Many PASeries users have now administered at least the screener tests to determine incoming student ability levels. As the last blog entry focused on Quantiles, let’s take a look at Lexiles and some of the great resources available.
Let’s start with an example. Say we have a student named, oh I don’t know, Chris. Chris was administered the a screener test and received a Lexile score of 650. As we learn from our
Reading Teacher’s Manual, this indicates that Chris is reading below level for his cohort.
One instructional strategy would have us use Chris’ Lexile score to match him to texts that fit his interests and would keep him engaged in the reading process. Armed with his Lexile score and the knowledge that Chris is a big fan of trucks (gleaned from his frequent discourses on them), we can use the
Lexile Book Database to find titles that will both challenge and engage Chris.
In the Lexile Book Database we enter 600 as our minimum and 700 as our maximum in the Lexile Range fields. In the Keyword field we enter “trucks” and click Search. The Lexile Book database yields a number of works that would be appropriate to Chris’ Lexile level and his interest in trucks. This search yields the following:
0689715161
Diggers
and Dump Trucks
Royston, Angela
IG620L
157505311X
Get
Around with Cargo
Hill, Lee Sullivan
610L
0590023810
Highway
Trucks
Korman, Justine
AD690L
0805052968
Isaac:
The Ice Cream Truck
Santoro, Scott
AD660L
155037592X
Load
'Em Up Trucks
Pearson, Debora
AD650L
1560654635
Military
Trucks
Green, Michael
680L
0802784631
Milkman's
Boy, The
Hall, Donald
AD660L
1560653728
Pickup
Trucks
Koons, James
690L
Armed with this information, we can direct Chris to the school library with this list of appropriate titles or print this list and send it home to Chris’ family along with the helpful
Lexiles at Home fact sheet. Now, Chris will surely be engaged by the subject matter while simultaneously continuing to grow as a reader.
Using this strategy, we can continue to provide appropriate materials throughout the school year as Chris’ interests change and his reading achievement grows as monitored through PASeries.