Using Guided Reading (Fountas & Pinnell) levels to find independent reading material for your child:

When trying to find book choices of a certain level—whether it is at Scholastic's Book Wizard website (), their smartphone app, or the original and more accurate (but not free) Guided Reading level database ()—I’d suggest first looking for titles that are familiar to you, in order to give yourself a better sense of what type of book is level “P," etc. For instance, the Magic Tree House series is mostly considered level “M” (which is easier than level “N”), Judy Blume's Fudge series is level “Q,” and the Harry Potter series is level "V," if that helps to give you an idea of the difficulty differences between books. The leveling system is based on a combination of plot complexity, new vocabulary amounts, sentence structures/lengths, and other factors.

  • Using Book Wizard: To get a list of books at a certain letter level, start off by searching by Reading Level (specifically "Guided Reading Level"), then narrow your results by using the "Browse by" sidebar (a good way to avoid some of the babyish titles). It obviously doesn't encompass all books, but Scholastic is the largest children's/young adult book publisher, so they have many titles. Next, reserve those books from your local library (remember that your branch has access to the inventory of all libraries in the Sno-Isle system)!

The books within each level aren’t guaranteed to always be of the same difficulty (one “P” book might have more new vocabulary or have a more complex plot than another “P” book). These are general guidelines, not absolute rules!

To check in on students’ independent reading now vs. the start of the year, teachers have assessed students using grade-level text (level R). If your child's report card indicates that he/she meets standard(3 on the report card) for decoding, fluency and comprehension, it's generally fair to say that your 4th grader reads independently at level R or higher at this time (Feb.).

However, just because a student has been assessed at a certain letter level doesn’t mean he/she can’t try out other, “higher” books (supported by you and/or audiobooks, if possible). But for children’s independent (decoding fluently and comprehending well on their own) reading, have them read a variety of books that are mostly at their level, which means:

  • A “just right” book will provide the most opportunity for vocabulary growth, so there should be an average of less than five confusing words per page. Too much time spent stopping at or stumbling over unknown words interrupts good fluency and overall comprehension; if a reader is spending most of the reading time attempting to decode too many new words or just trying to figure out what’s going on in the plot, growth as a reader and the enjoyment of the author’s craft is diminished (whether the student realizes it or not).
  • The student can clearly explain what’s happening throughout the story, who the characters are and where they are. Just because a student reads/says all the words correctly doesn’t mean he/she is understanding the plot or new vocabulary completely.
  • The book/subject matter is interesting enough that the student wants to keep reading it! Books are usually abandoned because they are uninteresting, poorly written or too difficult.

If a student still wants to read books several levels above what I assessed, I will only say to please support them in that reading with either an accompanying audiobook to help bridge the gap (I will gladly provide you with what I have on mp3) and/or you finding a second copy to read along with them. Reading with your children could mean side-by-side, taking turns with pages or even paragraphs, or simply pre-reading parts of the book so you can check in with them at various points. This process allows you to keep track of their understanding, explain difficult vocabulary/plot structure, and/or model good expressive reading to them. Also, it is absolutely fine to read those “easy” or comfortable books once in a while… 

Some ideas/suggestions/reminders fOR READING WITH YOUR CHILDREN

  • Read with or to your children every day (they are never too old to be read to, and this often exposes them to vocabulary and language they may not yet be able to read on their own). You could try finding two copies of the same book and read side-by-side.
  • Vary the formats and genres of the books your children read with you or independently: try short stories, poems, magazine/newspaper articles, plays, chapter and picture books (comic books, too)… encourage them to read both fiction (realistic, historical, fantasy, sci-fi, folktales, myths, etc.) and

non-fiction (science, history, art, biographies, autobiographies, etc.).

  • When reading with or to your children, stop occasionally to ask what they have learned, what has happened and/orask them to predict what they think will happen next. For these predictions, accept their responses, and then let your reading reveal the answers.
  • Buy books (or bookstore gift cards) as presents. Books on CD/mp3, with the actual book to follow along in, can be particularly helpful because the child gets to hear the words read correctly and skillfully while seeing the words (and their spellings) on the page! Online sources for audiobooks and/or e-books include and or (temporarily) download them for free from the Sno-Isle library system at
  • Go to the library. Stay a while to browse and explore with your children! Make a list of your children’s interests and recent books they’ve read, then share them with a librarian and ask for suggestions. If your branch doesn't have what you want, they can request it for you from other branches in the Sno-Isle system!
  • Talk about the things you are reading: share your interests as a lifelong reader! Tell stories to each other, real (how your day went, etc.) or made up. (This is also a good practice activity before writing stories.)
  • Write notes for your children to read at school lunchtime or anytime.
  • Focus on all the things your children do right while reading (decoding a difficult word…reading a sentence with good expression…re-reading a passage to make sense of it…or making an interesting connection/coming up with a good question about what was read). Encourage and praise their efforts. If your children make a mistake while reading aloud, allow time for self-correction. If the mistake doesn’t affect the meaning or flow of the sentence or story, ignore it.

Unless they wish to, it is not always necessary for your children to read aloud to you, especially once they are reading fluently. But still talk with them about what they read...don’t quiz, just discuss. Reading (and responding to what was read) should be enjoyable and not viewed as a task.