy the meaning, so you will want to be flexible here.  It is the percentage that matters.  Either photocopy the pages, or better, prepare forms that have the passages typed, with space between lines and space in the margins in which to write notes about fluency and indicate any other comments.  Place the books in a sealable plastic bag and the conference protocols in a binder or a set of pocket folders and you are ready to gather a significant amount of information about the student as a reader.”  P. 496 from:

Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6, Fountas and Pinnell, 2001

Suggested comprehension questions: 

• see p. 292-297  Guiding Readers and Writers, Fountas and Pinnell
• See:  “Oral Comprehension Questions” (attached)
• See:  p. 290-295  Teaching Reading in Middle School, Laura Robb, Scholastic, 2000

Grade One:  Two levels listed (level 12 mid-year and level 16 end of year)

      Level 12:

Old Man Moss (Reading Recovery Testing)

Carrot Seed (Krauss)

The Napping House by Audrey Wood

There’s a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer

Are You My Mother? By P.D. Eastman

Mighty Spiders by Fay Robinson (nonfiction)

      POA Text level assessment ______________________

      Rigby nonfiction assessment _____________________

      Oral Reading Text passages  

Level 16:

The Very Busy Spider (Carle)

There’s a Nightmare in my Closet (Mayer)

Noisy Nora (Wells)

      POA text level assessment______________________

      Rigby nonfiction assessment____________________

      Oral Reading Text level passages

Grade Two:

      Level 24 (C)  for the DRA

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

The Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla

Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron

The Titanic:  Lost..And Found by Judy Donnelly(nonfiction)

Pompeii…Buried Alive! By Edith Kunhardt(nonfiction)

      Oral Reading Text Level passages

Grade Three:

      Level 38—from DRA texts

      Rigby—level 26 “The Game of Soccer”

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

How To Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family by Lensey Namioka

Superfudge by Judy Blume

Bunnicula by Deborah and James How

Five Notable Inventors (Great Black Heroes) by Wade Hudson (nonfiction)

      Oral Reading Text Level passages

Grade Four:

Soup and Me by Robert Peck

Encyclopedia Brown Solves them All by Donald Sobol

Charlotte’s Web by E.B.White

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Magic Schoolbus:  Inside the Human Body by Joanna Cole (nonfiction)

Amazing Poisonous Animals (Eyewitness Juniors series) by Alexandra Parsons (nonfiction)

      Oral Reading Text Level Passages

Grade Five:

The War with Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Muscles:  Our Muscular System by Seymour Simon (nonfiction)

      Oral Reading Text Level Passages

Grade Six:

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Bridge to Teribithia by Katherine Paterson

The Boggart by Susan Cooper

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Holes by Louis Sachar

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Do You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? By Jean Fritz (nonfiction)

Immigrant Kids by Russell Freedman(nonfiction)

Children of the Dust Bowl by Jerry Stanley (nonfiction)

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank(nonfiction)

Lincoln:  A Photobiography by Russell Freedman (nonfiction)

      Oral Reading Text Level Passages

Grade Seven:

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor

      Oral Reading Text Level Passages

Grade Eight:

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ironman by Chris Crutcher

Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples

The Children of Topas:  The Story of a Japanese-American Internment Camp by Michael O. Tunnell and George Chilcoat

      Oral Reading Text Level Passages

All Benchmark book suggestions are from: Developmental Continuums:  A Framework for Literacy Instruction and Assessment K-8 by Bonnie Campbell Hill published by:  Christopher Gordon Publishers, Inc. 2001

Books Beyond Grade Two (level 20)---Some suggestions

The leveling beyond grade two is broader for instructional purposes.  If a child/parent selects a book for independent reading, then it would be wise to drop back a level or more.  See Guiding Readers and Writers,  Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, Heinemann, 2001 (ISBN # 0-325-00310-6) for more suggestions.

Genres:

TL	Traditional Literature
F	Fantasy
RF	Realistic Fiction
I	Information book
HF	Historical Fiction
B	Biography
SF	Science Fiction

                                                Genre categories from:  Guiding Readers and Writers

Level L

Title	Author	Genre
Amelia Bedelia (all books)	Peggy Parish	RF
Cam Jansen (all books)	David Adler	RF
The Candy Corn Contest	Patricia Reilly Giff	RF
The Dog that Pitched a No-Hitter	Matt Christopher	RF
Dolphin	Robert A. Morris	I
George and Martha (all books)	James Marshall	F
George Washington	Pebble Books	B
Hungry, Hungry Sharks	Joanna Cole	I
Marvin Redpost (all books)	Louis Sachar	RF
Mary Maroney (all books)	Suzy Kline	RF
Pinky and Rex (all books)	James Howe	RF
The Tale of Peter Rabbit	Beatrix Potter	TL

