Endagered Species
1. Decodable Text * There are five levels of decodable text, ranging from highly decodable to minimally decodable. Highly decodable books use one-syllable and one-vowel-sound words, such as “cat,” “fun” or “sit.” These might also use some short sight words, such as “a,” “an” and “the.”
Very decodable text still uses simple words, but those words may now have an extra letter or use blends that the students are learning in class, such as “this,” “such” or “that.”
Decodable text adds more of the letter blend combinations in the reading, encouraging the students to practice using the ideas the teacher presents in their reading lessons.
Somewhat decodable leveled books force the children to depend more on their sounding out skills than memorization of the rules. There are still some of the familiar words and sounds, but suffixes and prefixes are also part of the reading text.
Minimally decodable text is for the most advanced students. The text in these leveled books is much more difficult and has more unfamiliar words. 2. Predictability Scale * Leveled books use a predictability scale. The easiest books use a lot of words that rhyme, such as “hat,” “cat,” “bat” and “rat.” The theme of the story may also be somewhat predictable, which encourages the children to keep on reading.
More difficult books have fewer rhyming words and the theme of the story may not be so predictable, making the students have to keep on reading to find out exactly what happens in the end.
Methodology * The way the leveled reading book flows is methodology. There are several different levels of methodology, ranging from the simplest stories with one theme to more complex stories having more than one them or subplots. The simpler stories are easy for children to read and keep up with what is going on. However, the more complex stories may have two or three threads that all tie in together in the end. The words and the stories of the simpler leveled reading books are
Very decodable text still uses simple words, but those words may now have an extra letter or use blends that the students are learning in class, such as “this,” “such” or “that.”
Decodable text adds more of the letter blend combinations in the reading, encouraging the students to practice using the ideas the teacher presents in their reading lessons.
Somewhat decodable leveled books force the children to depend more on their sounding out skills than memorization of the rules. There are still some of the familiar words and sounds, but suffixes and prefixes are also part of the reading text.
Minimally decodable text is for the most advanced students. The text in these leveled books is much more difficult and has more unfamiliar words. 2. Predictability Scale * Leveled books use a predictability scale. The easiest books use a lot of words that rhyme, such as “hat,” “cat,” “bat” and “rat.” The theme of the story may also be somewhat predictable, which encourages the children to keep on reading.
More difficult books have fewer rhyming words and the theme of the story may not be so predictable, making the students have to keep on reading to find out exactly what happens in the end.
Methodology * The way the leveled reading book flows is methodology. There are several different levels of methodology, ranging from the simplest stories with one theme to more complex stories having more than one them or subplots. The simpler stories are easy for children to read and keep up with what is going on. However, the more complex stories may have two or three threads that all tie in together in the end. The words and the stories of the simpler leveled reading books are