There Are Certain Bands of Difficulty

Bands of Text Difficulty

There are certain bands of difficulty:

·  A-B

·  C-D

Within these bands, there are commonalities that have to do with text structure, story structure, characters, setting, narrators, plot, etc.

INSTRUCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS

[  When kids are ready for a new band of books, we should pull them together either in a strategy group or conference and explain to them the characteristics of the new kinds of books they will be exposed to.

It might go something like this…

“Because you’re ready for these books, be mindful that… (characteristics). This means your reading work will be…”

[  Have students read books in partnerships or book clubs so they can support each other on a daily basis.

[  We teach different skill sets depending on our readers during strategy lessons & conferences.

A & B Books

Characteristics of books on these levels:

ü  One to two lines of text on a page

ü  Large spaces between words

ü  Repeated pattern in the text to support the reader

ü  The pattern on the first page is the pattern throughout the book

ü  Unknown content words are supported by picture

ü  Contain basic sight words

ü  Basic sentence structure

Skills & Strategies:

·  Use the cover to get ready to read.

·  Quickly scan the picture on each page before you read.

·  Point under each word as you read.

·  Notice the repeating pattern.

·  Use the pictures and the beginning letter to figure out tricky words.

·  Look for words you know.

·  Retell the story in order from beginning to the end.

·  Use the book to help retell if you get stuck.

C & D Books

Characteristics of books on these levels:

ü  One to three lines of text on a page

ü  Large spaces between words

ü  Repeated pattern in the text to support the reader, however the pattern may change on the last page or in the middle of the book

ü  Pictures support most unknown words

ü  Contain more difficult multisyllabic words that may require students to read the whole word through, which means student need to start to know short vowels

ü  Contain larger amount of high frequency words than A, B books.

Skills and Strategies:

·  Use the cover to get ready to read.

·  Quickly scan the picture on each page before you read.

·  Sweep under each word as you read.

·  Notice the repeating pattern.

·  Use the pictures and letters to figure out tricky words.

·  Chunk or scoop bigger words.

·  Make sure you are thinking:

Does it make sense? Does it look right? If not, go back and fix it!

·  Reread over and over and think “What would make sense?”

·  Look for words you know.

·  Predict what will happen next and tell why.

·  Retell the story in order from beginning to the end.

·  Use the book to help retell if you get stuck.