Level M

Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest  (All Arthur books)	Marc Brown	F
The Beast in Ms. Rooney’s Room (Many of the Patricia Reilly Giff books)	Patricia Reilly Giff	RF
The Littles (all books)	John Peterson	F
Molly’s Pilgrim	Barbara Cohen	HF
One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo	Judy Blume	RF

Level N

Adam Joshua Capers (all books)	Janice Lee Smith	RF
Amber Brown (all books)	Paula Danziger	RF
The Chalk Box Kid	Clyde Robert Bulla	RF
Coral Reef	Gary W. Davis	I
Elizabeth Blackwell:First Woman Doctor	Rookie Biographies (Children’s Press)	B
Julian, Secret Agent	Ann Cameron	RF
More Stories Julian Tells	Ann Cameron	RF
Something Queer at the Lemonade Stand	Elizabeth Levy	RF
Walking the Road to Freedom	Jeri Ferris	I
Thomas Jefferson	Rookie Biographie	B
Octopuses and Squids	Wonder World	I
What Makes a Bird a Bird?	May Garelick	I

Level O

Aldo Ice Cream	Joanna Hurwitz	RF
All About Sam	Lois Lowry	RF
Allen Jay and the Underground Railroad	Marlene Targ Brill	HF
Baseball’s Best: Five True Stories	Andrew Gutelle	I
Beezus and Ramona	Beverly Cleary	RF
Bats (other books by author)	Kevin J. Holmes	I
Class Clown	Joanna Hurwitz	RF
George’s Marvelous Medicine	Roald Dahl	F
Henry and Beezus	Beverly Cleary	RF
I am Rosa Parks	Rosa Parks	B
Laura Ingalls Wilder	Thomas B. Allen	B
Meg Mackintosh (series)	Lucinda Landon	RF
A Pony for Keeps (series)	Jeanne Betancourt	RF
Ramona (series)	Beverly Cleary	RF

Level P

Amelia Earhart	John Parlin	B
The Canada Geese Quilt	Natalie Kinsey-Warnock	RF
Ellen Tebbits	Beverly Cleary	RF
Encyclopedia Brown (series)	Donald and Rose Sobol	RF
Exploring Fresh Water Habitats	Diane Snowball	I
Fantastic Mr. Fox	Roald Dahl	F
Fire at the Triangle Factory Level P (continued)	Holly Littlefield	HF
In the Rain Forest	Wildcats	I
Jesse Jackson	Rookie Biographies	B
Stone Fox	John Reynolds Gardine	RF
Susan B. Anthony	Lucile Davis	B
Time Warp Trio (series)	Jon Scieszka	SF

Level Q

Anastasia Krupnik	Lois Lowry	RF
Bunnicula	James Howe	F
Dragon Quest (series)	Jackie French Koller	F
Homer Price	Robert McCloskey	RF
Little House in the Big Woods	Laura Ingalls Wilder	HF
Ocean Life	Owen Weldon	I
The Samurai’s Daughter	Robert D. San Souci	TL
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing	Judy Blume	RF
The Velveteen Rabbit	Margery Williams	F

Level R

The American Alligator	Steve Potts	I
Caddie Woodlawn	Carol Ryrie Brink	HF
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Roald Dahl	F
The Castle in the Attic	Elizabeth Winthrop	F
Earthquake!: San Francisco	Kate Wilson	I
Hatchet	Gary Paulsen	RF
Helen Keller	Margaret Davidson	B
Cornerstones of Freedom	Lewis and Clark	I
The Titanic	Cornerstones of Freedom	I
The Whipping Boy	Sid Fleischman	F

Level S

The Borrowers	Mary Norton	F
The Cybil War	Betsy Byars	RF
The Great Gilly Hopkins	Katherine Paterson	RF
Jacob Have I Loved	Katherine Paterson	RF
Matilda	Roald Dahl	F
Poppy	Avi	F
Sugaring Time	Kathryn Lasky	I
The Trumpet of the Swan	E.B. White	F

Level T

Abel’s Island	William Stieg	F
Baby	Patricia MacLachlan	RF
Blubber	Judy Blume	RF
Harriet the Spy	Louise Fitzhugh	RF
Harry Potter	J.K.Rowling	F

Level U

Benjamin Franklin	Deborah Kent	B
The Boggart	Susan Cooper	F
Bridge to Terabithia	Katherine Paterson	RF
Julie of the Wolves	Jean Craighead George	RF
Lyddie	Katherine Paterson	HF
The Moon	A First Book	I
Rosa Parks:  My Story	Rosa Parks	B
The Secret Garden	Frances H. Burnett	RF
Tuck Everlasting	Natalie Babbitt	F
Tucket’s Ride	Gary Paulsen	HF

