A student is to be assigned to a ZPD RANGE based on the
student's reading level.

A child in his fifth month of sixth grade is not limited to 6.5
level books. Few students are EXACTLY on grade level all the time
anyway. Plus, you're severely limiting student choices by giving
ONE level of book.

Let's assume, for the sake of simplicity, that the sixth grader in
the sixth month of school IS reading on a 6.5 grade level. In
that case, he or she should be reading books in the RANGE of ZPD
levels from 4.9 to a 6.3.

However, not ALL books within that range will be appropriate for
that student. You also have to take into consideration the
interest level. Let's take a 4.9 level book for instance.

Adele & Simon in America is a 4.9 book level. But it's a LG
interest level, meant for children in K-3. It is not appropriate
for a sixth grader.

On the other end of the spectrum, many novels by James Patterson,
Agatha Christie, and Sue Grafton--just to name a few--are in the
4.9-5.1 range. They are meant for adults, and are also not
appropriate for a sixth grader.

A sixth grader with a on-grade reading ability should be reading
MIDDLE GRADE INTEREST LEVEL books, such as Artemis Fowl,
which is a 5.0 level . . . but with situations appropriate for a
child that age.

The book levels are only readability levels . . . can the child
read the words. The interest level is for age-appropriateness.

Sounds like people need training.

Share This Post | Report This Post

Next Post >>

Posts on this thread, including this one