Literacy

• Build a family library
• Create a "reading corner" in your home
• Read out loud to your children
• Allow your children to see you reading for pleasure
• Talk to your kids about what they are reading
• Put a bookshelf in your child's room and fill it with popular books
• Take your child to the library
• Limit TV, computer and video game time
• Subscribe to a new magazine for your child
• Share your excitement over something you read with your child

The Lexile measure tells us about a text's difficulty. It does not measure content or quality. For example, a book could be easy enough to read or comprehend, but that does not mean the subject matter is appropriate for the reader. The scale measures reading ability.

The lexile scale starts at 200L (beginners) to 1700L (advanced). It measures a reader's ability level.

This makes it easier to select books for your child. For example, if your child measures at 1000L, that is the level books that your child would be able to comprehend. Remember, however, that all books will not be appropriate in content or quality for all readers.

Your child's lexile range can be found on his/her MAP score sheet.

You can search for books based on lexile score here.

Students who want to improve their reading skills can focus on the following strategies used by all teachers to help them before, during, and after reading.

Active reading requires that students be participants in their own learning process. “Actively reading” (using strategies) helps enhance understanding. 

Question: Create goal-setting questions to create a purpose for reading. Use titles, subtitles, images, graphs, and vocabulary to create goal-setting questions.

Predict: Use context clues, foreshadowing, and prior knowledge to make predictions about the next topic, idea, or event. 
 
Text Structure Analysis: Determine the type of text being read and apply additional strategies to help analyze the text. Main text structures include Problem and Solution, Description, Sequence, Compare and Contrast, and Cause and Effect.
 
Visualize: Use images to help determine information about passages; use descriptive and sensory words to create an image of what is being read, use visual aids provided in or alongside the text to help clarify reading.
 
Inference: Use prior knowledge to make predictions, use information about people, places, and events in fiction and non-fiction, distinguish between statements that are fact and opinion.
 
Summarize: Identify the topic, the main idea of the piece, and details that support main ideas. Use titles, subtitles, images, graphs, and vocabulary to summarize. 
 
Evaluate: Ask questions about what you have read and form opinions.