Level V

Dragonwings	Avi	HF
Holes	Louis Sachar	RF
Incident at Hawk’s Hill	Allen Eckert	HF
Old Yeller	Fred Gipson	RF
Rascal	Sterling North	HF
The Westing Game	Ellen Raskin	RF
A Wrinkle in Time	Madeline L’Engle	F

Level W

Dicey’s Song	Cynthia Voigt	RF
I am a Star:  Child of the Holocaust	Inge Auerbacher	I
The Phantom Tollbooth	Norton Juster	F
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry	Mildred Taylor	HF
Tiger Eyes	Judy Blume	RF

Levels X, Y, Z

Call it Courage	Armstrong Sperry	RF
Let the Circle be Unbroken	Mildred D. Taylor	HF
Where the Red Fern Grows	Wilson Rawls	RF
The Yearling	Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings	RF
Call of the Wild	Jack London	RF
The Diary of Ann Frank	Ann Frank	I
Treasure Island	Robert Louis Stevenson	HF
The Watcher	James Howe	RF

 Gradient of Text Level for Instructional Purposes

For independent reading, it would be important to use these approximate grade levels only as a guide.  They are not meant to be exact grade level texts.  For independent reading, many children may need to select books at a lower level.

Levels 1-20---Kindergarten, Grade One and beginning grade two

You will note that levels overlap.

Levels K-M---early to late grade two

Levels N-P---early to late grade three

Levels Q-T---early to late grade four

Levels S-W---early to late grade five

Levels V-Z---early to late grade six

Things to Consider When Matching Transitional Readers to Text

Definitions of readers:

 “Emergent readers have not yet learned many strategies for understanding print.  They have minimal decoding skills and often rely on pictures for most of the information they get from books.  Early readers rely less on pictures. They are beginning to recognize high-frequency words automatically as they read, and they can read familiar texts with fluency. Transitional readers understand and can readily use decoding skills to decipher texts.  They have many strengths as readers and a great variety of weaknesses.  In her book On Solid Ground, Sharon Taberski (2000) defines transitional readers as children who:

• Can recognize many words, even those considered “difficult” or content-related;
• Integrate meaning, syntax, and phonics fairly consistently;
• Have a variety of ways to figure out unfamiliar words;
• Can generally read independent level text with fluency, expression, and proper phrasing;
• Are beginning to handle longer, more complex text with short chapters and more interesting characters;
• Can summarize texts they’ve read;
• Are growing more aware of story and text structures.”  p. 5-6 in Beyond Leveled Books by Karen Szymusiak and Franki Sibberson, Stenhouse Publishers, 2001

Supportive Features of Text          from:  Beyond Leveled Books, p.21-27

• Text Setup:  consider the way the text is placed on the page, size of type, spacing, natural phrase line breaks, arrangement of text to facilitate fluent reading
• Hooks:   book cover with a short story summary, review excerpts, awards received, list of other books by same author, cover, title, and chapter titles help to predict what the book may be about.
• Illustrations: consider how the illustrations support the text
• Dialogue:  early chapter books identify who is talking with the word “said”.  Later, more challenging texts may specify who is talking but there may be more descriptive words or phrases
• Book and Chapter Leads:  some books begin with character and setting descriptions—these tend to be less of a challenge.  Other authors go right into the story—these books require more challenge for the reader.
• Continuation or Stand-Alone Chapters:  for continuation chapters, students need to learn ways to help them remember where they are in the story to start again.  In early chapter books, chapters can often stand alone.
• Length of chapters:  transitional readers are best able to comprehend texts that have chapters that can be read in one sitting.  They may have a harder time keeping track of stories with longer, more complicated chapters and may lose interest over time.  They need to learn strategies to understand more complex stories.
• Tables of Contents/Chapter Titles:  Children should learn to transition from preview the cover, illustrations to reviewing the table of contents and chapter titles.

Text Level Translation Chart

Approximate Text Level Equivalents
DRA(VT)	Fountas	Approx.Grade Level	RR Level	Rigby
A	A	K/1	1	1
A	B	K/1	2	2
A	C	1	3+4	3+4
A	D	1	5+6	5+6
A	E	1	7+8	7+8
A	F	1	9+10	9+10
A	G	1	11+12	11+12
A	H	1	13+14	13+14
B	I	LATE 1	15+16	15+16
B	J	EARLY 2	17+18	17+18
B	K	2	19+20	19+20
B	L	2	21+22
C	M	LATE 2	24+28	21-22
D	N	Early 3	30	23+24
D	O	3	34	24+25
D	P	LATE 3	38	26
D	Q	EARLY 4	38-44	27
D	R	LATE 4	38-44	28
	S	EARLY 5		29
	T	5
	U	5		30
	V	EARLY 6
	W	6
	X	6
	Y	6
	Z	LATE 6