Guided Reading Book Leveling Guidelines

Levels A/B (Kindergarten/Grade One)

• Single idea/simple story line
• Consistent format/text in same place
• Easy to follow layout
• One to four lines of text per page
• Ample space between words
• One sentence per illustration
• Key words repeated
• Direct correspondence between text and illustration
• Basic punctuation

  *Level B - more words, more lines of text per page, greater range of frequently used vocabulary

Level C (Grade One)

• Simple story line and topics
• Two to five lines of text per page
• Story carried by text
• Illustrations support meaning
• Text clearly separated from illustrations
• Oral language structures are used and repeated
• Full range of punctuation
• May contain patterns and repetitions
• More variation in language patterns
• Prediction through natural language
• Longer sentences, more words

Level D (Grade One)

• More complex stories
• Concepts still within reader's experience
• Illustrations are less supportive
• Two to six lines of text per page
• Full range of punctuation
• Repetition of words from previous texts
• Vocabulary includes more inflectional endings (-ed, -ing, & -s)

Level E (Grade One)

• More complex stories
• Story ideas are more subtle
• Text carries story line
• Illustrations support story but contain several ideas
• Three to eight lines of text per page
• Text placement varies
• Repeated language patterns vary within text
• Vocabulary requires word analysis skill
• Extended vocabulary of frequently used words
• Full variety of punctuation

Level F (Grade One)

• Story lines include more events
• Characters more fully developed
• Text has beginning, middle, and end
• Greater variety of dialogue
• Three to eight lines of text per page
• Pictures support meaning
• Text carries more meaning
• Print is somewhat smaller
• Variety of frequently used words expands
• More opportunities for word analysis

Levels G/H (Grade One)

• More literary and longer stories
• Less repetition of events
• Content extends children's experiences
• More challenging ideas in content
• Four to eight lines of text per page
• Concepts integrated with natural language
• Introduction of new vocabulary

Level I (Grade One - Late)

• Variety of text including informational
• Story structure more complex
• Story events are more elaborate
• Illustrations provide low to moderate support
• Different points of view presented
• Opportunities to discuss new ideas
• More sentences per page
• Specialized, unusual, and challenging vocabulary
• Problem solving needed for unfamiliar words
• Characters are memorable
• Possibilities for comparison with other texts

Level J (Grade Two - Early)

• Longer and more complex stories
• Concepts and themes are familiar
• Variety of texts including nonfiction, folktales, and realistic stories
• Some beginning chapter books
• Stories have a literary language
• Characters developed through dialogue

Level K (Grade Two)

• Stories have multiple events related to a single plot
• Familiar text and longer selections
• Illustrations on every page or every other page
• Amount of text on a page varies
• Illustrations support extended text
• Ten to fifteen lines of text per page

Level L (Grade Two)

• Longer chpater books with only a few illustrations
• Illustrations provide less support
• More characters are involved in the plot
• More sophisticated language, more detail and descriptions
• Story is more involved
• Vocabualry is challenging
• Text size is smaller and spacing is narrower

Level M (Grade Two)

• Books are long with lots of text per page
• Smaller print and narrower spacing
• Complex language structures
• Sophisticated vocabulary
• Highly detailed and descriptive
• Present more abstract concepts and themes
• Subtleties of these texts require more background knowledge
• Many characters are involved in more complex and expanded plots
• Character development is a prominent feature