Heinemann / ISBN 0-325-00818-3 / 978-0-325-00818-9 / 2005 / 288 pp / paperback
Availability: In Stock

This title is recommended for:

• Teaching Reading--Elementary

Product Information

For ten years and over two classic books, Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell have described how to analyze the characteristics of texts and select just-the-right book to use for guided reading instruction. Now, for the first time, all of their thinking and research has been updated and brought together into Leveled Books (K–8) to form the ultimate guide to choosing and using books from kindergarten through middle school. Fountas and Pinnell take you through every aspect of leveled books, describing how to select and use them for different purposes in your literacy program and offering prototype descriptions of fiction and nonfiction books at each level. They share advice on:

• the role of leveled books in reading instruction
• analyzing the characteristics of fiction and nonfiction texts
• using benchmark books to assess instructional levels for guided reading
• selecting books for both guided and independent reading
• organizing high-quality classroom libraries
• acquiring books and writing proposals to fund classroom-library purchases
• creating a school book room.

Best of all, Leveled Books (K–8) is one half of a new duo of resources that will change how you look at leveled books. Its companion—www.FountasandPinnellLeveledBooks.com—is a searchable and frequently updated website that includes over 16,000 titles. With Leveled Books (K–8) you’ll know how and why to choose books for your readers, and with www.FountasandPinnellLeveledBooks.com, you’ll have the ideal tool at your fingertips for finding appropriate books for guided reading.

Table of Contents

1. Why Match Books to Readers?
2. A Gradient of Text: What, Why, and How?
3. A Comprehensive and Effective Literacy Curriculum
4. The Text Base for an Effective Language and Literacy Program
5. Thinking About Readability
6. Analyzing Text Features to Determine Levels
7. Putting Analysis Into Action
8. Creating a High-Quality Leveled Book Collection
9. Matching Books to Readers
10. Using Leveled Books in Guided Reading
11. Understanding Levels of Text: A to I
12. Understanding Levels of Text: J to M
13. Understanding Levels of Text: N to S
14. Understanding Levels of Text: T to Z
15. The Classroom Library
16. The Classroom Collection for Guided Reading
17. Creating and Using a School Bookroom
18. Book Clubs, Gifts, and Cost-Effective Planning
19. How to Write Grant Proposals to Acquire More Books
Appendixes
1. Record of Book Reading Progress
2. Trade Book Publishers/Book Publishers and Distributors
3. Evaluation Response for Text Gradient
4. How to Use the Book List

Sample Chapters

• Discover the many reasons for and benefits of using leveled books in Chapter One.